Jumping Jacks: SFA Clinches First Southland Title, NCAA Bid
KATY, Texas ? Matt Kingsley and the Stephen F. Austin men’s basketball team defeated UTSA, 68-57, in the championship game of the 2009 State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament Sunday at the Merrell Center. With the victory, the Lumberjacks clinched their first berth into the Division I NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships and became the 15th team in league history to hoist the tournament title trophy.
Leading the Lumberjacks’ charge throughout the tournament was Kingsley, a fifth-year senior who finished off his Southland career with a 20-point performance en route to being named the State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Also the league’s Player of the Year, Kingsley was joined on the All-Tournament Team by fellow Lumberjacks Josh Alexander and Eddie Williams, UTSA’s Devin Gibson and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Kevin Palmer.
The final score was in doubt until the final minutes of the game, but Stephen F. Austin never trailed in the second half, building a lead that was as large as 11 points and never fewer than five. And while the Lumberjacks took control of the game in the opening half, it was three back-door cuts in the waning minutes that resulted in a pair of William’s layups and a Walt Harris free throw that pushed them over the hump.
Gibson let his emotions pour out throughout the game as he did his best to keep the sixth-seeded Roadrunners in the fray, but not even his game-high 23 points could keep the Lumberjacks from achieving their destiny of becoming first-time entrants into the Big Dance.
The Lumberjacks built their second-half momentum by closing out the first half much like the Roadrunners opened it, red-hot from the field. Stephen F. Austin led 37-28 heading into the break after closing the half on a 20-6 run that culminated with a three-pointer from Walt Harris. Defense was largely to thank during that span as at one point the top-seeded team held the Roadrunners without a point for more than six minutes.
UTSA, which simply could not find the shooting touch late in the half, did have it during the early stages. Gibson led the charge for the Roadrunners, scoring eight of his 13 first-half points around two important steals to give his team a 20-17 lead nine minutes into the game. UTSA stretched its lead to 22-17 on an Omar Johnson jumper near the midway point but converted only two field goals for the rest of the half as Stephen F. Austin took charge of the contest.
In addition to Kingsley’s 20-pont, six-rebound performance, the Lumberjacks got all-star performances from Alexander and Williams, who each poured in 16 points. Eric Bell shot only 1-of-4 from the field for four points, but he dished out a 2009 tournament game-high nine assists. For UTSA, only Travis Gabbidon joined Gibson in double-digit scoring with 10 points.
Stephen F. Austin will learn of its seed for the upcoming NCAA Championships today at 5 p.m. when the tournament brackets are released on the NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show on CBS television.
All-Tournament Team
Josh Alexander, SFA
Devin Gibson, UTSA
Eddie Williams, SFA
Kevin Palmer, AMCC
Matt Kingsley, SFA (MVP)