Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
'Jacks Back in William R. Johnson Coliseum for Saturday Clash with Northwestern State
1/11/2019 3:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SFA meets Northwestern State for 130th time as 'Jacks seek to move back above .500 in conference play
Game Fifteen
SFA (8-6, 1-1 Southland) vs. Northwestern State (6-10, 1-2 Southland)
Saturday, Jan. 12 | 4:30 p.m. | William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,203) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Tickets | Watch (ESPN3/ESPN app) | Listen (Q107.7/TuneIn) | Live Stats | SFA Game Notes | Northwestern State Game Notes
Play-by-Play/Analysis | Rob Meyers
THE OPENING TIP
• Two longtime rivals separated by just 112 miles - depending on which route you take - are set to collide Saturday afternoon inside William R. Johnson Coliseum when the SFA men's basketball team hosts Louisiana foe Northwestern State at 4:30 p.m.
• Narrating the action on the nationwide television broadcast which will be streamed on ESPN3 and the ESPN app is Rob Meyers. It's Meyers' 27th call of an SFA-Northwestern State men's basketball clash and his play-by-play and analysis can be heard locally on Q107.7 FM in Nacogdoches and nationwide on the TuneIn app. With Meyers behind the mic, SFA is 18-8 all-time against Northwestern State.
• Saturday's showdown will be the 130th all-time meeting between the 'Jacks and Demons dating back to 1926. That makes it the third-longest running series in SFA men's basketball history behind the 'Jacks' total number of matchups with Texas State (166 games) and Sam Houston State (201 games).
• Junior guard/forward Kevon Harris currently ranks second in the Southland in points per game in league play. Through two Southland skirmishes, the Ellenwood, Ga., product is averaging 22.5 points per game on a sublime shooting split of .500/.500/.700.
• Harris is fast approaching a milestone few SFA men's basketball players have reached in their careers. The junior needs just 26 more points to reach 1,000 for his career. He would be the 31st player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau and the first since Ty Charles and TJ Holyfield joined the 1,000-point club last season.
• In addition to the upcoming 1,000-point milestone, Harris will break into the program's all-time top ten in three-pointers made by drilling seven more long balls. Eric Rhodes, who played at SFA from 1984-88 and who is currently the Director of Security for the National Basketball Players Association, is in 10th place all-time with 110 three-pointers made.
LAST TIME OUT
• Despite the second 30+ point outing of Kevon Harris' collegiate career, the SFA men's basketball team could not overcome an early 14-point deficit as the 'Jacks dropped a 78-73 Southland Conference decision at Nicholls Wednesday night.
• Harris matched a career-best by sinking 11 shots in the setback and reset his career best by hoisting up 21 field goal tries. It was the junior's first 30-point outing since slinging in a career-best 31 in a non-conference home victory over Rice on Dec. 9, 2017.
• The junior also snatched a game-high nine rebounds and was responsible for 36.7-percent of the 'Jacks' 30 made field goals and 31.8-percent of their field goals attempted.
• The loss snapped the 'Jacks' 11-game winning streak against Nicholls that started with a 68-67 overtime victory inside William R. Johnson Coliseum on Feb. 3, 2010. That streak was SFA's second-longest active winning streak against a current Southland Conference opponent.
• Sophomore Karl Nicholas matched his career highs in both rebounds (eight) and assists (two) while putting in 14 points. Nicholas was SFA's second-leading scorer and tied his season high by playing 27 minutes in the showdown.
• Senior Shannon Bogues extended his stretch of double-digit scoring games to 15 by pouring in 13 on 6-of-11 shooting. That performance continued the longest stretch of 10+ point outings by an SFA men's basketball player since Thomas Walkup put in at least 10 points through 17 consecutive games from Feb. 7, 2015 until Nov. 27, 2015.
• SFA's lone lead of the Southland Conference contest came when Harris put the finishing touches on a three-point play with a free throw that made matters 40-39 with 15:12 to go. The 'Jacks' led for just 10 seconds.
• Nicholls started the game on an 18-4 run through the first 6:31 and enjoyed a 35-27 lead the break. SFA has trailed at halftime in nine of its 14 games this season and has wound up winning four of those games.
• SFA committed only 12 turnovers in the Southland showdown. That's the fewest amount of turnovers in a Southland game for the 'Jacks since committing the same number in a 76-56 home triumph over Abilene Christian on Feb. 28, 2018.
• The 'Jacks did manage to have their way in the painted area, netting 48 of their 73 points down low (.658). Those 48 points in the paint are the second-most in a game this season by SFA and the 'Jacks' +22 margin in paint points also represented the second-highest in a game this season. SFA's 48 points in the paint were the team's highest total in a Southland game since accumulating the same sum in a 102-82 home triumph over Houston Baptist on Jan. 31, 2018.
