Stephen F. Austin
McNeese
Harris Nears Double-Double, Bogues Adds 14 as 'Jacks Pull Away From McNeese, 67-57
2/13/2019 9:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SFA goes 23-of-37 from the foul line, Harris finished with game-high 22
?? | Coach Keller, Kevon and Shannon recaps the win over McNeese. #AxeEm https://t.co/NFBZnrV4l7
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Despite losing their leading scorer for the next month, the McNeese men's basketball team appeared primed for an upset and led the SFA men's basketball team by a pair with 9:25 to go Wednesday night.
The Cowboys, however, did not have two game-changing elements that the 'Jacks did and those two things made all the difference. What were they? Simple.
Kevon Harris and Shannon Bogues.
During the 'Jacks 22-10 run in the final 9:08, those two players accounted for all but three of their team's points to help SFA lay claim to a hard-fought 67-57 victory over McNeese. For his part, Harris put in 15 of SFA's 34 second-half points while Bogues pumped in 10 more.
Harris, who finished with a game-high 22 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double after grabbing a team-high nine, continued his run of success from the foul line by going 10-of-11 from that distance. Bogues added 14 as did Davonte Fitzgerald who went 6-of-8 from the field and hit both of the 'Jacks' long-range shots in the team's second-straight win over the Cowboys.
FIRST HALF
• Much like what happened Saturday afternoon, the 'Jacks fell behind early thanks to an early brace of three-pointers from their opponent. Kevin Hunt and James Harvey each laced a long ball in the opening 86 seconds of the game to give the Cowboys and early 6-1 lead.
• Following Harvey's three-pointer, however, two things happened - the Cowboys went cold from the field and Fitzgerald entered the fray and started to heat up.
• Getting offensive production from both Fitzgerald and Harris, the 'Jacks took off on a 9-0 scoring surge with Fitzgerald giving the home team the lead for good with a mid-range jumper at the 14:21 mark.
• The graduate student added a pair of blocked shots once he took the court, too, which helped keep the Cowboys scoreless for a span of 5:06.
• SFA never surrendered the lead once for the rest of the half once it obtained it, and through the frame the 'Jacks' edge grew to 12 points, 32-20, after Mitchell Seraille took to the sky for a powerful fast-break slam with 2:17 left in the frame.
• During the final 1:54, though, McNeese offset its lengthy scoring drought from earlier in the frame by going on a 9-1 scoring spree. Myles Hutchison put in five points while Trey Touchet and Sha'Markus Kennedy added one bucket each to help the Cowboys pull within four, 33-29, at the break.
SECOND HALF
• Though the 'Jacks were able to maintain their grip on the lead through the early stages of the deciding frame, McNeese never called it quits. John Comeaux tossed in a fast break layup to make matters 39-32 with 16:35 remaining, but after that the home team was held without a field goal for almost five minutes.
• During that field goal drought, McNeese scored 10 of the next 11 points and with back-to-back three-pointers from Touchet and Trey Johnson the Cowboys grabbed a 42-40 edge with 12:16 left.
• Fitzgerald answered with his second long ball of the game, but the Cowboys hit five of their next six shots from the foul line to remain in the lead, 47-45.
• Making it a point to get to the free throw line, SFA took up residence there and hit 10 over the final 9:08 to secure the win. Bogues broke a 50-50 deadlock with a pair of foul shot makes with 6:37 left and SFA never trailed again.
• After Bogues' two makes, Harris scored the next seven points for SFA to put the home team ahead 58-49 with 4:06 left. Bogues effectively iced the game by splitting two defenders and splashing a mid-range jumper that made matters 61-51 with 2:56 left.
• McNeese didn't hit a field goal for the final 12:15 of the game - another factor that helped SFA win.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Despite going just 2-of-15 (.133) from three-point land, SFA got to the foul line early and often. The 'Jacks drilled 62.2-percent (23-of-37) of their free throws to secure the win.
• SFA's defense turned things up a notch or two, limiting the Cowboys to a shooting split of just .333/.333/.800. McNeese went just 15-of-45 from the field.
• SFA won its 13th-straight home game over McNeese.
• Kennedy put forth an 11-point, 16-rebound double-double for McNeese. Touchet fired in a team-high 12 points while Will Robinson had 11 as well.
• McNeese went only 5-of-17 (.294) from the field in the second half.
• With his 22 points, Harris upped his career point total to 1,179 and moved past current SFA assistant coach Desmond Haymon for 19th place on SFA's all-time scoring list.
• Bogues extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 24 games by putting in 14 points.
COMING UP NEXT
• Natchitoches, La., is the site of the 'Jacks' next showdown when SFA heads to longtime Louisiana rival Northwestern State for a Saturday afternoon Southland showdown. Hoping to get a does of revenge after the dastardly Demons won on a tip-in at the buzzer in William R. Johnson Coliseum earlier this year, SFA tips off against their Pelican State rivals at 3:30 p.m. inside Prather Coliseum.
-SFA-
