Jacks Survive New Orleans, Take Over First Place Outright in SLC

Saturday, January 17

New Orleans, La.

5:00 P.M.

Stephen F. Austin

15-3,8-1Southland

New Orleans

6-12,4-5Southland

SFA

New Orleans

Photo by: Jordan Segelken

Jacks Survive New Orleans, Take Over First Place Outright in SLC

1/17/2026 8:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Patrick’s season-high 29 points, season-high 21 free throws enough to hold off Privateers on Saturday night

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Junior guard Lateef Patrick delivered a season-high 29 points, Stephen F. Austin matched its season-high in made free throws with 21 and the Jacks committed just five turnovers to survive an upset-minded New Orleans squad 84-79 on Saturday evening inside Lakefront Arena. The win, along with weekend losses by McNeese and Nicholls, moves the Lumberjacks into first place outright in the Southland Conference.

The Jacks (15-3, 8-1 SLC) used an 11-4 run coming out of the halftime break to create some distance from a 41-41 tie after the opening twenty minutes. Four free throws, buckets by Patrick and Chrishawn Christmas, and a triple try from Kam Burton created a 52-45 lead at the 14:47 mark of the second half.

UNO closed the gap to within two points just over two minutes later, but the Jacks built a 14-point advantage down through 3:13 to play. However, the Privateers used three pointers on four-straight possessions with the last three coming from the trigger of Coleton Benson to pull within 80-76 of the lead with just 40 seconds left. Ahamed Mohammed made three of four from the stripe with his second trip putting the Jacks up four, while Jerald Colonel connected on one of two attempts late to push the advantage to two possessions.

Patrick hit the final of four first half three-pointers for Stephen F. Austin, three of which came from the former, on an assist from Keon Thompson with 45 seconds remaining in the first half to tie the contest at 41 as the Lumberjacks erased a ten-point deficit with just over three minutes to play before the intermission.

Patrick's two other first-half trifectas helped rally the Jacks back as Gediminas Alisas assisted on a jumper from range to pull SFA within five and less than a full possession later, Patrick hit another three off a steal to bring the Jacks to a bucket of the lead with less than 90 seconds to play in the half.

Christmas delivered a dozen first-half points on nine attempts and added four rebounds and three assists. Thompson knocked in a pull-up jumper to pull the deficit under ten points and then assisted Christmas on an inside basket to set the stage for Patrick's efforts on the 8-0 run.

Both teams shot it well in the opening twenty minutes with each squad triggering north of 50% from the floor. UNO shot 57% on 30 attempts and was +6 in second-chance points, while the Jacks shot 52% on 11 assists and committed just three turnovers in the frame.

POSTGAME NOTES

The Jacks grabbed 10+ offensive rebounds for the 16^th time this season
SFA attempted 30 free throws knocking in 21 for the second time this season (vs. A&M-Corpus Christi)
SFA committed a season-low five turnovers with just two in the second half
The Jacks collected nine steals for the seventh time this season and for the fourth time in SLC play
The contest featured ten lead changes, but was tied just three times
Patrick's 29 points are the most by a Jack this season
Patrick added six rebounds, picked up three steals and made 7-of-8 from the line
Thompson scored 15 points with seven rebounds and six assists in a team-high 35 minutes
Christmas followed with 14 points, four rebounds, two steals and a block
Colonel led with nine rebounds

UP NEXT
The 'Jacks head to Thibodaux to battle Nicholls State in a key Southland matchup with the league lead on the line. The 8-1 Jacks meet the 7-2 Colonels on Monday, January 19, with tip-off from inside David R. Stopher Gymnasium slated for 6:30 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.SFAjacks.com.

#AxeEm x #WinTogether

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