Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston
10/22/2026 6:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Despite Friday's meeting not counting toward the all-time series, it's importance as the final tune-up before year two of the Braeuer Era can't be understated
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – A dawning of a new season begins with a familiar rival Friday night when Stephen F. Austin welcomes Sam Houston to William R. Johnson Coliseum for a Battle of the Piney Woods exhibition. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m., opening Homecoming weekend with a matchup rooted in more than a century of basketball history.
This year's Lumberjacks blend five returners with seven transfers and three players beginning their collegiate careers. SFA enters the fall picked second in the Southland Conference preseason poll after a 28-6 season that included a regular-season conference championship and an NIT appearance. Friday's exhibition is the final tune-up for the Jacks before the November 2 regular-season opener against Lyon College, but is the first of four opportunities for Jacks fans to catch the '26-27 squad over the next three weeks.Â
Sam Houston's roster features five returners, highlighted by guards Justin Begg and Jacobe Coleman who received All-Conference USA preseason honors, with six transfers and four freshmen. The Bearkats were picked fourth in the league's preseason poll after a 22-12 season that included a second-place conference finish and an NIT appearance. SHSU opens the regualr season on November 3 at Alabama before home tilts against Howard Payne and Pepperdine.
The Jacks won the unofficial matchup last fall in Houston, delivering an early introduction to Matt Braeuer's first Lumberjack squad by chopping down SHSU in overtime after a late Bearkats' rally in intermission forced the extra session. Keon Thompson dropped 40.Â
While Friday's matchup won't officially count in the all-time series history, the two long-time rivals have played in many that have. SFA leads the all-time series against the Bearkats 108-91 in a series that was first contested in 1925. The two programs last met on the hardwood in a countable contest during the 2022-23 campaign when the Bearkats earned a five-point overtime win on March 1.Â
More than a century of basketball between SFA and Sam Houston has produced a plethora of unforgettable moments, from buzzer-beating finishes to championship showdowns. In fact, the two sides met in conference title games six times once the series resumed following WWII. Here are just a few of the rivalry's most memorable matchups.
@Sam Houston 98, SFA 95 OT | January 29, 1972
>>> THE BASKET THAT DIDN'T COUNT. SFA's 1972 Stone Fort yearbook describes an extraordinary finish to regulation: with the score tied at 81, the Lumberjacks held for a final shot. Skip Carleton missed a long jumper, and Andria Brown caught the rebound and put it through in one motion. After conferring, officials ruled that the buzzer sounded before Brown released the ball. Sam Houston subsequently won in overtime. The loss interrupted a 16-game SFA winning streak.Â
SFA 83, @Sam Houston 82 | January 26, 1970Â
>>> JACKS ESCAPE, SEAL HISTORIC REGULAR SEASON. Two years earlier, SFA survived its rival on the road during its nationally acclaimed 24–0 regular season.Â
Sam Houston 83, @SFA 68 | January 27, 1973Â
>>> SHOWDOWN IN SHELTON. An 18–1 Lumberjack team met a 16–0 Bearkat team, with national media attention and a packed gym. James Lister and Sam Houston controlled the rebounding battle and handed SFA a consequential home defeat. The Sam Houston victory ended SFA's 32-game home winning streak.Â
@Sam Houston 53, SFA 50 |Â February 22, 1982
>>> FIRST POSTWAR TITLE MATCHUP. Sam Houston edged SFA 53–50 in Huntsville. Led by tournament MVP Anthony Carroll, the Bearkats captured their second consecutive Lone Star Conference tournament title. SFA's Dan Ostrander and Hiram Harrison earned all-tournament honors, and the Lumberjacks would reverse the championship result against Sam the following season.Â
@Sam Houston 69, SFA 66 OT | March 14, 2003
>>> NCAA BERTH AT THE BUZZER. Donald Cole's overtime three-pointer delivered Sam Houston's first NCAA tournament appearance against its biggest rival on national television.Â
@SFA 85, Sam Houston 53 | March 8, 2004Â
>>> POSTSEASON PLAYBACK AFTER '03 TITLE GAME. SFA eliminated Sam in the Southland quarterfinals, completed a three-game season sweep, and extended its home winning streak to 30, then the nation's longest active streak. Dedrick Sanders had 17 points and eight rebounds.Â
SFA 73, @Sam Houston 72 | March 4, 2006Â
>>> ALEXANDER'S RESCUE SHOT. After Sam Houston erased a 14-point deficit with 16 unanswered points, Josh Alexander hit the winning three with 10 seconds remaining. SFA spoiled the Bearkats' Senior Day and earned a home tournament opener.
@SFA 64, Sam Houston 55 | March 7, 2015Â
>>> TITLE CLINCHER IN FRONT OF A PACKED OUT WRJ. A reported William R. Johnson Coliseum-record 7,328 fans watched SFA secure the outright Southland regular-season championship and its third consecutive regular-season title. Thomas Walkup's 19 points and 11 rebounds helped deny Sam Houston a share of the title. The game was tied at 44 with just under eight minutes remaining before SFA prevailed down the stretch.
SFA 83, Sam Houston 70 | Katy, Texas | March 14, 2015
>>> WALKUP AGAIN AS JACKS CLAIM NCAA BID. One week later, the rivals met again with an NCAA Tournament berth on the line. Walkup finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, earning his second consecutive Southland tournament MVP award. A long banked three-pointer by Tanner Clayton at the intermission horn and Walkup's late breakaway dunk served as defining moments that helped seal the championship. The victory gave SFA consecutive NCAA tournament berths and its 11th straight win over Sam Houston.
Have a personal story from a game above or one that's not mentioned? Please feel free to share with SFA Assistant AD for Communications Jacob Pumphrey at jacob.pumphrey@sfasu.edu.Â
MEET THE JACKS
Lumberjack fans are invited to get the 2026-27 season started at Basketball Meet the Jacks on October 27 at 6 p.m. inside the William R. Johnson Coliseum. Admission is free and open to the public.Â
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
Season and single-game tickets are available now! Men's basketball season tickets are only $149 and include admission to 16 home games—less than $10 per game. Single-game tickets are available beginning at just $10. For ticket information or assistance purchasing, contact the SFA Athletics Ticket Office at 936-468-5225 or tickets@sfasu.edu.
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.
#AxeEm x #WinTogether
