Stephen F. Austin

Dec. 16, 2011

Game Notes in PDF Format

GAME TIME: After splitting two games at the Etech Lumberjack Classic, SFA will once again try and move above the .500 mark when it takes on Texas College in its final home game befor the Christmas break. The game will be part of a doubleheader with the Ladyjacks, who take on Arkansas State in non-conference action in Nacogdoches at 6:00 p.m. 

LAST GAME: The Lumberjacks got three shots at the basket in the final 10 seconds, but could not get any to fall as SFA dropped its first-ever game in three years of the Etech Lumberjack Classic, 58-56, to Florida International on Sunday. SFA allowed the Golden Panthers to shoot nearly 59 percent from the floor, the second-highest percentage by any Lumberjack opponent this season. That came on the heels of a 74-48 crushing of reigning SWAC champion Alabama State in the tournament opener.   

THE STEERS: Texas College is riding a two-game win streak with victories over Huston-Tillotson and Southwest in their last two contests. That comes on the heels of consecutive losses at Bacone and Langston, making them 3-4 on the road this year. Saturday’s game at SFA will be their first vs a Division I team this season.

vs. THE STEERS: SFA is 7-0 all-time against the Steers, including 3-0 during Danny Kaspar’s tenure as head coach. The ‘Jacks last faced Texas College in the 2009-10 season in a 76-64 victory at Johnson Coliseum.

COVERAGE: Saturday’s game will be aired live on the airwaves via KTBQ Q107.7 FM in the Nacogdoches/Lufkin area with Rob Meyers on the call. Pregame begins approximately 15 minutes prior to tipoff. The game will also be streamed live via www.sfajacks.com

UP NEXT: SFA has three games in three games on tap before the Christmas break, all part of the Global Hoops Showcase on the campus of the University of Oregon. The ‘Jacks will take on Prairie View A&M and North Carolina Central in consecutive days at the Matthew Knight Center before battling the host Ducks in the tournament finale. SFA will not be back at home until Dec. 30 vs UT-Tyler.

HAVE A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS: The ‘Jacks had 24 assists on 29 made baskets in its 74-48 win over Alabama State on Saturday. The 24 assists are the most assists by a Lumberjack team in a single game since it had 24 dimes on March 2, 2006 at Sam Houston State. Junior point guard Hal Bateman had eight assists in the game vs the Hornets, marking just the fourth time in the past three seasons SFA has had a player with eight assists in a single game.

HOME DEFENSE: SFA held its opponents to 50 points or fewer in nine of 16 games at home last season, and allowed just 51.6 points per game at home in 2010-11. In two games at home this year SFA is allowing just 54.5 points per game, including just 43 points to Centenary in the season opener.

HOME NON-CONFERENCE: After splitting two games at the Etech Lumberjack Classic over the weekend, SFA has now won 31 of its last 33 home, non-conference games, dating to the 2006-07 season. Before Sunday’s 58-56 loss to Florida International, the only other loss during that stretch was a two-point defeat against Texas Tech in 2009-10. The Lumberjacks are now 60-5, overall, in home, non-conference games in 12 seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar.

SAFE AT HOME: In 10-plus seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, the Lumberjacks have compiled a 130-33 (.798) record in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA is 326-124 (.724) all-time in the Coliseum. SFA has recorded six straight seasons and eight campaigns in nine years with double-digit wins at home.

CLASSIC RESULTS: SFA’s loss to FIU on Sunday is its first in three years of the Etech Lumberjack Classic. The ‘Jacks are now 5-1 in the Classic and have hosted the event each year since the 2009-10 season. The ’Jacks are now 11-1, all-time, in home, regular-season tournaments. SFA went 4-0 in two years of hosting the Tall Pines Classic in 1975 and 1976, and the ’Jacks picked up two wins in the Stephen F. Austin Tournament in 1963.

TOURNAMENT TEAM: Over the last four seasons, SFA is 10-2 in six regular-season, tournament-format events. The Lumberjacks won two games at the Drake Hy-Vee Classic in 2008-09 and split a pair of contests at the Arkansas Jim Thorpe Classic later that season. In 2009, SFA swept two games each in the Etech Lumberjack Classic and the St. Mary’s Shamrock Classic, then picked up two wins in the 2010 Etech Classic. The ‘Jacks split two games at this year’s Etech Lumberjack Classic in Nacogdoches and have three more games left at the Global Hoops Showcase in Eugene, Ore.

BOUNCING BACK: SFA is 9-3 over the last two seasons in games following a loss. Over the last four seasons, the ’Jacks are 20-0 in home games following defeats. The last time SFA dropped two straight games with the second loss coming at home was the 2006-07 season, when the ’Jacks fell at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, then lost at home to UTSA in the regular-season finale.

