Stephen F. Austin

Dec. 7, 2012

Game Notes In PDF Format

SFA (5-1) vs LSU Shreveport (5-2)
Saturday, Dec. 8, 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
• The Lumberjacks had their season-opening win streak come to a halt at five games on Wednesday in a 62-54 loss at Texas A&M, but the ‘Jacks have an opportunity to break back into the win column on Saturday when they host LSU Shreveport in the beginning of a stretch of three of their next five games on their home floor.      

• Even with Wednesday’s loss, a win on Saturday would still give the ‘Jacks their best record in the season’s first seven games sincea perfect 7-0 start to the 1981-82 season.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• SFA got 14 points apiece from Taylor Smith and Antonio Bostic, but was not able to overcome Texas A&M on Wednesday as the Aggies claimed a 62-54 win at Reed Arena. The `Jacks (5-1) saw its season-opening five-game win streak come to an end, despite outrebounding a bigger Aggie front line, 32-30; however, the Texas A&M (7-1) bench outscored SFA 31-6 and the Aggies finished with a decided advantage at the foul line while putting three players in double figures.  

UP NEXT
• SFA will take a full seven days off for final exams before hitting the floor again on Dec. 15 when it hosts Lubbock Christian before going on the road for a trip to Norman, Okla., to take on the Sooners. The last time SFA went to Norman was in the 2007-08 season when the ‘Jacks left Lloyd Noble Arena with a 66-62 victory and eventually went on to claim its first ever Southland Conference title.

QUICK HITS
• The Lumberjacks will be looking to extend their streak of 38 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 six games of this season.
• After outrebounding Texas A&M, 32-30, on Wednesday, SFA has not outrebounded 15 of its last 16 opponents with its win over San Diego being the only occasion it has not happened when the Toreros drew even on the boards, 26-26.
• SFA’s win over Tulsa was its fourth win in its last five games vs Conference USA opponents.
• 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
The ‘Jacks have never faced the Pilots. SFA is 39-0 vs non-Division I programs in the Danny Kaspar era.

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 has held each of its 32 opponents under 70 points in 2011-12, and has done the same in each of its first six 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 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.

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 47.2 points per game through its first six contests, holding four of its opponents below 60 points.

HOME NON-CONFERENCE: SFA has won 36 of its last 38 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 64-5, overall, in home, non-conference games in 13 seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar.

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, but this year sports the league’s No. 3 rebounder in Taylor Smith (8.2 rpg) and is already second in the league in rebound margin, pulling down 7.5 rebounds per contest more than its opponent, just one year after leading the Southland in rebound margin (+7.4 rpg). The ‘Jacks have not been outrebounded by an opponent in five tries this season.

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 14 blocks (2.3 bpg) in the first six 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 34 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 40.0 points per game through three 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 when trailing at the break. This season has followed suit with the ‘Jacks getting victories after taking a halftime lead into the locker room in each of its first five games, holding three of those opponents to less than 20 points in the opening period. The ‘Jacks then could not overcome a three-point hafltime deficit at Texas A&M.

SAFE AT HOME: In 12-plus seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, the Lumberjacks have compiled a 139-35 (.798) record in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA is 335-126 (.726) all-time in the Coliseum. SFA has recorded seven straight seasons and nine campaigns in last 10 years with double-digit wins at home.

GLASS COMMANDER: Thomas Walkup was perfect from the floor in his collegiate debut with 11 points vs Howard Payne, but since has made his biggest impact on the glass. The redshirt freshman is averaging just less than 18 minutes per game, but is pulling down just under five boards per contest in his time, which is second on the team. More impressively, he is hauling in 2.8 offensive boards per game, a mark which ranks fourth in the Southland Conference.  

BOOM BOSTIC: Senior guard Antonio Bostic was named the Southland Conference men’s basketball player of the week 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.

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 224, trailing only Marshall Brown (345) and Bob Shelton (245). Kaspar also has 443 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.

-SFA-