BROOKINGS, S.D. (SDSU) – Nigel Hawkins scored a game-high 25 points for Stephen F. Austin and helped lead the Lumberjacks to a 93-82 victory over South Dakota State on Saturday, Nov. 19, in a non-conference men’s basketball tilt in Frost Arena.
The Lumberjacks and Jackrabbits were in a tightly contested matchup for a majority of the game before SFA took a nine-point edge, 56-47, with 14:18 remaining. SDSU whittled away at the Lumberjack advantage eventually tying the score at 60 on a Zeke Mayo 3-pointer with 10 minutes left. The two sides began trading basketball before SFA started to pull away.
A Derrick Tezeno jumper put the Lumberjacks up 68-67 at the 7:32 mark of the second half. That field goal began an 11-0 run for Stephen F. Austin which saw SDSU go scoreless for over four minutes.
The Jackrabbits cut the deficit to 80-74 with 2:24 left on a 3-pointer from Charlie Easley and they followed with a timeout. SFA’s next possession featured three offensive rebounds and ended with the Lumberjacks going to the free throw line. SFA kept the margin in its favor over the final two minutes of play.
Stephen F. Austin improved to 3-1 overall avenging the 83-71 loss to SDSU in Nacogdoches a season ago. The Jackrabbits dropped to 2-3 overall and saw its Frost Arena win streak of 17 games snapped.
Notes
The Lumberjacks out-rebounded the Jackrabbits by a 33-16 margin and had a second chance points edge of 11-0. SDSU also turned the ball over 20 times to SFA’s 14.
Hawkins led a group of four Lumberjacks to score in double digits. SFA finished the contest shooting 56.4% from the field and went 26 of 32 (81.3%) at the free throw line.
Mayo and Easley led the Jackrabbits in scoring with career highs of 24 and 22 points, respectively. Luke Appel followed them with 11 points. Alex Arians had a team-high five assists.
South Dakota State shot 54.2% and was a season-best 53.6% (15-28) from 3-point range.
Up Next
South Dakota State travels to Savannah, Ga., to participate in the Hostillo Community Classic. The Jackrabbits open action against Valparaiso on Friday at 12:30 p.m. CST in Enmarket Arena.