Stephen F. Austin
Nicholls
League-leading Jacks Take on Nicholls in Thibodaux
1/18/2026 6:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SFA puts three-game winning streak on the line against second-place Colonels
• LAST TIME OUT: Junior guard Lateef Patrick delivered a season-high 29 points, SFA 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 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.
• SCOUTING THE COLONELS: Nicholls averages 76.1 ppg with a tight -1.0 scoring margin. The Colonels lead the SLC in three-pointers made per game at 9.7 behind the league's second-most attempts (26.9) and third-highest average (36.1%). NSU carries the second-best turnover average at 15.78. The Colonels employ the league's leader in shooting percentage in Jalik Dunkley's 57.9% clip, a top 45 mark nationally. Dunkley is one of three players average double figures in scoring at 13.7 ppg, less than a point behind Jaylen Searles' 14.3 ppg which is triggered in behind top five league marks in three-pointers per game (2.47) and total three-pointers made (42). Trae English and Sincere Malone are tied for the league lead in steals with 36 each with Malone (2.12) and English (2.00) ranking first and second resepctively in steals average.
• UNCHARTED WATERS: SFA's efforts in taking UIW to the deep end beyond-the-arc resulted in just the third time this season that a team failed to make a three against a DI foe. Per CBB Reference and most notably spread by @trillydonovan on X, it's the 10th time SFA has held a team without a three-point make since the 2007 season - tied with Princeton for the most by any team in that span.
• THE FIRST TIME SINCE: SFA's seven-game win streak prior to the McNeese lost was the squad's longest since the 2022-23 season which came behind the Jacks' first five-straight win streak to open SLC play since 2020-21.
• A HELPING HAND: The 'Jacks have recorded double-digit assists in 15 of 18 games and have committed 10 or fewer turnovers 12 times. The Jacks are coming off a win in which the squad committed a season-low five turnovers at UNO. SFA's assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.54 ranks second in the SLC and the Jacks protect possessions as good as any team in the country with an SLC-leading effort of 9.5 turnovers per game: a top 15 mark in Division I basketball.
• 1KEON: On the road against Southeastern Louisiana (Jan. 3), senior guard Keon Thompson, a selection to the Lou Henson National Mid-Major Player of the Year Midseason Watch List, reached a career scoring milestone with 1,000 career points. The Indiana native scored 452 points over two seasons (60 games) at UMass and has delivered 611 points in 41 games dating back to the start of last season. Thompson ranks fourth in the SLC in total points (301) and scoring average (16.7).
• WINDEX WARRIORS: Matt Braeuer's year one squad has developed into the best glass-cleaning unit in the SLC and is among the nation's top 50 in rebounding. The Jacks lead the league in rebounds per game (40.17), offensive rebounds (13.94), defensive rebounds (26.22) and rebound margin (+6.5). The 'Jacks have grabbed 40+ rebounds in a game 10 times with 50+ against a pair of non-D1 foes. Jerald Colonel ranks third league-wide in rebounding at 7.6 with an SLC-best 3.11 offensive boards per night with Chrishawn Christmas ranking third at 2.78.
• BLOCK PARTY: Reigning SLC DPOTY and first-year Jack Jerald Colonel carried his shot-swatting abilities across state lines from Natchitoches as the Georgia native leads the SLC in total blocks (50) and blocks per game (2.78). His total denial clip is seventh nationally, while his per game blocking efforts rate fifth among DI players. Colonel's 50 blocked shots are the third-most in a single campaign in program history and he is a dozen back from taking over second on the single-season list.
• THE NAR"IT" FACTOR: First-year Jack Narit Chotikavanic, the Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year a season ago, has been lights out from range. The Plano, Texas native leads the SLC in 3pt% at 41.7%; a mark that ranks 30th among DI trigger men. He rates inside the DI top 50 in 3pt makes per game (2.94) and total 3pt makes (53) both of which rank third in the SLC.
• PERIMETER PROTECTION: While Lateef Patrick Jr. (40 made 3s) and Kam Burton (36 made 3s) both join Chotikavanic inside the league's top 12 in total made three-pointers on one end of the floor, the Jacks are clamped on the defensive perimeter. SFA rates inside the top 10 nationally in 3pt% defense at 28.4% which ranks 10th overall.
• ALL ABOUT POINTS: The Jacks enter the weekend with the league's best scoring defense holding opponents to 64.8 ppg which rates 14th nationally. SFA's scoring margin sits at +13.2, the second-highest in the SLC, behind the league's second-best scoring offense at 78.0 ppg which currently stands as the highest scoring average for the program since 2020-21.
• KEN POM + NET RANK: Through games played through January 17, the Jacks rank 103rd in the KenPom.com ratings and are inside the Division I Top 100 in NCAA NET rankings at No. 93. Both of those inclusions are currently the second-highest nods for a Southland program as the Jacks trail McNeese (No. 73 KP, No. 60 NET). Of the advanced metrics, the Jacks hold a No. 73 rating in adjusted defensive efficiency.
