Feb. 2, 2008

Box Score

ARLINGTON, Texas - Stephen F. Austin held the top-shooting team in the Southland Conference to one of its worst offensive games of the season Saturday in collecting a 71-49 win over Texas-Arlington on the stage at Texas Hall.

The Lumberjacks got one of their more balanced scoring performances of the season to put an emphatic end to a nine-game regular-season losing streak in Arlington. Entering Saturday's game, SFA had not won at Texas Hall in the regular season since a 65-54 victory in the 1996-97 season. The UTA loss broke an 18-game home win streak for the Mavs.

The win keeps SFA (17-3) in the lead in the SLC West Division with a 5-2 conference mark. The Mavericks drop to 14-6 overall with a 4-4 record in league play following their first home loss of the season. The 49 points are a season-low for UTA, and the Mavericks' 38.3-percent effort from the floor marks their third-worst shooting performance of the year.

Senior guard Gerald Fonzie scored a game-high 14 points on four 3-pointers. He was followed closely by 12 points from sophomore point guard Eric Bell and 11 from junior forward Josh Alexander, who moved into a tie for first place on the SFA record books for career 3-point field goals. Every other Lumberjack regular finished with at least four points.

SFA never trailed in the game and took a 35-25 lead to halftime behind nine second-chance points and a 16-11 edge in rebounding. In the second half, the Lumberjacks turned up the heat defensively, holding the Mavericks to 26.9 percent shooting after halftime. At the other end of the floor, the Lumberjacks knocked down 55.6 percent and steadily pulled away, stretching their lead to as many as 28 points.

The Lumberjacks finished the game shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range, including 4-for-5 by Fonzie and a career-best 3-for-5 from downtown by Bell. Bell dished out a game-high four assists and was also the team's second-best rebounder for the game, finishing with six boards. Alexander hauled in seven - including three on offense - to lead all players.

Juniors Matt Kingsley and Nick Shaw finished with nine and eight points, respectively, and Shaw tied a career high with three assists. Junior Benson Akpan added six points, five rebounds and two blocked shots, and senior Scott Weaver scored five points. Freshmen Eddie Williams and Austin Falke chipped in with four and two points, respectively, and Falke added a blocked shot in the closing minutes.

The Lumberjacks will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 6, when they travel to Corpus Christi, Texas, to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.

-- SFA --