Stephen F. Austin
Lyon College (Ark.)
10/31/2026 12:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Ten new Lumberjacks blanket deep, experienced roster
Stephen F. Austin vs. Lyon
Monday, November 2Â | 6:30Â P.M. CT
William R. Johnson Coliseum | Nacogdoches, Texas
LISTEN: SFA Jacks App, Varsity App
WATCH: ESPN+Â
THE SERIES: SFA, 2-0
1984-85: SFA, 66-45
2003-04: SFA, 65-53
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Year two of the Matt Braeuer Era of Stephen F. Austin men's basketball begins Monday night as the Lumberjacks welcome in Lyon College for the 2026-27 season opener. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. as the 53rd season of action commences inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. Live coverage links, including the ESPN+ broadcast as well as audio streaming, are available at sfajacks.com.Â
OPENING TIPS
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS: SFA has won nine consecutive season openers, with its last opening-night loss coming at No. 2 Kentucky in 2016–17. The Lumberjacks extended that streak with a 103–76 victory over Millsaps last November. The 103 points represented the program's highest season-opening total since scoring 114 against Howard Payne in 2010–11.
HOME-OPENER DOMINANCE: The Lumberjacks have won 27 consecutive home openers, spanning the 1999–2000 through 2025–26 seasons. SFA last lost its home opener in 1998, falling 67–55 to Texas A&M.Â
PROTECTING HOME COURT: SFA has won eight consecutive home games against non-conference opponents. The stretch began with victories over Monmouth, Youngstown State and Texas Wesleyan in 2024–25 and continued with a 5–0 home non-conference finish last season. The Lumberjacks' most recent home non-conference loss came against Presbyterian on Nov. 21, 2024.
YEAR 53 INSIDE WRJ: SFA is 558–179 mark (.757) from 1974–75 through 2025–26 when playing at home inside WRJ Coliseum. SFA went 15–1 at home last season, marking its 10th season with at least 15 home victories during that span and its fifth since 2012–13. William R. Johnson Coliseum first hosted men's basketball on Nov. 21, 1974, when SFA defeated Midwestern State 86–74.Â
YEAR TWO UNDER BRAEUER
Braeuer guided SFA to a 28–6 record in his first year as a collegiate head coach. The Lumberjacks finished 20–2 in Southland competition, captured the regular-season championship and advanced to the conference tournament championship game. SFA subsequently earned its fourth NIT appearance and its first national postseason berth since the 2022 College Basketball Invitational. The season ended with an 89–84 overtime loss at eventual NIT runner-up Tulsa.
FINAL PRESEASON TUNEUP
SFA closed its preseason preparation with an 88–76 exhibition victory over Sam Houston on October 23 inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. Narit Chotikavanic led four Lumberjacks in double figures with 16 points, connecting on four three-pointers, while MJ Russell and Erik Makke added 15 points apiece and Christian Green finished with 10. Makke also collected seven rebounds and two assists, while Russell contributed seven assists. The Lumberjacks built a 51–37 halftime advantage and led for more than 37 minutes. SFA finished with 11 three-pointers, assisted on 22 of its 31 made field goals and out-rebounded the Bearkats 45–40, including 17 offensive boards. Defensively, the Jacks limited Sam Houston to 34.6 percent shooting overall and a 4-for-20 effort from beyond the arc.
