Stephen F. Austin

Jan. 9, 2013

Game Notes In PDF Format

SFA (12-1, 3-0 SLC) at Central Arkansas (5-7, 0-2 SLC)
Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 • 7:30 p.m. (CT)
Farris Center (5,500) • Conway, Ark.
Radio: Q107.7 FM • TV: None • Live Stats: www.UCASports.com

STORY LINES
• The Lumberjacks will make their first road swing of the conference season this weekend with their first test coming at Central Arkansas on Thursday, one of the top scoring teams in the league.

The Last Meeting

SFA	67
Central Arkansas	56

January 11, 2012
Conway, Ark.

`Jacks Stay Unbeaten In SLC With Win Over Bears Jonathan King had a career-high 19 points and eight rebounds and the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks picked up their fourth straight win with a 67-56 victory over Central Arkansas on Wednesday at the Farris Center.

Recap | Box Score

• SFA’s win over McNeese State put head coach Danny Kaspar at a milestone with his 450th career win just one victory. He has accumulated 231 of his wins at SFA and his 450 career victories rank second among Southland Conference coaches only to Northwestern State’s Mike McConathy.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• SFA got its third double-double from Taylor Smith in four games and used a 14-2 run late in the game to break things open on its way to a convincing 71-43 win over McNeese State on Saturday at William R. Johnson Coliseum in what served as head coach Danny Kaspar’s 450th career win. SFA (12-1, 3-0 SLC), who won its seventh straight game of the year, put four players in double figures, led by 15 apiece from both Smith and Antonio Bostic. In all the `Jacks shot 55.1 percent from the floor on the night, but also held the Cowboys (6-6, 0-2 SLC) to just 31.9 percent shooting, including just 1-for-11 from behind the arc. Jacob Parker had 14 points, and Thomas Walkup had 11 to give SFA consecutive games with a reserve in double figures for the first time this year. 

UP NEXT
• The ‘Jacks continue its tough weekend road swing when it travels to league-favorite Oral Roberts in what will be the first meeting between the teams since ORU joined the Southland Conference. SFA’s game vs the Golden Eagles on Saturday in Tulsa will be broadcast on Fox College Sports.

QUICK HITS
• The Lumberjacks will be looking to extend their streak of 45 consecutive games of holding opponents under 70 points. SFA went all of 2011-12 without allowing 70 points to an opponent and has done so in the first nine games of this season

• Stephen F. Austin and Wisconsin are the only two programs in the nation to be ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense each of the last five seasons.

• SFA’s win over McNeese State was Danny Kaspar’s 450th of his career.

• SFA played exactly 30 games in the 2012 calendar year, going 24-6 in those games.

• The Lumberjacks enter Thursday's game averaging just 48.5 points allowed per game, making them the only squad in the country not to average 50 points allowed per game.

Series Notes
SFA has won all eight meetings wtih the Bears since UCA joined the Southland for the 2007-08 season, doing so by an average of 12.7 points per game. The ‘Jacks have traveled to Conway four times, winning those games by an average of 9.8 points per game.

SITTIN’ ON 20: The ‘Jacks have six 20-win campaigns since becoming a Division I program in 1988. All six of those 20-win seasons have come under Danny Kaspar.

SUB-SEVENTY: SFA held each of its 32 opponents under 70 points in 2011-12, and has done the same in each of its first 10 games of 2012-13 to extend its school-record streak of sub-70 defensive performances to 45. The last team to score 70 on the ‘Jacks was Northwestern State, when they did so in a 70-65 win over SFA in 2010-11 in Natchitoches, La.

SMITH DOUBLES UP: Senior post Taylor Smith scored his third double-double in four games with 15 points and tying a career high with 14 rebounds in SFA’s win over McNees State. Just two games prior he put up 25 points and 14 rebounds at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a game which helped him win his second consecutive Southland Conference Player of the Week honor. Currently he leads the Southland in both field-goal percentage (.669) and blocks per game (2.5 bpg), while ranking in the top five in scoring (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg).

CARDINAL RULE: SFA had no issues with downing Lamar on Thursday, blasting the Cardinals by 36 points in a 79-43 win. What was more impressive was the fact that the the 36-point margin of victory was SFA’s largest margin of victory in a conference game since SFA joined the Southland Conference for the 1987-88 season.

OKLHAOMA BREAKDOWN: SFA’s win at Oklahoma snapped a 36-game home win streak over non-conference opponents for the Sooners. Oddly enough, the last win at the Lloyd Noble Center by a Sooner non-conference opponent was in 2007 when the ‘Jacks escaped Norman with a 66-62 win.

DEFENDING THE ARC: A year ago after 12 games the ‘Jacks were just 5-7 and allowing opponents to hit 35.7 percent of their shots from behind the arc, a mark which was near the bottom of the SLC. This season things have been drasticsally different. In addition to sporting an 12-1 record after 13 games, SFA is tops in the SLC in defending the three-point line, allowing its opponents to hit just 27.8 percent of its threes.

‘JACKS MOVE UP IN MID-MAJOR TOP 25: SFA got an early Christmas present on Christmas Eve, breaking into the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 for the first time this season. The ‘Jacks checked in at No. 25 and after wins over Lamar and McNeese State last week, found itself up to No. 17 in the latest poll released on Monday. The ‘Jacks are the only Southland Conference school to make an appearance in the poll this year. The last time SFA was in the poll was the 2008-09 season, reaching as high as No. 11.

