SFA Throttles Austin Peay

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS (December 20, 2008) Sophomore guard Eddie Williams tied a career-high with 25 points as Stephen F. Austin notched a resounding 93-54 victory over Austin Peay Friday night in the Arkansas Jim Thorpe Classic. The victory is SFA’s sixth straight and moves the Lumberjacks to 7-2 on the season.

The Lumberjacks went to the break with a 10-point lead but really poured it on in the second half, knocking down 66.7 percent from the field, a season-best for second-period shooting percentage, and outscoring the Governors, 52-23, in the second half. Meanwhile, Austin Peay (5-4) was held to 28 percent shooting after halftime and finished the game with a season-low 37.5-percent effort.

Williams was joined in double digits by senior forward Josh Alexander’s 16 points, 13points from senior center Matt Kingsley and 11 first-half points from junior Walt Harris. Kingsley also led all players with eight rebounds, helping the Lumberjacks to a 33-31 advantage on the boards.

SFA opened the second half by hitting its first six field goals and led, 52-41, with 15:25 to play. Kingsley then alternated layups with a pair of fallaway jumpers by Williams on four straight possessions for an 8-0 run that gave SFA what was then its largest lead of the night at 18 points, 58-42, with 12:19 remaining. The run was part of a seven-minute field goal drought for Austin Peay.

SFA delivered a big blow at the 6:56 mark, when the Lumberjacks extended their possession twice with offensive rebounds by Shaw and Kingsley, then Alexander knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner with the shot clock winding down. The play gave SFA a 69-46 lead, and the ‘Jacks never looked back.

SFA steadily extended its margin down the stretch, holding Austin Peay to just one field goal in the final five minutes of play.

Junior Girod Adams started at point guard for the second straight game and scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting. Eric Bell contributed four assists in 10 first-half minutes but spent the second period resting on the bench.

Senior Center Benson Akpan finished with eight points and a season-high three blocked shots. Williams and Adams ripped off three steals each, as SFA forced 17 Austin Peay turnovers, while giving up just five of its own. For the game, the Lumberjacks outscored Austin Peay, 27-4, in points off turnovers.

In the first half, SFA used a 9-0 run that started at the 8:22 mark to build an 11-point lead, 29-18, with 6:30 left. The run featured fast-break layups by Williams and Alexander wrapped around a 3-pointer by Adams.

The Lumberjacks stretched their advantage to 14 a minute later when Williams knocked down an open 3-pointer to make it a 34-20 game.

The Governors then took advantage of the first two SFA turnovers of the game to score on three straight possessions and cut the lead in half, drawing to within seven points at 36-29 with 1:41 to play.

But Alexander answered with a 3-pointer to stretch the lead back to double figures. After a blocked shot by Jereal Scott on the next Austin Peay possessions, Williams raced to the bucket for another fast-break layup off a lead pass from Bell to give the ‘Jacks a 12-point lead.

Drake Reed answered with a bucket to set the halftime score at 41-31. Reed finished with a team-best 16 points, but no other Governor reached double digits.

SFA got a boost from Harris when he came off the bench early in the first period. He scored nine straight points to take the Lumberjacks from a 7-5 deficit to a 14-11 advantage with 11:14 remaining. Harris finished the first half with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting and two 3-pointers but did not take the floor in the second half.

The Lumberjacks got out to a slow shooting start and didn’t connect on a field goal attempt until Kingsley hit a long jumper at the 15:23 mark, but SFA finished the half hot, hitting 46.9 percent from the field. The Governors held a 22-14 edge on the boards in the opening period, but the Lumberjacks forced Austin Peay into 10 first-half turnovers and outscored the Governors, 14-2, in points off turnovers.

SFA will continue play in the Jim Thorpe Classic by taking on host team Arkansas Saturday at 7:05 p.m. The Razorbacks are 7-1 and riding a five-game win streak after defeating Austin Peay, 89-80, Wednesday night.