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KATY, Texas – In a ruthlessly efficient manner, Stephen F. Austin wasted little time in punching their ticket to a fourth straight Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament championship game.
The top-seeded Lumberjacks scored the game’s first nine points and rode the blistering hot hand of senior guard Demtrious Floyd as they rolled past fourth-seed Houston Baptist University 104-68 at Merrell Center on Friday evening. Coach Brad Underwood’s squad, which won its 19th straight game, will play the winner of Friday night’s Texas A&M-Corpus Christi/Sam Houston State matchup Saturday night at 8 p.m., on ESPN2, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
“All-around, a good solid job, but it’s not what we’re here for,” Underwood said. “We’ve got one more challenge tomorrow night.”
SFA became the first team in tournament play to score over 100 points in regulation since McNeese State did so against Nicholls in 1999.
The Lumberjacks got 23 points from two-time tournament MVP Thomas Walkup, who added six rebounds and six assists in just 20 minutes of work. When HBU (17-16) put its focus on Walkup, Floyd made them pay as he racked up a game-high 30 points including six 3-pointers. Two of those came in the final 2:25 of the first half when SFA (26-5) already up 44-29, knocked out any hopes of a major comeback threat from the Huskies and took a 54-32 lead into the locker room.
“It was just one of those nights where the ball was going in,” Floyd said.
Floyd added two more long distance connections in the first 50 seconds of the second half shortly before spending the rest of the game on the bench. The Lumberjacks led by as many as 39 points and shot 47 percent from the field. The nation’s third-ranked team in assists recorded 21 helpers while committing just six turnovers, with three of those coming in the final three minutes of play.
The Huskies, who were once within 22-21 midway in the first half, were led by Caleb Crayton’s 20 points. Houston Baptist shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, but only shot 38 percent after intermission when attempting more 3-pointers became more of a priority.
“We shot the ball fairly well, but didn’t finish at the rim nearly as well as we needed to,” HBU coach Ron Cottrell, whose team still harbors the possibility of being invited into a postseason tournament, said. “That’s on us to finish plays better at the rim in those types of situations.”
Turnovers also hampered the Huskies, who committed 18 miscues, which led to Stephen F. Austin converting those into 29 points. In three games against the Lumberjacks this season, HBU committed 61 turnovers.
“It’s something we take pride in,” Underwood said of his team, which leads the nation in forced turnovers. “Our efficiency on the offensive end is about getting easy opportunities. It’s what we do. It’s what we practice. It’s what we preach.”
Even with their chance at reaching the championship game out of reach, HBU continued to play as if they were down by one possession. The Huskies, who lost by six at home against the Lumberjacks on February 6, refused to relent to the surge of SFA.
“You never want to feel like it’s getting away,” Huskies guard Anthony Odunsi said.
“That’s the nature of our team,” Cottrell added. “This team can play with those guys. This team belongs in the upper half of this league. We proved throughout the year that we’ve got something going right now.”
Stephen F. Austin has a chance to become the first school to win three straight men’s titles since Louisiana-Monroe won the last of its four straight titles from 1990-93.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
Stephen F. Austin Head Coach Brad Underwood
On today’s game…
“I thought it was a hard-fought first 8-10 minutes of the game. I thought Clide Geffrard’s insertion into the lineup helped us a great deal defensively with him diving on the floor getting a couple loose balls. We finally got some stops defensively. They had six to seven possessions where they never passed, they just dribbled-drove us and once we made that adjustment, we were a little better. All around we did a solid job and I was pleased. It’s not what we’re here for. We had to take care of business tonight and we’ll have another challenge tomorrow night.”
On feeling pressure leading into tomorrow…
“I don’t take anything for granted. This team is about doing their job every single day. If we do that, and that’s the processes we try to instill in these guys, that hopefully puts our guys in the position to go out and give our best no matter who we play or what stage we play on. We’re going to have a dog fight tomorrow night no matter who we play. We’re going to play the way we play no matter who that opponent is. We’re going to try to play to maximum effort and represented the name on the front of our uniform the best we can.”
On the team chemistry…
“I think we’re third in the country in assists and that’s something we pride ourselves a great deal on. We’ve had six different guys lead us in scoring. That’s who we are; that’s what we’re about. I can’t say enough about how unselfish and these guys are.”
Stephen F. Austin Senior Guard/Forward Thomas Walkup
On SFA’s style of play…
“We pride ourselves on having a killer instinct, playing with intensity and aggression. That’s what our program is all about.”
On feeling pressure leading into tomorrow…
“[We don’t really feel it]. Coach puts a lot of pressure on us in practice. Most of us have been here before and I don’t think any of us are feeling pressure. I think we’re feeling prepared.”
Stephen F. Austin Senior Guard Demetrious Floyd
On coming off the bench…
“When I came into the game I came in with confidence. I knew I was going to need a big night.”
Houston Baptist Head Coach Ron Cottrell
On playing hard throughout the game…
“That’s the nature of our team. This is a team that when we played SFA at home it was a one-point game with seconds to go. This team can play with those guys. This team belongs in the upper half of this league. This team is a team that, I believe, proved throughout the year that we have something going right now.”
On HBU’s seniors…
“I’m really proud of our seniors. If you think about it, two years ago we finished 13th in the Southland. Last year we were seventh, this year we were the No. 4 seed in the tournament and made the semifinals. I think that is pretty good progress for these guys. They should be very proud of we’ve been able to accomplish.”
Houston Baptist Senior Guard Anthony Odunsi
On the season…
“At the beginning of each season, we always tell the new guys it’s a process. There’s going to be highs and lows but you have to stay level. You can’t fold when it gets too low and you can’t get happy when it gets too high.”
Houston Baptist Senior Guard/Forward Caleb Crayton
On Stephen F. Austin…
“They have a very explosive offense. They can hit you at many different angles and they play at a really fast pace and have high intensity. They’re a great team.”