Men's Hoops Travels to Stephen F. Austin
12/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Tim Andrzejewski (tim.andrzejewski@rice.edu)
Game Notes 
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HOUSTON — Rice goes back on the road this Saturday, Dec. 9, when it travels to Nacogdoches to face Stephen F. Austin. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by ESPN3.
Scouting Rice
• Rice is 2-6 after falling to UTRGV last Saturday, 69-67.
• Junior guard Connor Cashaw leads the team with 15.0 points and 6.1 rebounds. He is also averaging 2.6 assists.
• Graduate guard A.J. Lapray is second on the team with 11.1 points. He is also second in C-USA in three-pointers per game (2.9) and is connecting on 44.4% from beyond the arc.
• Sophomore guard Ako Adams is averaging 10.5 points and 3.8 boards. He is also tied for seventh in the league in assists (4.3) and is 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9).
• The Owls are averaging 66.1 points per game while allowing 73.0.
• Rice is connecting on just 36.7% from the floor and 30.9% from three. Its opponents are shooting just 42.8% from the field but are being held to a league-low 29.8% from beyond the arc.
• The Owls are grabbing 38.9 rebounds per game while allowing 38.4.
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his first season leading the Rice men's basketball program after serving its last three years as its Associate Head Coach.
Scouting Stephen F. Austin
• Stephen F. Austin is 8-1 on the season and have won four straight games after defeating Louisiana Tech, 85-83, Wednesday night.
• Junior forward T.J. Holyfield is fourth in the Southland Conference in scoring with 17.6 points per game and is tied for fifth in rebounding (7.0). He also leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (.500), is second in free throw percentage (.879), fourth in field goal percentage (.594), tied for seventh in blocks (1.3) and tied for 10th in steals (2.0).
• Sophomore guard/forward Kevon Harris is seventh in the Southland in scoring (16.0) and second on the squad in rebounding (6.0).
• Junior guard Shannon Bogues is tied for eighth in the league in scoring (15.3) and is tied for fourth in free throw percentage (.833).
• Sophomore guard Aaron Augustin is second in the Southland in steals (2.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5) while placing sixth in assists (4.4).
• SFA is scoring 81.4 points per game while allowing just 66.7.
• The Lumberjacks are second in the conference in field goal percentage, connecting on 48.5% from the field while also hitting on 32.9% from three. Their opponents are connecting on 44.6% from the floor and 40.6% from beyond the arc.
• Stephen F. Austin is pulling down 35.7 rebounds per game while allowing a league-low 29.8.
• SFA is also second in the nation in steals (12.8).
• Head coach Kyle Keller is in his second season at the helm of the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball program where he owns a 26-16 (.619) record.
Series History
• Rice and Stephen F. Austin will meet for the second straight year and the 19th time overall.
• The series is tied at nine but the Owls are just 1-7 in Nacogdoches.
• The only win on the road came in 1952, an 87-66 victory.
• The teams have traded wins over the last six meetings with neither team winning consecutive games since Rice won two straight from 1952-54.
Next Up
• Rice returns home next Thursday, Dec. 14, when it hosts St. Edward's in the annual School House Mania game. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and the game will be livestreamed by ESPN3.
