Photo Credit: Marvin Gentry/USA TODAY Sports
Nacogdoches, Texas is where the Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin State University call home and around this time of year the SFASU Men’s Basketball team is the main topic of conversation. For the past three years, this team has made headlines in the college basketball world.
In 2014 they were the upset team in the NCAA Tournament, defeating VCU in the second round and becoming the biggest “Cinderella” team in the tournament that year. In 2015, the “Cinderella” story continued as the Lumberjacks made their first ever back-to-back appearance in the NCAA tournament. This weekend the Lumberjacks again have made headlines, after Yale’s loss on Friday SFASU now holds the NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball’s longest winning streak and is undefeated in conference play. They have an overall record of 20-5 and a conference record of 13-0.
Here are some of the key components that have helped the Lumberjacks get to this point this season:
- We can’t talk about this team without mentioning coach Brad Underwood who led the team to their first NCAA tournament since 2009.
- Senior Thomas Walkup is the program’s all-time leader in field goals and is close to breaking records again as the all-time leading rebounder.
- Thomas Walkup and fellow senior Trey Pinkey both have 107 wins under their belts for the four years they played for SFA. They are two out of the three Lumberjacks to have 100 or more wins as a Lumberjack.
- Eight times this season SFA has had four players to score double digits in a single game.
If the lumberjacks continue to play this way they are sure to once again see the NCAA tournament. The Lumberjacks are on the road this Monday night as they play Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. They have met once already on January 25th in Nacogdoches where the Lumberjacks crushed the Cardinals 86-52. With SFA 5-0 in their conference on the road, it looks like the Lumberjacks will continue their winning streak on Monday night.
