What We Learned: Stephen F. Austin nearly stuns another SEC opponent

There is little consolation that can be offered in the immediate aftermath of a loss like Stephen F. Austin suffered on Tuesday. A tough road environment, against the best team they've faced all season, and with the ball and a chance to win at the buzzer.

It's all you can ask for.

Unfortunately, the final possession heroics of the last month finally ran out and Mizzou was able to escape the Lumberjacks with a one-point victory after a clutch steal just inside the key.

When you play a schedule like SFA does, a relatively weak conference slate and a handful of tough road games, it's hard to stomach when an opportunity this big is missed. The seeding implications could have been huge in March but, alas, with the loss, SFA might be thinking about what could have been on Selection Sunday.

In the meantime, with one final non-conference, non-Division I game on Thursday and then a week off, SFA will get some much earned rest before the league schedule starts on the 28th. As we await the beginnings of what promises to be a fun Southland Conference run, here's what we learned in Columbia:

Cuonzo Martin meant well and showed plenty of class, but SFA already knows they're good -

In case you missed it, Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin made the very unorthodox decision to enter the Lumberjacks' locker room after the game to express his respect for the kind of basketball they play.

It was a well-intended gesture, if not a little bit awkward, and the national media is eating it up today; good promotion for both schools. Credit SFA's media team for capturing the very candid moment: 

Let's be clear about one thing, though: SFA did not need Martin to tell them how good they are. The only way you reach the level of play the Lumberjacks have shown over the last couple weeks is by believing you're the best team on the floor, every time. 

Mid-major or not, SFA, as a program, is conditioned to win big games. The national media will always portray the Lumberjacks as a David battling a Goliath, just because of the fact that they're in a one-bid league.

SFA doesn't see it that way. That's why they're capable of beating teams like Missouri going forward.

John Comeaux has grown as much as any player this season -

On a night where Aaron Augustin battled early foul trouble and maybe wasn't quite at his best, Comeaux came off the bench to play some very effective basketball on both ends of the court.

There is a lot of upside to the sophomore transfer and he proved at the JUCO level that he can be a dynamic scorer. Early in the season, we didn't see a lot of it. Now, we're starting to:

That was part of a key run that pulled SFA back into the game after falling behind double-digits early in the second half.

Even really explosive players sometimes look a step slow on offense when they're working themselves into the fold. That was Augustin last year. Comeaux was there at times this season, too, but has grown by miles since SFA opened at Longwood.

He's a real contributor, and not just on defense, as SFA heads into conference play.

It's time to state the obvious: Kyle Keller is the real deal and was a brilliant hire -

It's so early in the season and a lot could still happen that could derail the Lumberjacks. If that happens, it won't be for lack of coaching. There was a lot of murmuring during SFA's injury-plagued season a year ago where some absolutely confounding losses and dysfunction on offense led to a disappointing result by SFA standards.

Even last year, though, nobody could deny the heart Keller's teams played with. Even opposing coaches pointed it out: 

That level of effort is still there. Explosive scoring talent and offensive competence have finally joined it.

Together, that's a scary combination. Whatever advice was given to athletic director Robert Hill that led to the Keller hire was good advice. Suspicion was fair last season but it's time to put that to bed. It might be early in the season but not by too much to declare Keller is a phenomenal fit for Stephen F. Austin basketball.

All the people who complained about TJ's thunderous misses this year still enjoyed this play -

If you watched SportsCenter last night, you saw plenty of this dunk: 

Holyfield has actually attempted that dunk twice this season already and it failed in both cases. I love that he hasn't stopped trying.

I said earlier this season and I'll say it again: Holyfield has the potential to be one of the great players to ever wear SFA purple, but that maturation process needed to include him fully embracing the alpha role that Ty Charles perfected over the last couple years. He needs to be T'd up a few times.

The dunk was beautiful. That fact that he attempted it at all, even more so. TJ Holyfield isn't about to back down from anyone this year and even if that means a miscue or two, fans should be eating it up.

SFA has set expectations high. Now, they need to back it up -

The Lumberjacks, the clear favorite in the Southland Conference, are currently tied with McNeese, the team picked dead last, at 0-0.

If there was any doubt about SFA's status as the front-runner, it has been erased - but the time is now.

Fans expect absolute domination. 18-0 is pretty much the standard at this point. That's a lot harder than most people think, but the Lumberjacks created that expectation.

It's time to back it up. Get ready, SFA fans. It's gonna be a wild ride.