Jacks Stumble in Coliseum Finale, See Streak Snapped by UNO

Monday, February 23

Nacogdoches, Texas

6:30 P.M.

Stephen F. Austin

25-4,18-2Southland

New Orleans

14-15,12-8Southland

New Orleans

SFA

Photo by: Elysa Ripley

Jacks Stumble in Coliseum Finale, See Streak Snapped by UNO

2/23/2026 9:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Late rally comes up short as Privateers use fast start, stripe success to hand SFA first home loss

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin suffered its first home loss of the season in its final home game on the 2026 regular season schedule on Monday night as the Jacks got off to a slow start, rallied late, but ultimately came up short as New Orleans put the game on ice at the stripe to earn a 77-73 win inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. It is just the fourth loss of the season for the Jacks who hold a one-game lead in the Southland Conference standings with two games remaining.

The Jacks put together a potential game-changing four minutes out of the halftime break through the 15:50 mark. An and-1 from Lateef Patrick and a steal by Jerald Colonel led to an assist from Patrick to the former who finished with a fastbreak slam to prompt a UNO timeout 75 seconds post intermission as the Jacks pulled within 31-28 of the Privateers' lead.

SFA made just one of its eight three-point attempts in the first half but sank a pair of key threes in the final twenty minutes. Kam Burton drained his only make of the night on an assist from Keon Thompson, Colonel finished off glass after Ahamed Mohammed started a fast break that saw the Jacks pull within 36-35 and then Mohammed used a pair of free throws for the Jacks' first advantage of the night, 37-36, at the 16:10 mark of the second half.

The Privateers held all the answers on Monday night. UNO built its lead to the largest of the night at 13 points 60-47 aided by the Jacks who went over 6:30 without a field goal into the under-8 stoppage. Within that FG drought, the Jacks managed to convert from the stripe as Patrick made all three of his attempts after being fouled beyond-the-arc and Narit Chotikavanic made two to pull the Jacks within ten at 62-52. Thompson then went up top to Colonel to pull SFA to within eight points.

Colonel delivered three massive blocks down the stretch to keep the Jacks alive. His first resulted in a fastbreak trifecta from Patrick, his second led to a drive by Thompson who scored off the square and his third resulted in a wide-open dunk that pulled the Jacks within a bucket with 99 seconds left. That was part of a 6-0 run over 1:16 of play, but the Privateers, the league's top team from the line, made all eight free throw attempts in that span.

New Orleans took advantage of a sluggish SFA start to build a 12-4 lead at the under-16 media timeout as the Jacks suffered through a near four-minute scoring drought. Patrick accounted for four of SFA's six points at the under-12 stoppage as the Jacks found slight success in the midrange game.

The Privateers led 14-6 at the second planned timeout behind a 50% shooting clip and a +5 effort on the glass. SFA turned to its bench to pull within five as Gediminas Alisas finished a goaltending and-1 and Marcus Scurry pulled up just inside the near wing to bring the Jacks within two possessions at the 8:07 mark.

UNO responded with building the visitor's largest lead of the first half at a dozen points, 29-17, with 4:43 to play before the intermission.

Late in the half, the Jacks engineered a defensive stop, Thompson followed with a mid-range bucket, and Patrick sandwiched a pair of contacted drives to the bucket with a block by Jerald Colonel as the host picked up the pace in the closing moments of the half.

POSTGAME NOTES

The Jacks finish 15-1 at home; the first season with 15 home victories since 2019-20
The loss snaps SFA's 14-game winning streak and its eight-game winning streak against UNO
SFA shot 3-for-17 from three-point range with two makes coming in the second half; the third game of three or fewer makes from range this season
SFA committed just five turnovers, the fewest this season, and turned the Privateers over 15 times
The Jacks posted a season-best 83% (20-of-24) shooting from the stripe, but the Privateers went 21-of-24 including an 8-of-8 effort in the final 1:30 of play
The second half featured four lead changes and three tied scores and SFA led for just 37 seconds
Thompson and Patrick each finished with 19 points with 13 of Thompson's coming in the second half and Patrick making all six FT attempts in the final twenty
Colonel produced a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds and added four blocks, three assists and two steals

UP NEXT
The Jacks stare down the last week of the regular season with a Saturday-Monday road swing that takes the squad to Houston and San Antonio. SFA tips off against Houston Christian (3:30 p.m.) on Saturday and closes out the '26 slate at Incarnate Word (6:30 p.m.) on Monday. Live coverage links are available at www.SFAjacks.com.

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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