BEAUMONT,
Texas – The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks held Lamar to just 28.8 percent
shooting on the night and got 20 points from Antonio Bostic in taking hold of
sole possession of third place in the Southland Conference with a 62-52 win
over the Cardinals on Wednesday at the Montagne Center.
SFA
(16-11, 9-4 SLC) did not make a three-point bucket for the second time this
season, but did not need one, outscoring the Cardinals (17-11, 7-5SLC) 34-24 in
the paint while putting three players in double figures, led by Bostic's 20. In
all, SFA shot 54.5 percent from the field, including 59.1 percent in the second
half.
With
the win SFA takes sole possession of third place in the Southland Conference
with just three games left to play.
The
‘Jacks managed to hand the Cardinals to just their second loss of the season on
their home floor despite getting outrebounded 42-35, including 21-11 on the
offensive glass. Mike James led the Cardinals with 15 points, while Devon Lamb
became the first player this year to finish with double-figure rebounds against
SFA, pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds.
Jereal
Scott finished with 14 points and a career-high five rebounds, while Taylor
Smith joined him in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Lamar
cut the SFA lead to six early in the second half before the Lumberjacks were
able to push the lead back to double figures and keep the Cardinals at arm's
length for the majority of the game.
The
Lumberjacks held the Cardinals to just 7-for-33 (21.2 percent) from the field
in the first half, missing 17 consecutive shots before a jumper from Anthony
Miles' transition jumper with just 5:25 to play as the ‘Jacks opened up a 29-20
lead at the game's midpoint. Meanwhile, SFA was doing its part in dominating
the paint, getting eight points apiece from Scott and Smith while outscoring
Lamar 18-8 in the lane and hitting half of its 24 field goals.
SFA
used a 10-0 run to open up a 16-7 lead less than nine minutes into the game.
Lamar, who entered the game as the third-highest scoring team in the Southland
Conference, did not manage to get into double figures until Charlie Harper's
free throw with 7:46 to play in the half.
SFA
will look to pick up its 10th win of league play on Saturday when it hosts
Texas A&M-Corpus Chrsiti at William R. Johnson Coliseum.
-SFA-
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