Stephen F. Austin
Lamar
Harris' 25-Point Effort Highlights SFA's Southland Matchup against Lamar
2/9/2019 8:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Junior drops in game's highest point total, Bogues adds 19
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Junior Kevon Harris turned in another stellar performance, netting a game-high 25 points and Shannon Bogues scored 12 of his 19 in the second half to help the SFA men's basketball team trim Lamar's lead from 18 down to just five with 7:39 left but the Cardinals ended the game on a 19-9 run to collect an 82-67 Southland Conference win over the 'Jacks Saturday night inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Lamar, who led wire-to-wire, dominated the glass and finished the game with a 41-13 edge in rebounds over SFA. That led to a 22-4 edge in second-chance points for the Cardinals over the 'Jacks in a game that helped Lamar win for the third time in as many games against SFA.
FIRST HALF
• Coming out of the gates as the aggressors, Lamar showed zero disregard for any defensive scheme the 'Jacks threw its way. Twenty-two of the game's first 30 points were scored by the Cardinals as SFA faced a 22-8 deficit with 11:19 to go in the frame.
• Facing a deficit of that size, all the 'Jacks could do for the rest of the half way try to chip away at it. The primary tool the team used to do that was the play of Kevon Harris. In the frame, the junior put in 14 of the 'Jacks' 29, but he and the rest of SFA's squad was unable to deal with the varied offensive production of the Cardinals.
• After the Cardinals' lopsided run to start the half, SFA got no closer than 12 points away from their Beaumont, Texas-based foes for the remainder of the stanza.
• Eight Cardinals put in points during the frame, none more than Nick Garth who laced two of Lamar's five first-half three-pointers en route to 14.
• One of the areas where Lamar was especially effective in the frame was on the glass. The Cardinals out-rebounded SFA 24-7 and notched 13 second-chance points.
SECOND HALF
• Lamar's lead hit its highest point - 18 points - after Jordan Hunter started the deciding frame with a fast break jumper. From that point on, the 'Jacks did all they could to try and come back.
• Relying largely on the play of Bogues and Harris, that duo accounted for all but two points during an 18-10 surge by the 'Jacks that followed Hunter's jump shot. During the run, Bogues drilled a trio of three-pointers and added two makes at the foul line while Harris added a pair of free throws and assisted on two of Bogues' long balls.
• After that run, the Cardinals' lead was down to 49-39 with 15:54 left. SFA was not done, however, as Harris started a run of six-straight points for the home team with a driving layup that made it a single-digit game (57-49) for the first time in the frame.
• Samuli Nieminen found Nathan Bain for a corner three-pointer with 8:31 left and John Comeaux hit a pair of free throws to pull the 'Jacks within five, 63-58.
• Unfortunately, the Cardinals responded by nailing a pair of three-pointers - one by Davion Buster and another from Garth - to push their lead back to 11 with 6:09 to go.
• Harris swished his lone three-pointer of the night to help the 'Jacks make it a seven-point game (69-62) with 5:23 left, but Lamar went on a 9-0 run to go up 78-62 with 2:14 left. That effectively ended the game.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Getting to the free throw line was of particular importance to the 'Jacks Saturday night. SFA sank 28 of its 35 tries at the foul line - good for an 80-percent success rate. Harris visited the foul stripe frequently, establishing career-bests in free throws made and attempted by going 14-of-16 at the line.
• A pair of Cardinals netted at least 20 points in Saturday's tilt. Garth led the way with a team-high 23 while Hunter pumped in 20 more. Combined, that duo went 7-of-14 (50-percent) from three-point land.
• Christian Barrett put forth a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double effort. Barrett's personal rebounding total was just one fewer than the 'Jacks' total team output.
• Junior Rance Cole laced the first three-pointer of his SFA career late in the second half. As a team, SFA shot 7-of-19 from downtown.
COMING UP NEXT
• SFA remains at home for a Wednesday evening Southland Conference showdown with Louisiana rival McNeese. Hoping to get back in the win column against the Cowboys, the 'Jacks will tip-off at 6:30 p.m. The game will also be streamed nationwide on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
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