Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
Bogues Puts in 17 but 'Jacks on Wrong End of Buzzer-Beater against Northwestern State
1/12/2019 7:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Demons' Lane scores game-winner with 0.2 seconds to go
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A tie game with 1:02 left after junior Kevon Harris sank an equalizing free throw with 1:02 left, the SFA men's basketball team wound up on the wrong end of a highlight finish as Northwestern State senior Ishmael Lane registered a game-winning tip-in with 0.2 seconds left in the 'Jacks' difficult-to-swallow 61-59 setback to the Demons Saturday evening inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Shannon Bogues poured in a game-high 17 points and Davonte Fitzgerald added 13 but the 'Jacks suffered from a cold touch from the field all game long. SFA went only 20-of-61 (32.8-percent) from the field and 3-of-21 (14.3-percent) from long range compared to the Demons' slightly better shooting split of .365/.381/.789.
Lane's game-winner capped a nine-point effort for the Port Allen, La., product who also snagged a game-high 10 of the Demons' 44 rebounds. Northwestern State finished plus-seven (44-37) on the boards who finished with a better free throw percentage despite shooting seven fewer freebies than the 'Jacks. SFA went only 61.5-percent from the foul line in their second setback in the last four matchups with Northwestern State.
FIRST HALF
• Disjointed play was the theme of an erratic first half in which no team could gain a whole lot of traction.
• The squads combined for 21 fouls and 29 free throw attempts through the stanza but SFA owned the lead for only nine seconds despite owning a plus-seven edge in free throws attempted (18-11).
• Through the first 3:29, the Demons opened up a 9-3 lead with the 'Jacks' lone field goal in that span coming on a driving layup by Mitchell Seraille.
• SFA countered with an 8-0 run featuring Bogues netting six of his 10 first-half markers. Davonte Fitzgerald handed SFA its lone lead of the half by sinking a mid-range job that made matters 11-9 with 12:14 left.
• It was then the 'Jacks suffered from an inability to sink anything from the field. The home team was held without a field goal for a stretch of 6:47 following Fitzgerald's make.
• Meanwhile, Northwestern State took advantage and used an 11-4 run capped by LaTerrance Reed's three-pointer to open up a 24-17 edge with 5:27 left.
• The Demons' edge grew to 11 points, 35-24, following a Larry Owens layup with 1:42 to go. That 11-point lead represented the visitors' largest of the frame.
• Bogues put the wraps on his 10-point first-half effort by sinking a pair at the free throw line with 46 ticks to go in the stanza.
• SFA struggled mightily from the field, putting up a shooting split of .292/.100/.611 and while the Demons' shooting numbers were not that impressive (.367/.400/.818) they were enough to own a nine-point lead at the break.
SECOND HALF
• Showing a much higher sense of urgency in the second 20 minutes, SFA started the frame on a 17-4 run through the first 6:58. Aaron Augustin - playing in his first game since Dec. 1 - drilled a mid-range jumper in the far corner to put a cap on the 'Jacks' sizable surge.
• That run was one of two times the home team appeared poised to break the game open. The second game during a came directly following Northwestern State's 8-2 scoring spree that spanned 2:59 and put the visitors ahead by two after Darian Dixon drilled a layup to make matters 47-45.
• Over the next five minutes, SFA scored nine of the next 11 to respond. Fitzgerald put an end to the run with a mid-range jumper that handed the home team its largest lead of the game, 54-49, with five minutes left.
• SFA remained ahead by four after Seraille hammered home an alley-oop jam that made the score 56-52 with 3:22 left.
• Northwestern Sate, however, ended the game on a 6-3 run and SFA put in just one more field goal through the last 3:22.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Bain and Harris tied for team-high rebounding honors by taking to the sky for nine apiece.
• Fitzgerald came up with a game-high three steals while Bain and Harris added two each.
• Seraille dropped in nine points but the 'Jacks bench had difficulty getting on the scoresheet for the second-straight game. SFA's reserves contributed just five points (8.4-percent of the point total) to the cause.
• Northwestern State got 25 points from its bench (+20 over SFA) which offset the 'Jacks's season-low 10 turnovers.
COMING UP NEXT
• Facing its fourth-consecutive Southland Conference foe from the state of Louisiana, SFA hits the road for the Big Easy for the second-straight week. Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., the winners of five of the last six Southland regular season titles get together when the 'Jacks take on New Orleans inside Lakefront Arena.
-SFA-
