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Stephen F. Austin Basketball
RIP: The Streak at Stephen F. Austin (2014-2016)
Dearly beloved,
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life and death of The Streak at Stephen F. Austin. Though it is no longer with us, we will always have the nail biting, adrenaline pumping memories. So before it is laid to rest for good, let’s take one last trip down memory lane and remember the incredible two year run that was.
November 11th, 2014. Newer Lumberjacks fans may not know this, but many of us have been here before.
It was 8 AM and the Jacks were playing in their first televised game since an incredible tournament upset against VCU and subsequent loss to UCLA the season before. A 34-game home court winning streak was on the line.
In what would go down as one of the greatest games in William R. Johnson Coliseum history, the Jacks battled Northern Iowa until the last second of overtime. A Demetrious Floyd runner on the final possession would roll around the rim, teasing Lumberjack fans with a taste of 35 in a row. And just like that, in the most gut wrenching way, a streak started by Lumberjacks legends Taylor Smith and former head coach Danny Kasper, vanished.
SFA Athletics
December 5, 2014: Thomas Walkup scores during an SFA victory versus Long Beach State.
December 5th, 2014. It would be almost three weeks before the team returned home to start over, but finally the Lumberjacks welcomed a solid Long Beach State team to town. In what was a competitive game through the first 20 minutes, the Jacks took a 29-21 lead into the half. It was a different story in the second. SFA would come out firing, quickly jumping out to a 20 point lead and never looking back.
A 74-45 victory would be the final score. The birth of a new streak had arrived.
December 17th, 2014. Nacogdoches' love affair with head coach Brad Underwood was in full effect when his predecessor made a return to WRJ. Emotions were running high as the man who built a program from virtually nothing was making his return after two years. Only problem? He was coaching Texas State.
Always a fan favorite, he broke many hearts when out of nowhere he left for a former conference rival in San Marcos two years prior. While he received with a warm and thankful reception from the Lumberjacks faithful, that was where the pleasantries stopped. In a hard fought game, the Jacks would beat their old coach by a score of 66-60 in what would be one of the only real challenges to the new streak.
Sam I Am Not:
SFA Athletics
March 7, 2015: Brad Underwood lifts the Southland Conference trophy after SFA clinches the regular season title with a defeat of Sam Houston State.
March 7th, 2015. Allow me set the stage. A legend's final home game. A conference title on the line. The Bearkats in town. Movies don't get better than this.
In front of a record 7,328 fans, WRJ was standing room only. An electric atmosphere unlike anything seen elsewhere in Southland basketball was on full display. Back and forth all night, the game would be tied with 8-minutes remaining. Down the stretch, SFA was finally able to pull away to secure their third-straight Southland title and 10th-straight win over Sam Houston State. After the final buzzer, fans filled the court to celebrate and say goodbye to their winningest player, longtime hero and hair aficionado, Jacob Parker.
December 15th, 2015. For the First time 41 years, SFA returned to the small, yet friendly confines on Shelton Gym. They had boasted an incredible 98-5 record during their run in the now-home of SFA volleyball from 1951-1974. The famed gym was also the home of the original home winning streak, one that spanned 46 games over three season.
The return to Shelton was a blowout over Our Lady of the Lakes, as expected, but fans and players wouldn't soon forget their chance to relive a little piece of history from a time before most were ever born.
February 27, 2016. On the surface, the game itself was not much to talk about. It was an 82-54 victory over conference newcomer Houston Baptist.
The Jacks won the Southland title for the fourth-straight year and capped off a perfect 14-0 season at home. But this was more than a title and more than another chapter of a winning streak. It was also the last hoorah, the final act, for some of the greatest seniors in program history and a coach who had elevated SFA basketball to a new level.
Thomas Walkup, Trey Pinkney, Floyd, Clide Geffrard, and Jared Johnson said their goodbyes to the WJR faithful, leaving behind a legacy and an active home court streak of 28.
Nobody knew it yet, although many had a fairly decent guess, but it would also be the final game Brad Underwood would coach (at least for the home team) in Nacogdoches.
New faces for a new season:
November 15th, 2016. No Underwood, no Walkup. For the first time in three years, the two most identifiable men in Nacogdoches were not suiting up in purple. Instead Kyle Keller led a team of new faces in a tense battle with Longwood.
In the final minutes, the Jacks would pull away for a 66-60 victory - the first (officially) of Keller's career as a head coach. The performance left fans uneasy. It hadn't happened that day, but with so many new faces on a young team, the streak was officially in danger.
Decemeber 7th, 2016. A day which will live in infamy. No need to recap this one - UAB was the better team and ended a 31-game home court winning streak. In some ways, it finally ended the Underwood/Walkup era.
The streak meant far more to fans than it did the team, though. When Coach Keller was asked after the game about what message he gave his team about the streak, he seemed surprised. “We didn't even talk about it," he replied. "I always thought [the streak] was 3. I don't have whoever played on the team last year. I have these guys.”
December 18th, 2016. LSU-Shreveport comes to town as Keller looks to launch a new campaign. His mission to rewrite the SFA record books is under way.
"We're going to break a lot of [records] around here because of the kids we have," Keller said shortly after the UAB game.
We will see if a home court winning streak manages to be among them with his first opportunity to begin one now just nine days away.
Like the streak of 34 before it, and the streak of 46 before that, this 31-game ride will go down in the archives to be brought up again after the all-so-likely next one.
If there is a new one, it won’t be built on the backs of Walkup or Parker. The players have changed - but there is one constant: the fans inside WRJ. The streak was about you. Everyone who has shown up to these games of the past two years played a part in propelling them to each triumph.