• SFA's bench chipped in just six points (or 8.2-percent of the team's point total) to the cause Wednesday night. That's the team's second-lowest bench point total in a game this season and SFA's fewest in a Southland Conference game in Kyle Keller's tenure as head coach.
• SFA's three-point field goal defense helped the 'Jacks keep things close. The 'Jacks allowed Nicholls to shoot just 8-of-31 (25.8-percent) from downtown and three of the team's five last opponents have shot at a clip of less that 29.5-percent from long range.
THIRTY-SOMETHINGS
• With his 30-point outing at Nicholls Wednesday night, junior Kevon Harris became the third Lumberjack this season to go off for 30 or more points in a single game. It was the second 30+ point game in the career of the Ellenwood, Ga., product.
• Shannon Bogues (33) and Davonte Fitzgerald (32) also netted 30 or more points as that duo combined for 65 in a narrow overtime setback to Louisiana Tech on Friday, Dec. 7, 2018.
• SFA is the only NCAA Division I men's basketball program this season to boast three different players who have gone for 30 or more points in a single game.
• Each of those 30+ point performances came against an adversary from the state of Louisiana but - unfortunately - each of them resulted in losses for the 'Jacks.
• This occurrence marks the second-straight season in which SFA has had three different players go off for 30 or more in a game. Last season, Shannon Bogues (30, 31, 32, 35), Ty Charles (31) and Kevon Harris (31) each turned in one outing of 30 or more points.
SERIES HISTORY | SFA vs. NORTHWESTERN STATE
Overall vs. Northwestern State | 63-66 (.488)
In Nacogdoches, Texas | 38-21 (.644)
At William R. Johnson Coliseum | 20-13 (.606)
In Natchitoches, La. | 22-38 (.367)
At Prather Coliseum | 17-19 (.472)
At neutral sites | 2-6 (.250)
Last meeting | SFA 97, NSU 50 | February 10, 2018
Last SFA win | February 10, 2018 | 97-50
Last SFA home win | February 10, 2018 | 97-50
Last SFA road win | January 6, 2018 | 64-56
Last NSU win | March 2, 2017 | 72-67
Last NSU home win | January 26, 2013 | 61-57
Last NSU road win | March 2, 2017 | 72-67
Largest margin of victory (SFA) | 47 | 97-50 on Feb. 10, 2018
Largest margin of defeat (SFA) | 27 | 97-70 on Feb. 20, 1999
Current Streak | SFA won two
Last five games | 4-1 (.800)
Last five home games | 4-1 (.800)
Last five away games | 5-0 (1.000)
Last 10 games | 9-1 (.900)
Last 10 home games | 8-2 (.800)
Last 10 away games | 9-1 (.900)
SFA points | average | 8,424 | 65.3
NSU points | average | 8,315 | 64.5
Average scoring margin | +0.8
Keller vs. Northwestern State | 3-1 (.750)
At William R. Johnson Coliseum | 1-1 (.500)
At Prather Coliseum | 2-0 (1.000)
Keller vs. McConathy | 3-1 (.750)
McConathy vs. SFA | 15-23 (.395)
SFA all-time on Jan. 12 | 12-7 (.632)
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Through their first 16 games of the 2018-19 campaign, the Demons have already succeeded in bettering their win total by two games from last season. Northwestern State won just four games last year and has won six so far this season. Additionally, the Demons have also matched their total number of Southland Conference wins (one) from last season thus far in 2018-19.
• Preseason All-Southland Conference First Team choice Ishmael Lane remains the best weapon the Demons have at their disposal. The senior is the only player on Northwestern State's roster to average over 10 points per game and leads the way with a scoring clip of 12.3 per game. Lane's rebounding average of 7.5 per game is another team-best figure and he ranks third in the Southland in rebounds, rebounds per game, blocked shots (25) and blocks per game (1.56).
• Junior long-range specialist Jacob Guest has enjoyed a hot start to Southland Conference play in terms of three-point shooting. Guest has connected on nine of his 12 tries (75-percent) from long range through the Demons' three league games giving him 40.9-percent of the team's 22 three-pointers in conference play. • Northwestern State continues to hold the distinction of being the only current Southland Conference team with a winning record against SFA. The Demons are 66-63 (.512) all-time against the Lumberjacks in a series that dates back to 1926.
• Road games have presented a monstrous challenge for the Demons over the last two seasons. Northwestern State has dropped eight consecutive road contests dating back to last seasons and is 2-20 (.091) on the road since 2017-18.
COMING UP NEXT
• For the second-straight week, the 'Jacks are set to embark on a journey to the Big Easy. This time, however, they will play a basketball game there rather than just watch one as SFA hooks up with Southland Conference adversary New Orleans at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday night.
-SFA-
