Stephen F. Austin
2-0,0-0Southland
North Carolina Central
0-1,0-0MEAC
Harris' 32 Helps 'Jacks Rip North Carolina Central, 94-64
11/9/2019 6:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Senior leads the way as 'Jacks improve to 2-0
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Facing off against MEAC favorite North Carolina Central for its first NCAA Division I test of the season, the SFA men's basketball team showed why there's a renewed sense of optimism about the 2019-20 campaign.
No man - or combination of them - on North Carolina Central's side could hope to contend with the brilliance of SFA senior Kevon Harris who poured in a game and season-high 32 points to help the 'Jacks destroy the Eagles, 94-64, Saturday afternoon inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Harris' first 30-point effort of the year - and his fourth since last season - featured five of the 'Jacks' 11 three-pointers and 12 of their 35 field goal makes.
FIRST HALF
• Things, to put it mildly, did not go the 'Jacks' way early on in the second meeting between themselves and the Eagles. North Carolina Central scored 10 of the game's first 12 points and opened up a 10-2 lead 2:39 into things.
• It was then that Harris decided to give his squad the lead. The senior scored nine straight points to power the 'Jacks' 16-0 run that turned a 10-2 deficit into a 18-10 lead. with 12:55 left in the frame.
• The 'Jacks' lead grew to 15, 30-15, after Harris connected on yet another three-pointer before the Eagles made their move.
• Randy Miller, Jr., capped a 23-7 run by the Eagles by hitting a pair of free throws that gave the visitors a 38-36 lead with 47 seconds left in the half. SFA, however, got two free throw makes by John Comeaux and a layup from Harris in the waning seconds of the half to enter its locker room with a 40-38 lead.
SECOND HALF
• Turning a nail-biter into a runaway in alarmingly quick fashion, the 'Jacks relied heavily on Harris who contributed nine points during the team's 16-4 run to begin the final frame. That scoring surge pushed SFA's lead to 56-42 with 14:40 to go.
• North Carolina Central never got back to within single digits, but Evan Clayborne pulled the visitors back to within 10, 61-51, with a layup. Over the next two minute, though, the 'Jacks put the Eagles away for good.
• Five different players put in buckets during an 11-0 run that hiked SFA's lead from 10 to 21, effectively putting away any chance North Carolina Central had to come back.
• SFA never took its foot off the gas, pushing its lead to a game-high 32 when Sama'Zha Hart splashed his second three-pointer of the game in the final minute of action.
• The 'Jacks were unrelenting through the final 20 minutes of play, blistering the nets with a field goal percentage of 72.4 (21-of-29) during the frame. SFA drilled six of its seven downtown tries in the half, too.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Outside of Harris, Roti Ware (13) and Hart (12) also contributed double-digit scoring efforts in SFA's 30-point triumph.
• SFA put up shooting splits of .593/.579/.765 in the runaway victory and forced 31 turnovers which it turned into 35 points.
• Four Eagles finished with 10 or more points including Miller, Jr., and Nicholas Fennell who totaled 12 each.
COMING UP NEXT
• In possession of a 2-0 record to start the season - the third-straight season that has been the case - SFA continues its four-game homestand Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. when Niagara pays its first visit to William R. Johnson Coliseum. ESPN+ and the ESPN app will carry the Southland/MAAC clash nationwide.
-SFA-