So thank you, Lumberjack fans. It was a hell of a run.
Have a favorite memory you'd like to share? Sign up for a free account from The Sawmill right here and join the discussion below.
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life and death of The Streak at Stephen F. Austin. Though it is no longer with us, we will always have the nail biting, adrenaline pumping memories. So before it is laid to rest for good, let’s take one last trip down memory lane and remember the incredible two year run that was.
Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end:
November 11th, 2014. Newer Lumberjacks fans may not know this, but many of us have been here before.
It was 8 AM and the Jacks were playing in their first televised game since an incredible tournament upset against VCU and subsequent loss to UCLA the season before. A 34-game home court winning streak was on the line.
In what would go down as one of the greatest games in William R. Johnson Coliseum history, the Jacks battled Northern Iowa until the last second of overtime. A Demetrious Floyd runner on the final possession would roll around the rim, teasing Lumberjack fans with a taste of 35 in a row. And just like that, in the most gut wrenching way, a streak started by Lumberjacks legends Taylor Smith and former head coach Danny Kasper, vanished.
The starting line:
SFA Athletics
December 5, 2014: Thomas Walkup scores during an SFA victory versus Long Beach State.
A 74-45 victory would be the final score. The birth of a new streak had arrived.
The return of the Stache:
December 17th, 2014. Nacogdoches' love affair with head coach Brad Underwood was in full effect when his predecessor made a return to WRJ. Emotions were running high as the man who built a program from virtually nothing was making his return after two years. Only problem? He was coaching Texas State.
Always a fan favorite, he broke many hearts when out of nowhere he left for a former conference rival in San Marcos two years prior. While he received with a warm and thankful reception from the Lumberjacks faithful, that was where the pleasantries stopped. In a hard fought game, the Jacks would beat their old coach by a score of 66-60 in what would be one of the only real challenges to the new streak.
Sam I Am Not:
SFA Athletics
March 7, 2015: Brad Underwood lifts the Southland Conference trophy after SFA clinches the regular season title with a defeat of Sam Houston State.
In front of a record 7,328 fans, WRJ was standing room only. An electric atmosphere unlike anything seen elsewhere in Southland basketball was on full display. Back and forth all night, the game would be tied with 8-minutes remaining. Down the stretch, SFA was finally able to pull away to secure their third-straight Southland title and 10th-straight win over Sam Houston State. After the final buzzer, fans filled the court to celebrate and say goodbye to their winningest player, longtime hero and hair aficionado, Jacob Parker.
A Shelton Showdown:
December 15th, 2015. For the First time 41 years, SFA returned to the small, yet friendly confines on Shelton Gym. They had boasted an incredible 98-5 record during their run in the now-home of SFA volleyball from 1951-1974. The famed gym was also the home of the original home winning streak, one that spanned 46 games over three season.
The return to Shelton was a blowout over Our Lady of the Lakes, as expected, but fans and players wouldn't soon forget their chance to relive a little piece of history from a time before most were ever born.
PERFECTION!
February 27, 2016. On the surface, the game itself was not much to talk about. It was an 82-54 victory over conference newcomer Houston Baptist.
The Jacks won the Southland title for the fourth-straight year and capped off a perfect 14-0 season at home. But this was more than a title and more than another chapter of a winning streak. It was also the last hoorah, the final act, for some of the greatest seniors in program history and a coach who had elevated SFA basketball to a new level.
Thomas Walkup, Trey Pinkney, Floyd, Clide Geffrard, and Jared Johnson said their goodbyes to the WJR faithful, leaving behind a legacy and an active home court streak of 28.
Nobody knew it yet, although many had a fairly decent guess, but it would also be the final game Brad Underwood would coach (at least for the home team) in Nacogdoches.
New faces for a new season:
November 15th, 2016. No Underwood, no Walkup. For the first time in three years, the two most identifiable men in Nacogdoches were not suiting up in purple. Instead Kyle Keller led a team of new faces in a tense battle with Longwood.
In the final minutes, the Jacks would pull away for a 66-60 victory - the first (officially) of Keller's career as a head coach. The performance left fans uneasy. It hadn't happened that day, but with so many new faces on a young team, the streak was officially in danger.
The End:
Decemeber 7th, 2016. A day which will live in infamy. No need to recap this one - UAB was the better team and ended a 31-game home court winning streak. In some ways, it finally ended the Underwood/Walkup era.
The streak meant far more to fans than it did the team, though. When Coach Keller was asked after the game about what message he gave his team about the streak, he seemed surprised. “We didn't even talk about it," he replied. "I always thought [the streak] was 3. I don't have whoever played on the team last year. I have these guys.”
Another new start?
December 18th, 2016. LSU-Shreveport comes to town as Keller looks to launch a new campaign. His mission to rewrite the SFA record books is under way.
"We're going to break a lot of [records] around here because of the kids we have," Keller said shortly after the UAB game.
We will see if a home court winning streak manages to be among them with his first opportunity to begin one now just nine days away.
Like the streak of 34 before it, and the streak of 46 before that, this 31-game ride will go down in the archives to be brought up again after the all-so-likely next one.
If there is a new one, it won’t be built on the backs of Walkup or Parker. The players have changed - but there is one constant: the fans inside WRJ. The streak was about you. Everyone who has shown up to these games of the past two years played a part in propelling them to each triumph.
So thank you, Lumberjack fans. It was a hell of a run.
Have a favorite memory you'd like to share? Sign up for a free account from The Sawmill right here and join the discussion below.
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