Stephen F. Austin
Lamar
SFA, Lamar Set to Duke it Out Saturday Afternoon in William R. Johnson Coliseum
2/8/2019 4:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
'Jacks hope to continue rise in Southland standings and stop two-game skid against Cardinals
Game Twenty-Two
SFA (12-9, 5-4 Southland) vs. Lamar (11-12, 4-6 Southland)
Saturday, Feb. 9 | 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 | Lamar Game Notes
THE OPENING TIP
• Hoping to continue its climb up the Southland Conference standings, the SFA men's basketball team starts the second half of league action inside William R. Johnson Coliseum Saturday afternoon by taking on longtime league adversary Lamar at 4:30 p.m. The 65th meeting between the 'Jacks and Cardinals will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN3 and the ESPN app with the game itself being sponsored by Nacogdoches Memorial Health.
• On the call for the ESPN3 broadcast of the game is longtime Lumberjack play-by-play man Rob Meyers. His call can also be heard on the Learfield/IMG College Lumberjack Sports Network over the airwaves on Q107.7 FM in Nacogdoches and nationwide via the TuneIn app.
• Since Southland Conference action started, junior Kevon Harris has emerged as one of the frontrunners for Southland Conference Player of the Year. The Ellenwood, Ga., product is averaging 22.6 points and 7.8 rebounds in league action while shooting 55-percent from the field and 47.6-percent from long range. Harris is one of just three players in the nation who are averaging at least 22 points and seven rebounds while shooting 55-percent or better from the field and 40-percent from long range in conference play.
• Shannon Bogues, Harris and Davonte Fitzgerald have accounted for 991 of the 'Jacks' 1495 points so far this season. In terms of percentage, that means the trio has put in 66.3-percent - or almost two-thirds - of SFA's total scoring load this season.
THIRTY-SOMETHINGS
• By pumping in a career-high 35 points in the 'Jacks' victory over Houston Baptist Wednesday night, junior Kevon Harris put forth his fourth 30+ point effort as a collegiate player. That ties him for third all-time on the 'Jacks' 30+ point game list in SFA's NCAA history.
• Harris' 35 points are tied for the most in a single game in Kyle Keller's tenure as head coach. In the 2017-18 season, Shannon Bogues came up with 35 points in the 'Jacks' 97-50 decimation of Northwestern State inside William R. Johnson Coliseum on Feb. 10.
• Speaking of Bogues, his five 30+ point efforts are the second-most by a single player in SFA's NCAA history. Thomas Walkup holds the record for 30+ point games in the NCAA era at SFA with seven.
• Three of the Southland's top five single-game scoring efforts in the 2018-19 season have been put forth by an SFA player. Harris' 35 points against the Huskies are the second-most in a game by a Southland player this season while his 33 against Central Arkansas are tied for the fifth-most. Bogues' 33-point effort against Louisiana Tech is also tied for the third-highest single game point total in the Southland this year.
LAST TIME OUT
• Propelled by a career-high 35 points from Kevon Harris as well as a career-best 16 points from junior Nathan Bain, the 'Jacks' erased an 11-point deficit in the final 4:56 and collected a 79-77 Southland Conference win at Houston Baptist Wednesday night inside Sharp Gymnasium.
• The win was SFA's 13th in a row over the Huskies which is the team's longest active winning streak against a current Southland Conference opponent. SFA also upped its all-time record against the Huskies to 21-1 with HBU's lone victory over SFA coming in 1979.
• Shannon Bogues and Davonte Fitzgerald added 10 points apiece for the 'Jacks who secured their third true road victory of the season. With his 10-point outing, Bogues extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 22 which is the second-longest by a single player in SFA's NCAA era.
• By putting in 35 points, Harris increased his career point total to 1,132 which currently ranks as the 22nd-highest point total by a Lumberjack in program history. Harris needs seven more markers to move up to 21st and with 20 points he would break into the top-20 scorers in program history.
• Harris also laced a pair of three-pointers in the come-from-behind victory over the Huskies, giving him 117 for his career. That puts the Ellenwood, Ga., product into a tie with Antonio Burks for seventh-place in program history for career three-pointers made.
