SFA Hosts Louisiana Tech in Non-Conference Showdown

Saturday, December 2

Abilene, TX

5:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

Abilene Christian University

SFA Hosts Louisiana Tech in Non-Conference Showdown

12/4/2023 2:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Jace Green, Assistant for Strategic Communications

NACOGDOCHES, Texas- The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (5-3, 1-1) will host the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (6-2, 0-0) in William R. Johnson Coliseum tomorrow.  The 13th meeting between the two teams will tip-off at 6:30 p.m.  All general admission tickets will be $5 for Cram the Coliseum.

Series History:

SFA enters the matchup down 7-5 in the series history against Louisiana Tech.  The first matchup between these two teams took place on November 30th, 1973, and resulted in a 97-77 Lumberjack loss.  Stephen F. Austin is currently 2-2 at home and 3-3 on the road against the Bulldogs.  SFA and Louisiana Tech have gone to overtime in the last two meetings.

The 'Jacks have won three of the last four matchups against Louisiana Tech.  SFA narrowly won in overtime 80-79, the last time these two teams met (December 14th, 2022).  In last season's matchup Kyle Hayman led the 'Jacks in scoring with his 18-point performance.  The SFA win broke the Bulldog's record of 31 straight non-conference wins at home.

A Look at the Lumberjacks:

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (5-3, 1-1) are coming off their first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) win of the season.  SFA won 79-74 in an overtime thriller to defeat Abilene Christian (3-5, 0-2).  The 'Jacks finished the night with two double-digit scorers.  Matt Hayman led the way with a game and career high 25 points.  Hayman was also supported by Frank Staine who finished with 15 points and had his second straight double-digit performance.

Matt Hayman leads the 'Jacks defensively with his 13 steals.  He ranks 5th in the WAC for steals per game.  SFA totals 72 steals and averages 9.0 steals per game. Stephen F. Austin has also posted 27 blocks on the year, averaging 3.4 per game.  Nana Antwi-Boasiako is the 'Jacks leader in blocks.  His eight blocks rank him 5th in the WAC for blocks per game.

SFA currently ranks in the NCAA top 50 for six different categories.  The 'Jacks are 7th in bench points per game (36.88, 1st in WAC), effective FG percentage (55.4, 1st in WAC), FG percentage (49.0, 1st in WAC), steals per game (9.0, 2nd in WAC) and turnovers forced per game (17.62, 1st in WAC).

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS…SFA is currently ranked 7th in the NCAA for bench points per game (1st in WAC).  The Lumberjack's bench is currently averaging 36.88 points per game.  Stephen F. Austin is coming off a 52-point performance from their bench against Abilene Christian.  SFA's bench was led by Frank Staine and Matt Hayman's combined 40 points.

A Look at the Bulldogs:

Louisiana Tech is coming off a 68-55 victory over Nicholls.  The Bulldogs had four players finish in double figures, led by Tahlik Chavez who had a season-high 20 points.  Daniel Batcho and Isaiah Crawford also contributed in the win over the Colonels.  Batch notched his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds while Crawford had 11 points and a season-high seven assists.

Isaiah Crawford is the scoring leader for the Bulldogs as he is currently averaging 15.0 points per game on 52.5% shooting.  Daniel Batcho is Louisiana Tech's only other scorer averaging double-digit scoring, with his 13.2 points per game on 50.0% shooting.

The Bulldogs are averaging 77.8 points per game as a unit with an average scoring margin of 15.8.  Louisiana Tech's defense also averages 9.0 steals per game and is scoring 15.3 points per game off turnovers.