Thursday, November 21, 2013

Marshall Basketball: Opponent Profile, Stephen F. Austin

While Stephen F. Austin (2-1, 0-0) might not be a recognizable name to casual basketball fans, that makes them no less dangerous as they meet Marshall (2-1, 0-0) in the Cam Henderson Center this evening.

Last season the Lumberjacks won 27 games and the Southland Conference regular season championship. They also qualified for the National Invitation Tournament, losing to Stanford in the first round.

Stephen F. Austin landed two players on the SLC preseason All Conference team. A first team selection, guard Desmond Haymon leads the Lumberjacks with 14 points per game. He was joined by second team pick Jacob Parker. The 6-foot-6 forward averages a team high 5.7 rebounds per game and is third (12.3 ppg) in scoring.

An assistant under Frank Martin at South Carolina and Kansas State, Brad Underwood is three games deep into his tenure as Stephen F. Austin’s head coach. He has preached the same defensive principles that helped the Lumberjacks surrender an NCAA low 51.2 points per game last season. In wins over UT-Tyler and Texas State, SFA held the opposition under 65 points. Friday’s 72-62 loss at Texas broke a 66 game streak of limiting their opponents to 70 points or fewer.

Tip-off for tonight’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

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