PARKER’S HOMECOMING: Jacob Parker had a career afternoon in SFA’s win at Tulsa, scoring a career-high 16 points and pulling down four rebounds. A native of Bixby, Okla., which is just outside of Tulsa, Parker hit seven of his 10 shots from the field, including a pair of three-point buckets.

LOW-BALLED: SFA held Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to 46 points in an Islander win over in 2011 that tied for the fewest points by a Lumberjack opponent in an SFA loss over the last 13 seasons. In 13 years under Danny Kaspar, the ’Jacks have held the opposition below 50 points 61 times and lost only five times.

DEFENSE FIRST: The Lumberjacks finished third in the nation in scoring defense at 54.7 points per game allowed in 2011-12, a new school record. SFA has finished the year ranked among the top 10 in scoring defense in each of the last five seasons, including leading the nation in 2011 with 56.7 points per game and No. 2 rankings in both 2008 and 2009. This year has started off no different as SFA is leading the nation in scoring defense again, allowing just 48.5 points per game through its first 12 contests, holding nine of its opponents below 60 points. SFA is currently the only team in the country allowing less than 50 points per game.

AMONG NATION’S BEST: As a team the ‘Jacks are right at the top of the country in scoring defense, but the ‘Jacks also have a pair of individuals who are near the top of the country’s statistical rankings as well. As of the latest NCAA statistical report released on Jan. 7, senior Taylor Smith currently sports a .669 field goal percentage, which is fifth in the nation, while Hal Bateman’s 6.9 assists per game ranks 11th in the country.

HOME DEFENSE: SFA is known for its defensive prowess, but it is even moreso evident when playing at William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA has held its opponents to 50 points or fewer in 20 of 39 games at home in the last three seasons, allowing just 51.6 points per game at home in 2010-11 and 53.1 points per game in 2011-12. It is allowing just 44.6 points per game in eight home games this season.

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS: SFA did not have a single player in the Southland Conference top 10 in rebounding in 2011-12, but this year sports the league’s No. 3 rebounder in Taylor Smith (8.5 rpg) and is tops in the league in rebound margin by a wide gap, pulling down 8.6 rebounds per contest more than its opponent, just one year after leading the Southland in rebound margin (+7.1 rpg). The next closest team in the Southland in rebound margin is Oral Roberts, pulling in just 5.3 more rebounds per contest than its opponent.

HAL DO YOU DO?: Senior point guard Hal Bateman dished out a career-high 11 assists in SFA’s season-opening win over Howard Payne, the most for a Lumberjack since Eric Bell had 11 dimes in a road win at Northern Illinois during the 2007-08 season. Three games later he doled out another 10, making him the first ‘Jack since Marcus Clark in 2004-05 to have multiple games in the same season with 10+ assists. In addition, he ranks in the top 10 in the nation and leads the Southland Conference with 7.0 assists per game. The school record at SFA is 6.3 set by Winston Harrison in 1981-82.

BLOCK PARTY: Taylor Smith averaged 1.31 blocks pe rgame in less than 20 minutes of play as a junior, but this year that number is expected to skyrocket, and through four games he has not disappointed. Smith, who was a two-time league defensive player of the year at McLennan CC before coming to SFA, has 32 blocks (2.6 bpg) in the first 13 games of the season. Only two SFA players in the Division I era have blocked more shots in a single season than Smith’s 42 a year ago and only one Lumberjack has ever led the league in blocks -- Tim Holloway in 1989-90. Smith’s 2.6 blocks per game currently ranks first in the league.

HALF WAY THERE: The ‘Jacks were not at their best when playing from behind in 2011-12, but were exceptional when playing from out in front. That was most evident by the fact that the ‘Jacks went 19-1 a year ago when taking a lead into the half. Conversely, SFA was 1-11 when trailing at the break. This season had followed suit with the ‘Jacks getting victories after taking a halftime lead into the locker room in each of its first seven wins before overcoming a four-point halftime deficit to rally and knock off Oklahoma. SFA is 11-0 this year when leading at midway point.  

SAFE AT HOME: In 12-plus seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, the Lumberjacks have compiled a 144-35 (.805) record in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA is 340-126 (.729) all-time in the Coliseum. SFA has recorded seven straight seasons and nine campaigns in last 10 years with double-digit wins at home. The ‘Jacks are currently 8-0 at home this season.

IT’S BEEN A WHILE: Not since the 1957-58 season had the ‘Jacks pulled off what they managed to pull off in its season opener vs Howard Payne. SFA held HPU to just 30 points on the night, the least amount scored by an SFA opponent since Sam Houston State put up 30 in a 40-30 loss to the ‘Jacks in the 1957-58 season. Against the Yellow Jackets, SFA allowed just 15 shots to fall from the floor, none from beyond the arc and HPU missed its only free throw of the game.   

KASPAR KOUNTER: Danny Kaspar picked up his 200th win at SFA in last year’s season opener vs Centenary currently stands third all-time at SFA in head coaching wins with 230, trailing only Marshall Brown (345) and Bob Shelton (245). SFA’s win over McNeese State gave Kaspar his 450th career win between his time at SFA and Incarnate Word, second among active Southland Conference to Northwestern State’s Mike McConathy.

-SFA-