Stephen F. Austin
13-11, 6-6SLC
Northwestern State
10-16 5-8SLC
Bogues Goes for 29 in Natchitoches in 'Jacks' 131st Battle with Northwestern State
2/16/2019 5:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Senior nets game-high point total
NATCHITOCHES, La. - Senior Guard Shannon Bogues continued his individual mastery of Northwestern State by finishing with a game-high 29 points while junior Kevon Harris added 18 more, but the SFA men's basketball team never fully recovered from a 17-point deficit at the midway point of the deciding frame and fell, 87-72 to the Demons Saturday afternoon inside Prather Coliseum.
FIRST HALF
• Coming out on a mission, Bogues put in 20 points in the opening frame to help the visitors claim a one-point edge at the break. The senior started the game with a fast-break slam and Harris added a free throw make as SFA began the showdown on a 3-0 run.
• As good as Bogues was offensively in the opening 20 minutes, Northwestern State's LaTerrance Reed gave the home team the ability to counter with his long-range touch. Reed manned an 11-4 Demon surge by sinking two of his four first-half three-pointers.
• That run helped the home team own the lead for the majority of the frame. The Demons' edge bulged to as many as nine points on two occasions, the last of which came Reed sank a pair of freebies to make the score 33-24 with 5:32 left in the half.
• From there, SFA turned into the aggressors for the rest of the half. The 'Jacks concluded the frame on a 15-5 run in which Bogues netted seven. Jovan Grujic allowed the visitors to take a one-point lead into the locker room by connecting on a layup off a feed from Bogues with 51 ticks left.
SECOND HALF
• Bogues pushed the 'Jacks' lead to 41-38 with a pair of free throw makes in the opening minute of the last half, but Northwestern State made their move shortly thereafter. Larry Owens converted a three-point play with a free throw make to start a 10-0 run by the home team.
• SFA finally stopped that run by the Demons with a driving layup by Harris that pulled SFA within five, 48-43, and managed to stay within striking distance until another Northwestern State run put things largely out of reach.
• After Kevon Harris tossed down a fast-break slam to trim the home team's edge to 55-48, Northwestern State took off on an 11-1 scoring spree led by Malik Metoyer who hammered home a fast break jam and added a triple that put the 'Jacks at a 66-49 disadvantage.
• Samuli Nieminen made it a single-digit game with 9:23 left after drilling a wide-open three-pointer that cut the Demons' edge to 67-59.
• Harris kept the 'Jacks comeback bid alive down the stretch, finishing a three-point play with a free throw make that pulled the visitors within six, 71-65, as 6:29 showed on the game clock.
• Unfortunately, Harris' layup which started the three-point play was the final shot the 'Jacks hit from the field for the rest of the game. Northwestern State finished the game on a 16-7 run to claim its first win over SFA in Natchitoches since 2013.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Reed finished with a team-high 27 points for the Demons. He slung in seven three-pointers and went 6-of-7 at the foul line to accumulate that point total.
• Four Demons finished with 10 or more points including DeAndre Love (10), Ishmael Lane (18) and C.J. Jones (14).
• The Demons shot .404/.500/.800 for the game and slung in 13 three-pointers while finishing 28-of-35 at the foul line.
• Seraille finished with a team and career-high 11 rebounds to go along with a trio of blocked shots in a great effort off the bench.
COMING UP NEXT
• SFA returns to William R. Johnson Coliseum where it will try to get back in the win column Wednesday evening when Texas A&M-Corpus Christi comes to town. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. and the showdown will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
-SFA-
