Junior Ivan Canete scored 17 points and freshman Kevin Harris had 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead Stephen F. Austin to an 86-64 victory over the University of Central Arkansas on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Southland Conference Tournament at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
The Lumberjacks frustrated UCA senior point guard Jordan Howard from the opening tip, holding the Southland Conference Player of the Year to 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting. Howard, who entered as the nation's third-leading scorer (25.8 points per game), was held scoreless in the second half, the first time that has happened since Nov. 19, 2015, against Massachusetts.
In each of the previous four seasons, the conference's player of the year had led his team to the tournament title.
Senior Mathieu Kamba led the Bears (17-16) with 14 points and six rebounds. Freshman Matthew Mondesir had nine points. UCA, which defeated Lamar 67-57 in the first round Wednesday night, was 19 of 49 (38.8 percent) from the field.
Junior T.J. Holyfield also had 16 points for Stephen F. Austin (26-6), which led 46-34 at the half. Senior Ty Charles added 10 points, and senior Leon Gilmore III had 8 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lumberjacks outrebounded the Bears 45-24, with 20 of them coming on the offensive boards.
Sports on 03/09/2018