Stephen F. Austin

Dec. 5, 2003

HOME COOKING: The Lumberjacks return to the William R. Johnson Coliseum to host Alcorn State in a re-match of last week's game in Alcorn State, Mississippi. SFA prevailed in round one, winning 80-63 over the Braves. The 'Jacks enter the game looking to start the season 4-0, the best start for a Lumberjack team since the team went 3-0 to begin the 1995-96 campaign. This year marks the third time SFA has started out 3-0 since 1981-82, with the best start being a 7-0 mark out of the gate in the 1981-82 season. The Lumberjacks also return to the coliseum looking to match the longest home court winning streak in coliseum history, at 16 straight. SFA went 15-1 at home a year ago, and is 1-0 so far in 2003-04, with the season opening win over Houston Baptist.

LAST GAME: The 'Jacks moved to 3-0 on the season with an 80-63 win over Alcorn State a week ago. The two teams traded buckets for the opening minutes before SFA finally took the lead for good at the 10:50 mark. SFA then went on a 24-6 run to stretch the lead to 38-20 with 3:11 remaining in the half. The 'Jacks had a couple of chances to put the Braves away in the first half before an 11-4 Alcorn State run cut the halftime margin to 42-31. F Antonio Burks scored 12 of his game high 17 points in the second half as he helped the 'Jacks hold off a couple of Alcorn State challenges. The Braves cut the lead to eight points on several occasions but SFA answered each challenge. The 'Jacks shot .467 (28-60) from the field, including 5-11 (.455) from outside the three point arc. SFA was also 19-27 (.704) at the free throw line.

VS. ALCORN STATE: SFA leads the series, 1-0. The game last week in Mississippi was the first ever meeting between the two teams.

THE BRAVES: Alcorn State enters the game 0-4 following season opening losses to Southern Mississippi (79-67), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (99-59), SFA (80-63) and Arkansas-Little Rock (84-49). The Braves are averaging 59.5 ppg, while allowing opponents 85.5 points per game. Howard Myles leads the team with an 11.0 ppg avearge, while DeAndre Jones is the only other Brave in double figures with 10.7 ppg. Myles also leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 rpg. He is followed by Dion Callans with 4.0 rpg for Alcorn State. As a team, Alcorn State is shooting only .389 (65-167) from the field and .302 (16-53) from beyond the three point arc. The Braves have been outrebounded by an average of 11.0 rpg, but outrebounded SFA 33-29 in the last week's game.

THE COACHES: The Lumberjacks are coached by Danny Kaspar (265-92) beginning his fourth year with the Lumberjacks. Kaspar is 46-40 in his three plus seasons at SFA. The Braves are coached by Samuel West (0-3) in his first year at Alcorn State, and his first year as a head coach.

UP NEXT: The 'Jacks go on the road for a pair of games, at TCU (12/8) and at Centenary (12/11) before hosting Grambling State, Dec. 13. The Grambling State game is the first of a five game homestand that will run through Jan. 3, 2004.