Jan. 5, 2008

Box Score

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball team rolled past Wiley College, 74-45, Saturday, behind 14 points from junior forward Josh Alexander. The win improves SFA to 12-1 and extends the Lumberjacks' win streak to 10 straight games - the program's first double-digit win streak since the 2002-03 season.

SFA never trailed in the game and led by as many as 39, as the Lumberjacks outshot the Wildcats, 51.7 percent to 30.4 percent. Alexander led the shooting clinic, knocking down 5-of-6 shots, including a 4-for-5 effort from 3-point range. Junior center Benson Akpan joined Alexander in double figures with 10 points, his third double-figure scoring performance of the year.

Senior forward Scott Weaver pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds to lead all players in a game that saw the Lumberjacks beat Wiley, 42-28, on the boards. Akpan added eight rebounds, one off his season-high mark.

Defensively, the Lumberjacks forced 17 turnovers and held Wiley to a season-low points total. The Wildcats' previous low score of the year was 57. Terrell Jacob scored 11 points to lead Wiley.

Junior center Matt Kingsley scored eight points for SFA. Sophomore point guard Eric Bell and senior guard Gerald Fonzie each scored seven points, and Bell matched his scoring total with seven assists, his sixth game of the season with at least seven dimes. Freshman point guard Preston Davis scored six points, and junior forward Nick Shaw added five points with five rebounds. Weaver, senior forward Kyle Jacobs and freshman guard Eddie Williams each scored four points, junior Jason Rogers added three, and freshman Austin Falke chipped in with two.

The win concludes SFA's best non-conference record since becoming an NCAA Division I program and extends the team's best start to a season since 1981-82. The Lumberjacks will open Southland Conference play this weekend with a pair of games in South Louisiana. SFA is set to take on Nicholls State Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and will travel to Hammond, La., to play Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday in a 3 p.m. game.

- SFA -