Stephen F. Austin

Dec. 19, 2012

Game Notes In PDF Format

SFA (8-1) vs Grambling (0-8)
Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,203) • Nacogdoches, Texas
Radio: Q107.7 FM • Video: www.SFAJacks.com • Live Stats: www.SFAJacks.com

The Last Meeting

Grambling St.	41
SFA	62

December 10, 2010
Nacogdoches, Texas

Glynn Leads `Jacks Past Grambling Jordan Glynn scored 12 points and pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds to lead Stephen F. Austin to a 62-41 win over Grambling Friday on the opening night of the Etech Lumberjack Classic. The senior forward finished just four steals shy of a triple-double, as he ripped off six in just 26 minutes of action.

Recap | Box Score

STORY LINES
• Stephen F. Austin picked up its signature win for 2012-13 on Tuesday, traveling to Norman and escaping with a 56-55 win over the Sooners. But with no lag time on the calendar, the ‘Jacks almost immediately return to the court for a chance to pick up their ninth win in 10 tries on Thursday when it hosts Grambling for the second time in the past three seasons.    

• A win would give SFA a 9-1 record to open the season, its best start since the 2007-08 season when the ‘Jacks started off 12-1 on their way to their first Southland Conference championship title.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• Hal Bateman hit a pair of free throws with 1:04 left and the SFA pulled off a56-55 upset of Oklahoma on Tuesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center. The win snapped a 36-game winning streak for the Sooners (7-3) against non-conference opponents at home with the last loss coming at the hands of the ‘Jacks (8-1) in the 2007-08 season. Bateman finished with a career-high 13 points and had nine assists, with none being bigger than his two shots to put the `Jacks in front 56-54 after the Sooners had erased an 11-point SFA lead in the second half. After the teams traded possessions, the Sooners had a chance to square things up when Buddy Hield got to the foul line with just 3.9 seconds to go. But after hitting the first shot, he sent the second off the back iron and Taylor Smith cleared the rebound to run out the clock and give SFA the victory. 

UP NEXT
• SFA is now off for nine full days, but return to start the marathon that is Southland Conference play when they do so on Dec. 29 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

QUICK HITS
• The Lumberjacks will be looking to extend their streak of 41 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 eight games of this season.

• SFA has taken on 11 teams from the state of Oklahoma in the Danny Kaspar era, winning each of the last 10 from Texas’ neighbor to the north. The last time SFA lost to a team from Oklahoma was a 78-57 loss to Oral Roberts in Tulsa during the 2001-02 season.

• The Sooners outrebounded the ‘Jacks, 38-37, on Tuesday to mark the first time in 19 games the ‘Jacks had been outdone on the glass.

Series Notes
The ‘Jacks have played 42 games all-time against teams currently in the SWAC, and sport a 27-12 record in those games.

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 eight games of 2012-13 to extend its school-record streak of sub-70 defensive performances to 40. 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.

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.

HOME NON-CONFERENCE: SFA has won 38 of its last 40 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 66-5, overall, in home, non-conference games in 13 seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar.

TUNE ME UP: SFA has won each of the last six years in its final game before the start of Southland Conference play. The last time SFA lost its final league tune-up was in 2005-06 when it fell 81-75 at North Texas.

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.

AGAINST THE BIG XII: SFA is now 3-11 against teams from the Big XII in 13 years under head coach Danny Kaspar after Tuesday’s 56-55 win over Oklahoma. Previously the Lumberjacks knocked off Baylor, 79-57, in Waco during the 2003-04 season and defeated Oklahoma, 66-62, on the road in 2007-08.

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 50.1 points per game through its first nine contests, holding five of its opponents below 60 points.

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 17 of 36 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 46.6 points per game through five 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 (7.3 rpg) and is already third in the league in rebound margin, pulling down 6.6 rebounds per contest more than its opponent, just one year after leading the Southland in rebound margin (+7.1 rpg). Tuesday at Oklahoma was the first time the ‘Jacks have not been outrebounded by an opponent in nine 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 season-opening 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 26 blocks (2.9 bpg) in the first nine 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.

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 on Tuesday.  

SAFE AT HOME: In 12-plus seasons under head coach Danny Kaspar, the Lumberjacks have compiled a 141-35 (.798) record in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. SFA is 337-126 (.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.

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.   

BOOM BOSTIC: Senior guard Antonio Bostic is averaging right at 10 points per game in eight games this year, but has saved his best performances for the stiffest competition. He’s averaging 14.0 point per game vs Division I opponents, including a career-high 23 points in a road win at Florida International that earned him Southland Conference Player of the Week honors.

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 227, trailing only Marshall Brown (345) and Bob Shelton (245). Kaspar also has 446 career wins between his time at SFA and Incarnate Word, second among active Southland Conference to Northwestern State’s Mike McConathy.

BELOW FIFTY: SFA held 14 opponents below 50 points each of the last two seasons. In 13 seasons under Danny Kaspar the Lumberjacks have held an opponent to 50 points or fewer on 58 occasions, losing just five of those games. This year, SFA has held four of its eight opponents under 50 points.

-SFA-