'Jacks Could Be Dancing For First Time
Phil Hicks
Stephen F. Austin was known as a many-sided man, but I'm not sure if the Father of Texas could dance.
But his namesake university is hopeful of dancing come Sunday afternoon.
The SFA Lumberjacks, fresh off their first Southland Conference regular season basketball championship (shared with Lamar), hope to be a part of March Madness. Winning the SLC Tournament championship would ensure just that.
The SLC tourney begins on Thursday at the Merrell Center in Katy. For the Lumberjacks to be included in the Big Dance, they must win the tourney. The Ladyjacks have had numerous NCAA berths, but the men have been shut out.
They hope their magical season continues with three wins in the SLC tourney. First up, No. 1-seed SFA takes on No. 8 UT San Antonio at 6 p.m. Thursday. A win there means the Lumberjacks meet either No. 4 Southeastern Louisiana or No. 5 Northwestern State at 8:30 p.m. Friday. A win in the semifinals moves the 'Jacks into the SLC final, scheduled for noon Sunday (ESPN2).
The tournament winner gets the SLC automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
But just as they have all year, the Lumberjacks will take it one at a time. It all started back in November with wins over UT Tyler and Jackson State to start the season and then it was followed by victories at Oklahoma and SMU. Then came the SLC regular season title.
The 25-4 mark is the best regular-season record for a Lumberjack team since the program joined the NCAA Division I ranks in 1986. SFA's 25 wins is the second most among D-I schools in Texas, trailing on the Texas Longhorns' 26 victories.
SFA, which is ranked No. 9 in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, hopes to open the tourney with its third win over the Roadrunners this year. The Lumberjacks won Feb. 9 in Nacogdoches (60-39) and just a few days ago on March 8 in San Antonio (58-52).
The Lumberjacks are led by SLC Player of the Year, Josh Alexander, a 6-4 junior guard from Shreveport (La.) Byrd. Alexander was second in the league in scoring at 16.5 points per game and is the school's first men's Player of the Year.
SFA's Matt Kingsley, a 6-9 junior center, made the All-SLC second team, while 5-6 point guard Eric Bell, who topped the SLC in assists with an average of 5.6, was honorable mention. Kingsley, from Cypress Creek HS, was fifth in the league in scoring at 15.3 points and also averaged 5.6 rebounds. Bell played at DeSoto HS and transferred from McLennan Community College.
Lumberjack coach Danny Kaspar, a native of Corpus Christi and graduate of North Texas, was named Coach of the Year.
Rounding out the SFA starting lineup are: 6-0 shooting guard Gerald Fonzie (Helena, Ark., transfer from State Fair CC in Missouri); and 6-6 power forward Nick Shaw (Arlington, transfer from Collin County CC).
The Roadrunners started slow, but won five of their last eight games to squeeze into the eight-team Southland tournament. UTSA is led by freshman point guard Devin Gibson, who tops the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game, along with 5.1 assists. The 6-0 Houston native also leads the SLC in steals at 3.4. Senior forward Keith Spencer, a 6-8 senior from San Diego, is averaging 5.9 boards per game.
SFA has come close to winning the SLC tournament before, dropping two championship games - 69-66 in overtime to Sam Houston State (2003) and 74-70 to UT San Antonio (2004).
Now may be the time for the Lumberjacks to make history.
NOTES - Former Tyler Junior College standout, Trey Gilder who now plays for Northwestern State, earned first-team All-SLC honors. The 6-9 senior forward played at DeSoto High School. ... Former Jacksonville College star Jarvis Bradley (6-6, sr.), who now plays for McNeese State, was third-team. ... SFA was in the NIT in 1987.
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