FARMVILLE, Va. – Stephen F. Austin forward Kevon Harris broke out for a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Southland Conference preseason favorite Lumberjacks past Longwood 74-61 in the season-opener Saturday afternoon at Willett Hall.
In the 2017-18 tipoff for both teams, Harris made an explosive debut to his sophomore campaign by scoring 15 points in the first half to spearhead a Stephen F. Austin team that has won four of the past five Southland Conference titles and was projected as the favorite to win it again in the league's preseason poll.
The 6-5, 225-pound Harris scored 15 points in the first half and went on to shoot 6-of-14 from the field, hit 11-of-14 free throws and grab four offensive rebounds as Stephen F. Austin (1-0) spoiled Longwood's home debut under fifth-year head coach
Jayson Gee.
Longwood (0-1) hung with the Lumberjacks throughout the first half, trading baskets in a duel that stayed within one possession for the first 17 minutes of the game. However, it was Harris that played catalyst to a game-changing run in those closing minutes, scoring eight points to spark a 12-4 run that sent Stephen F. Austin into halftime with a 41-31 lead.
Longwood never recovered.
"I think turnovers was the story of our game," Gee said. "Our three starting guards had 15 turnovers. You can't win a game when your top three guards have 15 turnovers."
Longwood entered the game down to one point guard following preseason injuries to redshirt freshman Juan Munoz and junior Keoni Wallington. Combo guard B.K. Ashe, a two-time All-NEC guard at Mount St. Mary's who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, assumed the point guard mantle but left the game with 14:23 to play with a lower body injury, carried off the court by fourth-year team captain
Damarion Geter.
With Longwood shorthanded at the point of attack, Stephen F. Austin forced the Lancers into 22 turnovers that they converted into 25 points.
"We played some really good defense, but we gave up second-chance points and a lot of points off turnovers," Gee said. "Once we lost B.K., that stretched us a little more than we could bear."
Harris' performance, along with 18 points from TJ Holyfield and another 15 from Shannon Bogues, helped the Jacks overcome 21 turnovers and eight blocked shots caused by Longwood's new-look defense.
And while Longwood got a 21-point performance out of returning scoring leader Isaiah Walton, Stephen F. Austin countered his scoring by a 44-29 advantage on the glass, including 16 offensive rebounds that yielded 19 second-chance points.
Walton was one of two double-figure scorers for the Lancers, who also got 10 points from redshirt-senior newcomer Charles Glover, a graduate transfer from Mount St. Mary's who took over point guard duties following Ashe's departure. Jahleem Montague also made a big impression in his Lancer debut, posting eight rebounds, three blocks, three assists, five points and two drawn charges in 22 minutes after missing all of 2016-17 with a knee injury.
"I was pleased with Jahleem," Gee said. "He played some good minutes. Eventually we want to get him to 30-32 minutes, but I'm trying to hold him back since he's coming off a knee injury. I thought his eight rebounds were a difference in the game. He had three blocks, and he's going to be a difference-maker for us. That was a good sign of things to come, but at the end of the day, we had too many turnovers. When you give up 19 second-chance points, it's just difficult to win."
Sophomore JaShaun Smith also added nine points for Longwood, and Geter racked up seven rebounds and a team-high four assists in his first game back since suffering a season-ending foot injury last November.
Longwood has little time to dwell on the loss with a second straight home game coming up this Tuesday, Nov. 14, this time against Columbia at 7 p.m. That will be the second of three straight home games to open the year, preceding next Saturday's showdown against Saint Francis.
#GoWood
