Lumberjacks Honor Seniors with 84-71 Win

Saturday, March 9

Nacogdoches, TX

2:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

17-14,10-10WAC

Utah Tech

11-20,7-13WAC

Utah Tech

SFA

Lumberjacks Honor Seniors with 84-71 Win

3/9/2024 6:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Jace Green, Assistant for Strategic Communications

NACOGDOCHES, Texas- Stephen F. Austin capped off their regular season with an 84-71 win over the Utah Tech Trailblazers.  SFA improved to 17-14 overall and 10-10 in Western Athletic Conference play.  Utah tech fell to 11-20 overall and 7-13 in WAC play. It was also the Lumberjacks second win in a row.

The night got kicked off with the honoring of Frank Staine, AJ Cajuste, and head manager Reese Turner.  All three seniors will be graduating from Stephen F. Austin this spring.

Both teams struggled to find their rhythm offensively through the bulk of the first half.  The 'Jacks held the Trailblazers scoreless for the first three minutes of game.  Both teams would then go on a six-minute scoring drought, but SFA still led 6-5 with 10:46 left before halftime.

Nana Antwi-Boasiako got his career day started with back-to-back three-pointers that gave SFA an 18-15 lead.  The Lumberjacks offense got hot for the final ten minutes before the half, scoring 27 points.

Stephen F. Austin entered halftime on a 10-2 run to claim a 34-23 lead.  Nana was the leading scorer at the half as he scored 13 first half points.  He scored 13 of the Lumberjacks last 21 points in the opening half.

Nana's offensive presence carried over to the second half as he had seven straight points to begin the half for SFA.  The bulk of the Lumberjack's second half scoring came from Latrell Jossell and Nana Antwi-Boasiako.

SFA scored 50 second half points to claim an 84-71 win over UTU.  Latrell and Nana combined for 50 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field.  Nana Antwi-Boasiako was named Pilgrim's Player of the Game after scoring a career high 30 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field, 4-for-5 shooting from the three-point line, and 10-for-12 shooting from the charity stripe.  He also added three rebounds, one steal, and one block to his stat line.

Nana's 30-point game was the first thirty-point game by a Lumberjack since Gavin Kensmil on 1/29/22. Kensmil posted 37 points in SFA's 81-77 win over the California Baptist Lancers.

Latrell continued his dominant scoring stretch as he grabbed his fifth twenty-point game of the season.  He finished with 20 points on 2-for-8 shooting from the field and 15-for-15 shooting from the free throw line.

AJ Cajuste finished with a game high in assists (8) for the second time in a row since returning from injury. Cajuste finished his senior night with seven points, eight assists, and four steals.  SFA's other graduating senior, Frank Staine, finished with five points, two assists, and three rebounds.

Stephen F. Austin shot 21-for-48 (43.8%) from the field and 7-for-20 (35.0%) from the three-point line.  SFA's defense forced 17 turnovers on nine steals and held the Trailblazers to a 40.0% field goal percentage.

The Lumberjacks matchup against the Trailblazers was the last regular season game of the year.  SFA has clinched a spot in the Western Athletic Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Stephen F. Austin's opponent and seeding will be determined on Sunday.