NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Nicholls
erased a 12-point second half lead for the Lumberjacks to force overtime, but
Stephen F. Austin hit seven of its eight free throws in the extra frame and
came up with two key stops in the last minute to hold off the Colonels 62-58 on
Wednesday at William R. Johnson Coliseum.
SFA (13-10, 7-3 SLC) was led by 17
points from junior swingman Antonio Bostic, but it was the Lumberjack big men –
Jereal Scott and Taylor Smith – who came up huge at the foul line in the final
minutes of the game to help give the ‘Jacks the victory.
Scott, who was just 2-for-5 from
the floor on the night and had scored just two points in the first 39 minutes
of the game, hit two shots from the line with just 21 seconds remaining in
regulation to give SFA a late two-point lead and then scored five of his nine
points in the overtime period. Meanwhile Smith, who came into the game as just
a 31 percent free-throw shooter, canned a pair of key shots from the line that
put SFA up for good with less than two minutes to play in overtime.
The Colonels, who trailed by two
with less than 30 ticks remaining in overtime, had a chance to take the lead in
the final seconds but Dantrell Thomas' three-point try rimmed out and Jonathan King
collected the rebound to seal the SFA win.
Smith finished with 11 points and
three rebounds on the night, along with a pair of blocks in 26 minutes of work.
Desmond Haymon finished with a dozen points of his own, while King hit all six
of his charity shots on his way to eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.
In all, SFA turned the ball over
just 10 times and hit21-of-29 from the foul line to overcome just a 40-percent
shooting effort. The ‘Jacks were 4-for-6 from beyond the arc in the first half,
but hit just one of nine money balls in the second half and overtime.
The Colonels (7-16, 3-8 SLC) were
led by a Shane Rillieux with 17 points, while Thomas - reigning Southland
Conference player of the week - finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.
It took nearly five minutes of
game time for the ‘Jacks to finally crack the scoreboard on a short jumper by
Smith and used that bucket to go on a 7-0 run; however, the Colonels answered
with a 9-3 run of their ownthat gave them a 16-10 lead with 7:31 to play in the
opening half. But SFA outscored the Colonels 16-7 to close out the opening
period, thanks in large part to seven of Bostic's 11 first-half points, to take
a 26-23 lead into the break.
SFA then built its lead as high as
12 points with less than nine minutes to play on consecutive buckets from
Haymon, King and Hal Bateman before the Colonels began to go to work.
Nicholls did most of its work from
the foul line, hitting seven foul shots in a three-minute span and eventually
cut the SFA advantage to just two points at 47-45 on a layup by Thomas with
just 3:19 to play.
After the teams traded scores on
consecutive possessions, Thomas knotted it up when he rolled in a 15-footer
with under a minute to play. Scott then drew a foul on the other end and calmly
knocked in both foul shots, but Trevon Lewis managed to hit a reverse layup
with less than five secondsthat sent the game to extra time.
SFA trailed as late as the 2:28
mark of overtime after Sam McBeath's third three-pointer of the night made it
57-56; however, Smith managed to convert both foul shots on the next possession
to put SFA up, then swatted away a Thomas jumper in the lane on the next
possession to help the SFA cause.
The ‘Jacks have a chance to move
to 8-3 in Southland play on Saturday when they travel to San Antonio for the
final its final conferencematchup with UTSA before the Roadrunners depart for
the WAC next season. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. from the Convocation
Center.
-SFA-
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