THE STANDARD
SFA finished last season with several national top-50 statistical placements, highlighted by its perimeter defense and ball security. The Lumberjacks ranked 11th nationally and first in the Southland in three-point percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot 29.9 percent and permitting only six made threes per game. Their 9.3 turnovers per game ranked 18th nationally and were the fewest in the conference. SFA also ranked 23rd nationally and first in the SLC in scoring defense, surrendering 66.6 points per game. On the offensive glass, its 12.5 rebounds per game ranked 48th nationally and third in the Southland. SFA also finished with a plus-2.6 turnover margin, generating 404 opponent turnovers. Its defense helped produce a plus-10.0 scoring margin, the second-best figure in the Southland.Â
BEYOND THE ARC PRODUCTION
SFA established a program record with 302 three-pointers last season, surpassing the previous standard of 269 set in 2015–16. Those triples generated 906 points, accounting for 34.8 percent of the Lumberjacks' scoring. That share increased from 27.7 percent in 2024–25, when SFA made 191 three-pointers. Chotikavanic, along with the now departed Kam Burton and Lateef Patrick, combined for 235 makes last season. The Lumberjacks reached double figures in made three-pointers 15 times.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Over 53% of the Jacks' 2026-27 roster hails from the Lone Star State. Pearson and Reed both hail from Lancaster and helped Lancaster High School win the 2024 UIL Class 5A state championship. Simmons represents Beaumont, Melvin comes from Arlington and Green lists San Antonio as his hometown. Chotikavanic is from Plano, Candler from Little Elm and Hupp from Fort Worth. That Texas contingent includes three of the five returners and five of the 10 newcomers. Beyond its eight Texas natives, SFA's roster features players from five other states and two European countries. Marcus Scurry hails from Augusta, Georgia, Courterius Scott comes from Jackson, Mississippi, and MJ Russell is from Coker, Alabama. Edwin Daniel represents Washington Heights, New York, while Manu Manciel is a Detroit, Michigan, native. Gediminas Alisas, from Vilnius, Lithuania, and Erik Makke, from Keila, Estonia, provide the roster's international representation.Â
Of the ten new faces, six bring previous Division I experience: Pearson from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Ashton Simmons from TCU, Russell from ULM, Easton Hupp from Charleston Southern, Daniel from La Salle and Reed from UT Arlington. Scott arrives from Southwest Mississippi Community College. Kensington Candler and Manu Manciel join from Little Elm High School and Wasatch Academy, respectively, while Erik Makke arrives after competing with BC Kalev/Cramo in Estonia.Â
THE NAR"IT" FACTOR
Narit Chotikavanic returns after averaging 9.6 points and leading SFA with 87 three-pointers last season. His three-point total ranks third in program single-season history, trailing Demetrious Floyd's 100 in 2015–16 and Josh Alexander's 94 in 2007–08. Chotikavanic finished third among qualifying Southland players in three-point percentage at 39.4 percent. He also ranked third in the league in total three-pointers and made threes per game, averaging 2.56. The junior guard appeared in all 34 games and enters the season as SFA's leading returning scorer.Â
ALISAS AIMS TO BUILD OFF STRONG FINISH
Gediminas Alisas begins his second season at SFA after appearing in all 34 games during the championship campaign. The junior forward averaged 4.9 points and shot 63.2 percent from the floor. His strongest scoring performance came in the NIT at Tulsa, where he finished with 14 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting night. Alisas recorded four double-figure scoring games and collected 83 rebounds during his first season in Nacogdoches. Before arriving at SFA, he averaged 17.5 points and 8.9 rebounds at Western Wyoming Community College, producing 17 double-doubles.
GREEN'S NEXT CHAPTER
Christian Green enters his senior season with experience in both SFA's system and associate head coach Jimmy Smith's program at Trinity University. Green appeared in 28 games for the Lumberjacks last season, shooting 54.2 percent while collecting 37 rebounds. Before coming to Nacogdoches, he averaged 16.4 points and 7.6 rebounds for Smith at Trinity in 2024–25. He helped the Tigers win consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season championships and make consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. Green's résumé includes SCAC Freshman of the Year honors and first- and second-team all-conference recognition.
