What We Learned: SFA shows glimpse of future, smashes A&M-CC

One part ecstasy of victory, two parts unadulterated relief. That was the mood around William R. Johnson Coliseum on Wednesday night as the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks shocked a fan base quickly losing faith with easily their most dominant performance of the season.

It was a match featuring the best turnover generating team in the conference, one of the best in the nation, in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, versus a team battling for the title of most turnovers committed in SFA. The clear favorite for conference Player of the Year in Rashawn Thomas versus a team that hasn't been able to find a player consistently able to reach double scoring figures.

I explained in my pregame prediction that I thought this matchup could favor SFA. Still, from a distance, I can see why so many people were reluctant to pick the Lumberjacks after their two disasters at McNeese and Abilene Christian. I wasn't exactly expecting a 33-point win, either.

But this team, full of heart and raw talent, was owed a win. On Wednesday night, they took one. The Islanders made a long five-and-a-half hour bus ride home with a 1-3 record, and for one night at least, optimism was back in the Nacogdoches air.

Here are a few things we learned:

Ty Charles does a whole lot more than scoring points -

When Ivan Canete gets as hot as he did last night, it's easy to forget about the contributors on the floor with less stat padding. Charles practiced on Monday for the first time since the Utah game, and just the second time since he injured his hand in the season-opener. During that Monday practice, Ty banged his hand during a full-contact drill and didn't return, setting up a few scary minutes for observers.

It has been a long, hard road back. He certainly hasn't reached the end of it, but his contribution to the team is clear.

Charles may not have the scoring stats right now, although he did post a nice double-double in Abilene on Saturday. His lack of practice time has been apparent at times on the court, and yet, there may not be a player on the team with better vision and unselfish desire to win.

Head coach Kyle Keller told me during a conversation last month that scheme really only means so much. "Good basketball players are going to make good basketball plays," he said. Ty Charles is a hell of a basketball player.

On Wednesday night, Ty notched 5 assists in 22 minutes. Together with Dallas Cameron, he was able to do what players have struggled to do all season for SFA: make plays for other players.

There was nothing more unselfish during the entire game than this dish from Charles - passing up a good look in favor of a better look for his teammate:

Don't expect a barrage of 33-point wins now -

Let's be clear: last night was amazing. Just what this team needed for confidence, what fans needed to stay engaged, and what I needed to justify my this comment I wrote after SFA's loss in Abilene:

"I get the feeling, and I know the coaching staff does as well, that at any moment it could suddenly click. It has taken longer than anyone hoped it would but it is far from too late in a wide-open SLC. My belief in this team remains grounded in the fact that I will probably always be expecting that "a-hah" moment in the next game, until it finally arrives."

But lets remain realistic about things, too. As mentioned in the Gameday Prediction notes yesterday, this was a hell of a defensive matchup for SFA because the Islanders just do not have scoring options outside of Rashawn Thomas and Ehab Amin.

What the Lumberjacks have done well all season is shut down the opposing stars. Teams like A&M-CC without depth are at risk of having nights like last night when they depend so highly on two guys.

As unexpected as a 33-point victory was last night, it probably should have been less unexpected than it was. Deeper teams, even worse ones, will generally fare better against the Lumberjacks' defense.

This was a tremendous confidence boost, a jolt of energy for a program that desperately needed one, and a fun night at WRJ Coliseum. Let's not return to unrealistic expectations just yet, though.

Leon Gilmore might be the best defensive player in the SLC -

Like most players on this team, offense has sometimes been hard to come by for the 6-7 junior transfer from Houston. Gilmore had the most difficult task of all last night, though: guarding the best player in the conference and trying to deny his entry to the paint. While TJ Holyfield might be the better offensive player, Gilmore has the best combination of athleticism, size, and quickness on the team. SFA coaches believed he was their best shot at stopping the Thomas machine.

My goodness, did Leon Gilmore have himself a night. During the middle of the second half, Islanders' head coach Willis Wilson finally pulled Thomas from the game. The odds-on favorite to win SLC Player of the Year sat on the bench, his head down in his hands, so thoroughly frustrated that teammates and assistants had to console him. Gilmore's defense in man-to-man, and a combination of he, Holyfield, and Huntley in zone looks, absolutely shut down the Islanders' star, allowing him to get off just 5 shot attempts for 7 points.

It would be one thing if this was an isolated incident - but its not. Do not let the offensive ineptitude of this team take away from the fact that SFA has a borderline elite defensive unit. Leon Gilmore has regularly been tasked with stopping athletic big men and more than not he has risen to the task.

The Lumberjacks' streak of winning SLC Player of the Year awards may end this season. Do not be surprised if Gilmore begins a new one in the Defensive Player of the Year category.

Defense is the best offense, at least on some nights -

Willis Wilson and Kyle Keller are actually quite similar in basic philosophy. Add Danny Kaspar, SFA's coach from 2000-2013 to that list as well. All three of these men coach a style of basketball that emphasizes scoring generated by pressure defense.

In the game preview yesterday, I mentioned that A&M-CC scores nearly half their points in transition. That might be a little excessive but it is kind of what SFA wants to do, too. When quick scoring is a threat, the floor opens up for more methodical offense.

On Wednesday, we finally started to see the seamless transitions between effective pressure-defense and quick-striking offense. Fast breaks were an actual scoring option, defensive players for the Islanders were on their heels all night, and effective outside shooting prevented the threat of a lane-clogging zone.

There will be nights where the defense isn't dominating on the level they did on Wednesday and offense will need to find other ways to score. The finished product should look a lot like last night, though - great defense and an offense that capitalizes on it for quick points. At least until the intricacies of the hi-lo sets are perfected by this group, that is a formula this team can run with success right away.

For one night, point guard play was a strength, not a weakness -

Dallas Cameron, a shooting guard by trade, and Aaron Augustin, a true freshman, have definitely not excelled at the point position for much of the season.

That is, until Wednesday.

Keller's two basketball quarterbacks combined for 8 assists and zero turnovers in a game competently managed from the start. Some of Cameron's dimes were plays I never would have imagined him making as recently as a month ago without turning the ball over - like this one in the final seconds of the shot clock:

Point guard play has probably been the single biggest thing holding back this team offensively. I have no idea if this is a sign of more to come, but if it is, it should be welcomed with cheers. Excellent point guard play could immediately make SFA a contender. Even halfway decent point guard play would make this team interesting for the remainder of the season.

This coming Saturday night as SFA welcomes an entirely different Nicholls State team into town, the score is 0-0 and nobody has a clue which Lumberjacks team will show up. For one night, though, and hopefully more nights to come, there is only one word you can use to describe Kyle Keller's young squad:

Winners.