Stephen F. Austin

Nov. 28, 2012

Game Notes In PDF Format

SFA (4-0) vs San Diego (3-4)
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 • 6:00 p.m. (CT)
William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,203) • Nacogdoches, Texas
Radio: None • Video: www.SFAJacks.com • Live Stats: www.SFAJacks.com

STORY LINES
• Stephen F. Austin is off to its best start since the 2003-04 season, and will going for its first 5-0 start since the 1981-82 season on Saturday when it hosts San Diego at William R. Johnson Coliseum.     

• The ‘Jacks have not allowed more than 60 points in any of their first four games and have held their opponents to less than 20 points in the first half in three of those four contests. Currently the 42.5 points allowed per game is the lowest mark of any team in the nation.

• SFA currently has eight players averaging at least five points per game, but senior post player Taylor Smith is the only player to reach double figures in all of SFA’s first four games of the year, and averaged a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in SFA’s two wins last week.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• Taylor Smith had 17 points and eight rebounds and Jacob Parker had a career-high 16 points as the Lumberjacks never trailed in a 57-41 win at Tulsa.  SFA held the Golden Hurricane to just 18 points in the first half and got 10 assists from point guard Hal Bateman in winning its fourth game in its last five match-ups with an opponent from Conference USA.

UP NEXT
• The Lumberjacks will have their stiffest test of the season on Wednesday when they travel to College Station for a midweek meeting with Texas A&M, having not beaten the Aggies since the 1970-71 season.

QUICK HITS
• The Lumberjacks will be looking to extend their streak of 36 consecutive games of holding an opponent under 70 points. SFA went all of 2011-12 without allowing 70 points to an opponent and has done so in the first three games of this season.
• After outrebounding their first four opponents, the Lumberjacks have out rebounded their last 14 opponents dating back to last season.
• SFA hit 10 3-point buckets in its win over Howard Payne, the most by an SFA team since hitting 10 in a win over Chicago State in 2010.
• SFA’s win over Tulsa was its fourth win in its last five games vs Conference USA opponents.
• SFA is 39-0 vs non-Division I programs in the Danny Kaspar era.
• 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.

SERIES NOTES
This will be San Diego’s second-ever trip to Nacogdoches, having fallen by nine points early in the 2006-07 season. The Lumberjacks are 5-6 all-time against teams currently in the West Coast Conference.

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.

FRONT RUNNING: Through four games SFA has played a total of 160 minutes of court time, and astonishingly enough, has only trailed for just 39 seconds of its game at FIU. In fact, of the 160 minutes of game time, the ‘Jacks have only been tied or trailed for 2:26 of that time.

SUB-SEVENTY: SFA has held each of its 32 opponents under 70 points in 2011-12, and has done the same in each of its first four games of 2012-13 to extend its school-record streak of sub-70 defensive performances. 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.

OKLAHOMA HOMECOMING: Jacob Parker had a career afternoon on Saturday 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.

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 allowing just 42.5 points per game through its first four contests.

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.   

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS: SFA did not have a single player in the Southland Conference top 10 in rebounding in 2011-12, with Taylor Smith’s 6.2 rebounds per game leading the team, but as a team no group was been better in the SLC on the boards than the ‘Jacks. SFA was tops in the SLC with a +7.4 rebound margin, a mark that also ranked seventh in the country. They pulled down over 75 percent of all defensive rebound opportunities and of SFA’s 32 opponents last year, only three managed to pull down more rebounds than the ‘Jacks, including just one game in SLC play.

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE ‘JACKS: The Southland Conference released its preseason all-conference teams just weeks before the opening of the season with a pair of Lumberjacks selected to the first team. Senior Antonio Bostic was the only automatic selection to the first team as the only returning first team all-conference choice from 2011-12, while senior forward Taylor Smith also made an appearance on the preseason first team. Bostic averaged better than 11 points per game as a junior while logging nearly 35 minutes per game, while Smith averaged better than nine points and six rebounds in just 19 minutes per night playing behind former all-SLC first team center Jereal Scott.

HOME NON-CONFERENCE: SFA has won 35 of its last 37 home, non-conference games, dating to the 2006-07 season. Each of those two losses have been by two points apiece, coming to Florida International in 2011-12 and Texas Tech in 2009-10. The Lumberjacks are now 63-5, overall, in home, non-conference games in 13 seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar.

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.
DIALING LONG DISTANCE: The ‘Jacks did plenty of damage from the perimiter in its win over Howard Payne, hitting 10 of its 17 shots from beyond the arc. Five of the threes came from junior transfer Deshaunt Walker, and the 10 triples were the most since the ‘Jacks hit 10 in a win over Chicago State in 2010

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 nine blocks (2.8 bpg) in the first four 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.

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 16 of 33 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 34.5 points per game through two home games this season.

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. The only loss in that stretch came on Feb. 15, 2012 when it squandered a 13-point halftime lead to to eventual league champion UT Arlington. This season, SFA has taken a halftime lead into the locker room in all four games it has played, holding three of those opponents to less than 20 points in the opening period.

SAFE AT HOME: In 11-plus seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, the Lumberjacks have compiled a 138-35 (.794) record in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA is 334-126 (.724) all-time in the Coliseum. SFA has recorded seven straight seasons and nine campaigns in last 10 years with double-digit wins at home.

A WALKUP IN THE PARK: Thomas Walkup had to sit out his entire true freshman campaign due to a lingering injury from his senior year of high school, but after a long recovery process the younger brother of former Texas A&M forward Nathan Walkup made his collegiate debut on against Howard Payne, and it would have been difficult to be more efficient than what he was. Walkup finished with 11 points on the night, hitting all five of hits shots from the floor, including a three-pointer. In just 15 minutes off the bench he also pulled down four rebounds, had a pair of assists and a steal without a turnover.

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 223, trailing only Marshall Brown (345) and Bob Shelton (245). Kaspar also has 442 career wins between his time at SFA and Incarnate Word, second among active Southland Conference to Northwestern State’s Mike McConathy’s 542 wins, 352 of which came at the junior college ranks.

BELOW FIFTY: SFA held 10 opponents below 50 points each of the last two seasons. In 12 seasons under Danny Kaspar the Lumberjacks have held an opponent to 50 points or fewer on 57 occasions, losing just five of those games. This year, SFA has held three of its four opponents under 50 points.

BOOM BOSTIC: Senior guard Antonio Bostic was named the Southland Conference men’s basketball player of the week on for the season's second week after leading SFA to a win at FIU on Saturday. Bostic, a first team all-SLC choice last season, poured in a career-high 23 points in a 69-60 win over the Golden Panthers, helping SFA to a 2-0 start to the season and avenging a two-point loss to FIU last year in Nacogdoches. The senior hit eight of his 14 shots from the floor, including three from long distance and had 17 of his points in the first half while the `Jacks were building a 40-24 lead at the break.

-SFA-