‘Jacks Drop Rice inside Tudor

Tuesday, November 11

Houston, Texas

7:00 P.M.

Stephen F. Austin

3-0,0-0Southland

Rice

1-2,0-0American

Team	1	2	F
SFA	36	45	81
Rice	31	38	69

‘Jacks Drop Rice inside Tudor

11/11/2025 10:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Thompson goes for 27, Burton drains five threes as SFA knocks off American foe for third-straight win

HOUSTON, Texas – In their first road test of the season, Stephen F. Austin had all the answers for host Rice inside Tudor Fieldhouse as the 'Jacks trailed for just 22 seconds in the game's first moments before controlling the tempo throughout in an 81-69 victory. The win pushes SFA's record to 3-0 as first-year head coach Matt Braeuer wins on the road in his first career attempt.

SFA responded immediately coming out of the intermission as Keon Thompson followed with a put back to put the lead back to seven. Rice followed with a three-pointer on the other end, but Kam Burton banged a three ball in response.

The 'Jacks utilized a 12-2 run, over 3:30 minutes of play, down near the 15-minute mark that was capped with Lateef Patrick Jr. finishing on a fastbreak from Ahamed Mohammed after Narit Chotikavanic got on the floor for an extra possession as the SFA lead grew to 14.

Moments later, Burton delivered an outlet to Mohammed who dished off to Eltramon Smith Jr. who placed an attempt off glass to prompt a Rice timeout and get the proud Lumberjack faithful on their feet. That sequence was on the backend of a 13-2 SFA run over 5:08 minutes of action.

The opening ten of the second half concluded with a tough finish by Patrick through contact and an extra possession put back by Jerald Colonel. Chotikavanic hit a three and Patrick assisted Christmas on a smooth finish to open the final ten minutes of action.

Both teams experienced 4+ minute scoring droughts down the stretch. Thompson began his closing act with a jumper at the 4:31 mark to bring the lead to a dozen points. Six free throws aided the Owls over the next 75 seconds, but sandwiched in-between was a put back slam by Colonel, his second of the half.

The Owls brought the deficit back under ten points, but Thompson responded with an and-1 effort which stamped a 7:04 field goal drought by Rice. In the final 90 seconds, the 'Jacks broke a continual late second half press, Thompson maneuvered through a double team and delivered to Chotikavanic who triggered home the dagger without hesitation. Burton closed the game out with four free throws over the final 47 seconds.

'Jacks opened the action on an 8-2 run as Burton nailed a triple try from the far corner moments before Patrick split a pair of defenders on a drive to the basket and he converted the and-1 for the six-point advantage through three minutes of play.

Gediminas Alisas corralled an offensive board and delivered an outlet pass to Burton along the near corner and the latter nailed another one to keep the advantage at two possessions, 18-13, just prior to the under-12 stoppage.

With the opening ten closing out, the 'Jacks engineered an impressive sequence with Colonel opening the effort with a steal which led to a three ball from Thompson as the SFA lead moved back to seven at 22-15. The next trip down the floor, Burton, who connected on his first three attempts from range, sank another three and then Thompson conducted a soft finish with the left hand as a defender slipped by to push the advantage to nine near the nine-minute mark.

Following the under-8 media, Burton immediately splashed a three ball from the far corner off an assist from Colonel on a possession gained by a steal from Mohammed. A minute later, Thompson struck again with a step back trifecta from the crown of the key as the lead moved back to eight points and a possession later and with a declining shot clock, Thompson drove inside for a bucket as SFA's advantage reached double figures at the 5:44 mark of the opening twenty.

Rice used a 6-0 run over the half's final 4:22 to tighten the deficit to 36-31, but the 'Jacks used a shot denial by Colonel to keep the lead at two possessions.

The 'Jacks shot 50% from the floor in the first half, including a 7-for-14 effort from beyond-the-arc and played with a lead for 18:42 of the twenty minutes.

POSTGAME NOTES

The 'Jacks shot 49% from the floor, 43% from three-point range and 74% from the stripe
SFA finished with 26 paint points and spread out a dozen assists
SFA led for 38:42 of the game after the Owls scored the game's first points
Thompson delivered his third-straight 20-point performance with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting with a pair of threes to go along with four boards, one steal and a helper
Burton dropped 19 points on an efficient 5-of-6 from deep and the four free throws in the final moments
Patrick finished with 11 points
Colonel led with nine rebounds and Christmas followed with six boards
Christmas and Patrick each delivered three assists and Colonel led with three blocks

ABOUT THE WIN

The Lumberjacks increase their lead in the all-time series with Rice to 13-7
It marks the first time the visiting team has come away with a win in the series since 1952
SFA is off to its first 3-0 start to a season since the 2020-21 season

UP NEXT
SFA is back inside WRJ for a second-straight Friday Night matchup. Abilene Christian comes to town for an 8 p.m. tip-off on November 14. The 'Jacks hold the all-time series lead over the Wildcats at 20-16. SFA has won two straight against ACU and is 3-2 in the previous five meetings which followed a nine-game win streak by the 'Jacks. Live coverage links are available at www.SFAjacks.com.

#AxeEm x #WinTogether

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