• In the free throw department, Harris sank 11 of 15, and with those 15 tries he upped his career total to 395. That's the eighth-highest number of free throw attempts by any player in SFA's NCAA history.
• The win helped the 'Jacks move to 7-3 (.700) this season in games decided by five points or less.
SFA vs. LAMAR | SERIES HISTORY
Overall vs. Lamar | 36-28 (.533)
In Nacogdoches, Texas | 21-8 (.724)
At William R. Johnson Coliseum | 11-6 (.647)
In Beaumont, Texas | 14-19 (.424)
At Montagne Center | 8-9 (.471)
At neutral sites | 1-1 (.500)
Last meeting | SFA 66, LU 71| February 24, 2018
Last SFA win | March 9, 2017 | 75-51
Last SFA home win | February 16, 2017 | 70-61
Last SFA road win | February 22, 2016 | 79-58
Last LU win | February 24, 2018 | 71-66
Last LU home win | February 3, 2018 | 76-54
Last LU road win | February 24, 2018 | 71-66
Largest margin of victory (SFA) | 36 | 79-43 on Jan. 3, 2013
Largest margin of defeat (SFA) | 41 | 119-78 on Jan. 13, 1962
Current Streak | Lamar won two
Last five games | 3-2 (.600)
Last five home games | 4-1 (.800)
Last five away games | 4-1 (.800)
Last 10 games | 8-2 (.800)
Last 10 home games | 8-2 (.800)
Last 10 away games | 7-3 (.700)
SFA points | average | 4,327 | 67.6
Lamar points | average | 4,138 | 64.7
Average scoring margin | +2.9
Keller vs. Lamar | 2-2 (.500)
At William R. Johnson Coliseum | 1-1 (1.000)
At Montagne Center | 0-1 (.000)
Keller vs. Price | 2-2 (.500)
Price vs. SFA | 7-12 (.368)
SFA all-time on Feb. 9 | 19-12 (.613)
SCOUTING LAMAR | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• The Cardinals head into Nacogdoches in search of their first three-game winning streak over SFA since 2002. Last season, Lamar became the first current Southland squad to sweep a two-game season series over SFA since both Sam Houston State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi did so in the 2006-07 campaign. Currently Lamar sits in eighth place in the Southland standings but is just two games back of fourth place.
• Now in his final season as a collegian, Josh Nzeakor has been the Cardinals' go-to player. One of four Lamar players who average at least 10.8 points per game, Nzeakor's per-game average of 15.5 is the best on the team. The senior has hit 62.2-percent of his field goals, too, which leads the Southland and ranks 17th in the land. He also rips down rebounds at a team-leading rate of 8.0 per game.
• The other half of the Cardinals' inside-outside game is sharpshooter Nick Garth. Pumping in points at a rate of 15.2 per game, Garth has drilled 51 of the team's 139 triples this season and is shooting 34.2-percent from long range. T.J. Atwood (10.9 ppg) and Jordan Hunter (10.8 ppg) round out the Cardinals' top four scorers.
• Lamar gets to the foul line with more regularity than any NCAA Division I men's basketball team in the nation. The Cardinals lead the land with 622 free throw tries and are second in the nation with 420 free throws made. Leading that charge from the line is Nzeakor who ranks second in the Southland with 135 attempts from the foul stripe.
• Rebounding is another one of the Cardinals' strong suits as they lead the Southland in many of the major carom categories. Lamar's 910 rebounds and 39.57 rebounds per game are tops in the league and help the Cardinals rank 22nd and 27th nationally in those respective categories. Their 14 offensive rebounds per game rank eighth in NCAA Division I men's basketball.
COMING UP NEXT
• Remaining in Nacogdoches to continue a stretch in which four of five games will take place inside William R. Johnson Coliseum, the 'Jacks welcome Louisiana and Southland Conference rival McNeese to Texas' oldest town Wednesday evening. Tip-off between the 'Jacks and Cowboys is set for 6:30 p.m. and the matchup will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
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