Jacks Bounce Cowboys in Southland Thriller

Monday, February 2

Nacogdoches, Texas

6:30 P.M.

Stephen F. Austin

20-3,13-1Southland

McNeese State

18-5,11-3Southland

Team	1	2	F
McNeese	19	41	60
SFA	31	36	67

Photo by: Jordan Segelken

Jacks Bounce Cowboys in Southland Thriller

2/2/2026 10:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Thompson delivers 21 points, Sawmill rallies behind Jacks late as winning streaks continue

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Monday night's Southland Conference matchup featuring two of mid-major hoops' top teams lived up to its billing as #16 Stephen F. Austin bounced #15 McNeese 67-60 in front of 5,600+ of East Texas finest fans. The victory improves SFA's home-winning streak to twelve games and its overall win streak to eight games, while the Jacks move two games up on the Cowboys in the SLC standings.

A raucous Sawmill rallied behind the Jacks late as the visitors from Lake Charles took a pair of leads with the second standing as a 59-58 advantage with 3:47 to play. On the following SFA possession, Lateef Patrick saw a floater fall and connected on the and-1 stripe opportunity to put the Jacks up 61-59.

Keon Thompson, who finished with a game-high 21 points, connected twice from the line which preceded Patrick, who with 65 seconds remaining and with a defender draped on him, knocked down a step back jumper from near the right elbow to increase SFA's lead to six with 1:04 remaining. Moments later, the final nail was delivered by Chrishawn Christmas who emphatically blocked Larry Johnson's shot attempt on a drive to the basket in an effort to cut the contest to four.

Early second half action saw the Cowboys use an 11-2 run out of the halftime break to pull within 33-30 of the SFA lead as the Jacks' only bucket through the under-16 media was a turnaround paint bucket from Thompson that kept the host in front. Twice throughout the middle portion of the second half, the Jacks connected on three-pointers with a declining shot clock as Ahamed Mohammed hit one from the near corner off an assist from Gediminas Alisas for a 36-30 lead with 14:42 remaining.

The Cowboys manufactured a 16-8 run to start the second half, but the next SFA possession following Mohammed's three saw Narit Chotikavanic connect on a triple try of his own and following two Thompson free throws, the latter bucketed a three ball with an expiring shot clock for a 44-35 lead with under 11 minutes to play.

McNeese matched the Jacks at 52, led 54-53 and 57-56, before Alisas took three dribbles along the baseline and delivered off glass for a tough bucket and a 58-57 lead that the Jacks would not relinquish.

After both sides traded multiple free throws early on, Kam Burton triggered in a pair of threes to push the Jacks out front 10-4 and cue a McNeese timeout and the under-16 media. That pair of trifectas was half of the first-half total netted by Burton who sank another three, on an assist from Thompson who drove inside and drew the attention of an additional two defenders to give Burton a clear look at the bucket and a 20-12 SFA lead.

An offensive rebound corralled by Jerald Colonel resulted in an outlet to Burton at the top of the key and the triggerman hammered a triple try from near Amarillo on the halfcourt outline of the Lone Star State. That fourth three from Burton gave the Jacks a 23-12 lead with just over seven minutes before the break.

Not lost in the first half was the driving ability of Thompson who got a trio of tough drives to the cup to go over the final five minutes of the half. His first in that stretch was the closing bucket of an 8-0 run over 3:49 of play, a stretch that also saw the Cowboys go scoreless.

SFA held McNeese to a 24% shooting effort from the floor in the opening twenty and defended the perimeter well allowing just a single make from range in 11 Cowboy attempts. SFA went +6 in turnovers in the first half forcing 11 as well as posting a +6 margin in rebounding.

POSTGAME NOTES

SFA moves two games up on McNeese in the SLC standings, and earns the regular season series split, with eight to play
The Jacks improve to 12-0 at home which stands as the longest home winning streak to open a campaign since the 2017-18 season
SFA improves its overall winning streak to eight games: the longest since 2021-22
The Jacks have won 13 league games for the first time since 2021-22 as well as reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the aforementioned season
The Jacks held McNeese to its lowest first-half point total (19) since December 21, 2022 when the Cowboys scored 19 first-half points at No. 3 Houston
Thompson made eight free throws, the most by a Jack in a game this season, as SFA connected on 16 free throws marking the ninth game this season with 15+
It marked the third time this season (10+ attempts) that the Jacks netted 80% at the stripe
SFA's nine steals marked the eighth time this season with 9+ thefts
Thompson recorded his 10^th 20-point game of the season and his fourth in the last five games to go along with seven rebounds and three assists
Burton followed with a dozen points, off four big first-half threes, while Patrick added 11 points
Christmas recorded ten rebounds with a steal and a block
Colonel chipped in with six rebounds, two assists and two blocks
Mohammed and Chotikavanic each hit a pair of three pointers

UP NEXT
The 'Jacks are back in action on Saturday night as the homestand rolls on. SFA welcomes Lamar into the Sawmill for the second matchup of the season. The Jacks knocked off the Cardinals 88-81 in Beaumont on January 24. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. from inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. Live coverage links are available at www.SFAjacks.com.

#AxeEm x #WinTogether

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