KASPAR GETS 200: Danny Kaspar closed out the 2010-11 season just one win shy of 200 for his career at Stephen F. Austin, but it did not take him long to register that win this year as the ‘Jacks got him the win in front of a home crowd with a season-opening, 84-43, win on Friday vs Centenary. He is already third all-time at SFA in head coaching wins, trailing only Marshall Brown (345) and Bob Shelton (245).

BREAKOUT BROUSSARD: Junior guard Kevin Broussard had gone for just 14 points in SFA’s first four games, but exploded onto the scene in Wednesday’s win over Wiley College with a 23-point night. The transfer from Coffeyville CC hit his first seven shots from the floor, including his first six three-point tries to become the first Lumberjack since Josh Alexander in 2009 to have at least six triples in a single game. He is now 11 for 25 (.440) from behind the arc this season, with the three-point bucket accounting for 33 of his 45 points for the year.

BELOW FIFTY: SFA held 10 opponents below 50 points last season, and have held three opponents under 50 this season, most recently allowing just 48 points to Alabama State on Dec. 10. In 12 seasons under Danny Kaspar the Lumberjacks have held an opponent to 50 points or fewer on 54 occasions, losing just five of those games.

DEFENSE FIRST: The Lumberjacks led the nation in scoring defense at 56.7 points per game allowed in 2010-11. SFA has finished the year ranked among the top 10 in scoring defense in each of the last four seasons, including No. 2 rankings in 2008 and 2009. The best defensive season by a Lumberjack team in the Division I era was 2008-09, when SFA held the opposition to 56.1 points per game. This year they are right back where they have been accustomed, leading the SLC and ranking ninth in the nation in scoring defense at 54.6 points per contest.

NOT ACCEPTING CHARITY: SFA has not been taking advantage of the free throw line through eight games, hitting just 63.2 percent of its shots from the stripe; however, logic says that number should go up as SFA has never shot lower than in the 2001-02 season when it was a 63.1-percent team from the free-throw line in the Divsion I era (beginning in 1988-88). Still, the ‘Jacks have been better as of late, hitting 70.1 percent of its shots from the foul line in its last four games. In all, SFA has shot a solid 69.1 percent from the stripe in the 12 years of the Danny Kaspar era.

HITTING THE BREAKS: The ‘Jacks avoided its first three-game losing streak in non-conference play since the 2004-05 season with it’s win at UTEP. That year SFA dropped consecutive road games to Grambling and Alabama A&M before falling in a four-point contest at home to Jackson State.

SCOTT NEARING 1K: After a junior season where he scored 13.3 points per game and hit a school-record 60 percent of his shots from the floor, Jereal Scott has positioned himself well for a senior season that could leave his name sprinkled throughout the SFA record book. He has hit double figures four times, including averaging 15.2 points in each of his last five contests and now needs just 53 more points to become just the eighth Lumberjack with 1,000 points in a career in the Division I era.

SUB-SEVENTY: SFA has held each of its first eight opponents under 70 points this season, but still has a long way to go to hit the longest streak of sub-70 defensive performances to open up a season. The five straight is the longest such streak since the 2008-09 season; however, the 2007-08 team did not allow a team to break 70 points in a game until the 16th game of the year and just allowed 70 on four occassions. The 2008-09 team just allowed 70 twice for the year.

COMING AND GOING: Jereal Scott was a hard man to slow down last season, scoring in double figures in 49 of 62 games over the last two years, including 22 of 28 games played last season with SFA going 3-3 in the six games where he didn’t total at least 10 points. The games at San Diego and Texas Tech marked only the third time since he moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore that Scott has gone consecutive games without hitting double figures, with it happening just once each of the past two seasons. He has followed that up with five straight games with at least a dozen points.   

JUCO CONNECTION: The ‘Jacks have managed to develop a recruiting pipeline to two successful junior colleges in recent years, and those recruiting dividends are evident once again on this year’s roster. Joe Bright joins former Lumberjacks Denzel Barnes and Benson Akpan as transfers from Howard College since 2007-08, while Taylor Smith is the fifth ‘Jack from McLennan CC since 2007, joining Jordan Glynn, Eric Bell, Walt Harris and Orren Tims in that category.

HOME INVASION: SFA’s 55-40 loss to Sam Houston State in last year’s home finale marked the first time since 2006-07 for SFA to lose at least three home games in a single campaign. The ’Jacks went 10-5 at home in 2006-07.

LOW POINT: The 40 points SFA scored against Sam Houston State in last season’s match-up with the Bearkats set a Johnson Coliseum record for fewest points scored by the ’Jacks. The previous record was 41 in a 52-41 loss to Southeastern Louisiana in February of 1995.

LOW-BALLED: The 46 points A&M-Corpus Christi put up in its win over SFA last season tied for the fewest points by a Lumberjack opponent in an SFA loss over the last 11 seasons. In 11 years under Danny Kaspar, the ’Jacks have held the opposition below 50 points 52 times and lost only five times.

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