NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin defeated Jackson State 80-69 Thursday afternoon in the ‘Jacks last non-conference match of the year. The Lumberjacks improve to 8-5 and the Tigers fall to 1-12.
The Lumberjacks took advantage of today’s game as their last chance to prep themselves for the all important second half of the season which comes against WAC conference opponents. The ‘Jacks starting five showed up and showed out as all five starters scored double-digits points and most impressively combined going 28-30 on the free throw line, making 93.3% of their attempts. The game looked to be a tight battle til the end as the Tigers kept the score close and even had the lead for a few minutes in the first half. However, the ‘Jacks then responded at the start of the second half when they extended their lead on a nine-point run and never looked back. With five minutes remaining, the Lumberjacks had a very comfortable 18-point lead that they were able to ride all the way to the victory.
Sadaidriene Hall continues to shine for Stephen F. Austin as he records his first double-double on the year dropping 20 points, tied for his personal season-high, and picking up ten rebounds this afternoon. Hall also tallied five assists and two steals on his stellar performance. AJ Cajuste is a rising star in the making for the Lumberjacks, putting up another outstanding scoreline as he was perfect on all his attempts on the day: 3-3 in the field and 6-6 from the free-throw line. Cajuste led the team with six assists to go along with his 14 points and two steals. Latrell Jossell and Nana Antwi-Boasiako each dropped 12 points of their own, and another double-digit scoring performance from Nigel Hawkins rounds out an impressive day from the Lumberjacks starting five.
The ‘Jacks led the Tigers in the following statistical categories: field goal percentage (38.2-52.4), three-point percentage (16.0-33.3), free-throw percentage (59.1-77.5), and fast break points (9-18).
The Lumberjacks will take a week off to rest for the holidays and to start preparing for their first conference action of the year against Abilene Christian on Thursday, December 29th with tipoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m.