SCORING EXPERIENCE ARRIVES
Courterius Scott leads SFA's newcomers with a career average of 17.7 points per game. Scott scored 1,042 points in 59 appearances at Copiah-Lincoln and Southwest Mississippi, including an 18.9-point average during his first-team All-MACCC campaign last season. MJ Russell follows at 10.0 career points per game, totaling 532 points in 53 appearances at Mississippi State and ULM. Russell averaged 15.3 points last season while starting all 32 games for the Warhawks. Edwin Daniel ranks third among the college newcomers at 6.7 career points per game, scoring 669 points across 100 appearances at Hutchinson, Connors State and La Salle.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE, IMMEDIATE OPPORTUNITY
Freshman guard Erik Makke arrives in Nacogdoches with experience competing in Italy, Estonia and across Europe. Last season with BC Kalev/Cramo, the Keila, Estonia, native averaged 10.3 points, 3.0 assists and 2.1 rebounds across 32 Estonian-Latvian Basketball League games. He shot 40.5 percent from three-point range, made 53 triples and helped his club reach the Estonian championship series. Makke also averaged 8.0 points while shooting 44.4 percent from beyond the arc in five FIBA Europe Cup appearances. Representing Estonia at the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B, he averaged 15.5 points and 3.8 assists, including a 34-point performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina. A 2022 Basketball Without Borders Europe All-Star selection, Makke brings an established combination of perimeter shooting and playmaking to SFA's backcourt.
PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE
Senior forward Edwin Daniel brings three seasons of collegiate experience to SFA, with career totals of 669 points, 654 rebounds and 220 blocked shots in 100 games. He began at Hutchinson in 2023–24, averaging 2.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while helping the Blue Dragons reach the NJCAA national quarterfinals. Daniel emerged at Connors State the following season, averaging 12.7 points, a national-leading 12.6 rebounds and a national-leading 3.9 blocks, earning NJCAA Third Team All-America recognition. He helped the Cowboys reach the national championship game and averaged 15.2 points, 14.8 rebounds and 5.8 blocks across five tournament appearances. Last season at La Salle, Daniel averaged 3.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 31 games, finishing among the Atlantic 10's top 10 in blocks per game. The Washington Heights, New York, native also represented the Dominican Republic internationally, earning 2021 Centrobasket U17 All-Tournament honors and tying a tournament record with seven blocks against Brazil at the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship.Â
EARLY TESTS BEFORE TITLE DEFENSE
SFA begins with home games against Lyon and Texas Lutheran before visiting Abilene Christian on Nov. 11. Rice comes to Nacogdoches on Nov. 14 before the Lumberjacks travel to St. Thomas for the Paradise Jam. SFA opens the tournament against Indiana State on Nov. 20, with Temple or Middle Tennessee awaiting in its second matchup. December brings road tests at SMU and Louisiana Tech, along with a home game against UT Arlington. Those contests surround the Dec. 5 Southland opener against East Texas A&M.Â
DEFENDING THE CROWN
SFA enters the season as the defending Southland regular-season champion after becoming the first program in conference history to win 20 league games in a season. The championship was the Lumberjacks' sixth Southland regular-season title and their first since 2019–20. SFA won 20 of its 22 conference contests and reached the Southland Tournament championship game. The title defense begins Dec. 5 against East Texas A&M in Nacogdoches.Â
TABBED SECOND IN THE 'LAND
The Lumberjacks received 109 points to finish second in the Southland preseason poll. Defending tournament champion McNeese topped the voting with 121 points and 11 first-place selections. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi followed SFA in third with 98 points and the remaining first-place vote. Lamar and UTRGV rounded out the top five.Â
SCOUTING THE SCOTS
Lyon College is located in Batesville, Arkansas, and competes in NCAA Division III as a member of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Scots enter the season under head coach Thomas Orr and were selected fourth in the SLIAC preseason poll with 38 points. Lyon finished 18–9 overall and 11–5 in conference competition last season, averaging 75.8 points while allowing 67.7. Senior point guard Camron Williford returns after averaging 8.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 22 appearances. The roster also includes senior Karlin Hardy, previously at Northwestern State, junior Dre'Yon Quattlebaum from Dallas College–North Lake and sophomore forward Jeremy Taylor Jr. from Cedar Valley College.
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.
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