• INSIDER TRENDING: After receiving votes for seven weeks to start the 2025-26 season, SFA has broken into the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll debuting at No. 23 nationally. The Lumberjacks totaled 74 points to move into the ranked portion of the poll. The Jacks' lone ranked opponent in the poll is fellow SLC foe McNeese at No. 18. The Cowboys rallied to beat the Lumberjacks 66-64 to hand SFA its first league loss, while keeping a lengthy home winning streak intact. SFA suffered a road loss to UTA which received two votes in the latest poll, and owns a convincing 25-point win over Arkansas State, ranked No. 32 in the extended version of the poll following 15 received votes.
• JOEY BRACKETS: The latest Bracketology release from March Madness guru Joe Lunardi projects the Lumberjacks, who have five NCAA Tournament appearances in program history, as the No. 14 seed in Houston's South Region with an opening round matchup against No. 3 BYU. The Jacks along with McNeese's projected No. 11 seed in San Jose's West Region makes the Southland one of nine projected multi-bid leagues.
• SAWMILL SUCCESSES: You can't beat the comfort of your own home and for SFA they have yet to be beaten when in the comfort of theirs. The Jacks are 9-0 at home inside William R. Johnson Coliseum this season dispatching opponents by an average of 20 points. The streak is the longest in Nacogdoches since the 2020-21 season.
• DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRACKERChrishawn Christmas vs. UTRGV (12/3/25) – 11 pts, 10 reb
Keon Thompson vs. Abilene Christian (11/14/25) – 15 pts, 12 reb
• LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD: The 'Jacks scored 193 points through the first two games of the season marking the most through two contests to start a campaign since the 2010-11 season. The 'Jacks eclipsed 80+ points in each of the first three games of the season for the first time since 2020-21. SFA has crossed over the century mark in scoring twice this season (103 vs. Millsaps, Dallas) marking the first season with multiple 100+ scoring outputs since the 2020-21 campaign
• SEASON-OPENER SUCCESS: The 'Jacks have now won nine straight season openers since their last season-opening loss at #2 Kentucky to tip off the 2016-17 season. The win, in the first meeting all-time with Millsaps, pushed the Lumberjacks' win streak in home openers to 27 games. SFA's 103 points are the most in a season opener since dropping 114 on Howard Payne to begin the 2010-11 campaign
• NEW 'JACKS ON THE BLOCK: Eleven Lumberjacks made their SFA debuts in the season-opening win against Millsaps. Patrick scored 18 points, all from beyond-the-arc, in his first action for SFA and Jerald Colonel followed with 13 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, one assist and a steal. Of the 11 new 'Jacks that saw the court, Marcus Scurry and Bryceson Melvin made their collegiate debuts. Scurry dropped 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting with two made threes in 21 minutes of work to go along with an assist.Melvin saw nine minutes of action and delivered his first career bucket in addition to grabbing four rebounds
• BRAEUER GETS HIS FIRST: First-year head coach Matt Braeuer earned his first career win against Millsaps, knocked off Arkansas State for his first win over a Division I opponent and then the 'Jacks handled Rice for Braeuer's first road win.
• 99 SEASONS FAST FACTS:
*70 seasons with an overall record north of .500
*31 seasons of 20 or more wins
*5 NCAA Tournament appearances
*2 seasons of 30 or more wins
• AXES SHARPENED IN PINEY WOODS BATTLE: An exhibition edition of the hardwood version of the Battle of the Piney Woods took place in Houston on October 25 and it was the Lumberjacks that outlasted their Conference USA opposition in overtime beating longtime foe Sam Houston State 105-100 in the extra period. SFA shot over 51% from the floor, withstood a 59-point second-half effort by the Bearkats who erased a 15-point deficit at the intermission and used a 43-point outburst, including a perfect 19-of-19 from the stripe, by Thompson to claim the unofficial victory in a series that was first contested in 1925.
• SLC VIRTUAL MEDIA DAY: Head coach Matt Braeuer and senior guard Keon Thompson joined the Field of 68 on October 27 as part of the SLC's Virtual Media Day. The interview is available on-demand here.
• CUE THE MUSIC: CBS Sports announced a slate of five Southland Conference men's basketball matchups that will be featured on the network this coming season and among the showcased contests is a January 26 matchup between the 'Jacks and cross-border rival Northwestern State inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
• SEASON THEMES & PROMOTIONS: A dozen dynamic nights designed for fan engagement and to pack out WRJ with Lumberjack spirit are on tap during the 2025-26 season. From classic promotions like "Cram the Coliseum" and "Purple Out" to new favorites such as "Dance Hall Night" and "Social Media Night," this season's lineup promises a high-energy experience for fans of all ages. For a full list of game themes and promotions, visit here.
• SECURE YOUR SEATS TODAY: Single game tickets and five-game flex plans for the remaining seven SFA men's basketball home matchups are available for purchase now. Fans interested in purchasing season ticket packages can secure their seats here. Don't miss out on all the exciting action inside William R. Johnson Coliseum this season!
• THE 'JACKS HAVE GONE MOBILE: SFA Athletics' newest mobile phone application is designed to bring Lumberjack fans closer to the action than ever before. Available now on both the App Store and Google Play, the new SFA Athletics app delivers schedules, scores, rosters, news, ticket access, and exclusive content right to your phone. Fans can also receive push notifications, so they never miss a moment of the action. Download now: Official SFA Athletics App.
FOLLOW THE LUMBERJACKS
For all the latest information on SFA men's basketball, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Lumberjacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.
