Stephen F. Austin stuns West Virginia at Barclays Center
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks forward Thomas Walkup drives the ball defended by West Virginia Mountaineers forward Devin Williams during the first round of an East Regional men's basketball game in the NCAA Tournament at Barclays Center on Friday, March 18, 2016. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Thomas Walkup looks all the part of a lumberjack — 6-4 and lean, with an unruly blond beard that he’s been growing since November. It was almost too appropriate, then, that the Stephen F. Austin swingman was the one to cut down a Big 12 giant.
Led by Walkup’s 33 points, the 14th-seeded Lumberjacks stunned third-seeded West Virginia, 70-56, at Barclays Center on Friday night to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in team history. Walkup added nine rebounds, grabbed four of SFA’s 16 steals and helped his Lumberjacks outclass the Mountaineers at their own game.
West Virginia, one of the best defensive teams in the country, allowed 29 points on 22 turnovers. The Mountaineers’ defensive aggression came back to bite them, as they committed 27 fouls. Stephen F. Austin went 29-for-39 from the line.
Clide Geffrard scored 14 for SFA off the bench. Devin Williams led West Virginia with 12 points and 17 rebounds.
“I think people realize that we’re the real deal,” Walkup said. “Maybe they thought a couple years ago when we got an NCAA win, maybe it was a fluke . . . [We’re] really starting to make a name for ourselves.”
An 8-0 run midway through the first half helped erase an early West Virginia lead, and Demetrious Floyd hit a three-pointer with 57 seconds left to give the Lumberjacks a three-point lead going into the break.
After Stephen F. Austin scored the first seven points of the second half, West Virginia eventually drew to within three on Williams’ free throws with 9:30 to go, but Jared Johnson hit a three-pointer and Walkup added a putback to send SFA to a TV timeout with a 53-45 lead.
“We just didn’t take it seriously,’’ Williams said, “and that’s what happens in this tournament when you don’t take it seriously.”
West Virginia (26-9) entered the game having allowed only 66.6 points per game — the best in the Big 12 — and, in the course of two seasons, was 41-1 in games in which it allowed 69 or fewer points.
Stephen F. Austin’s Brad Underwood, coaching against his old mentor, Bob Huggins, apparently picked up a thing or two. The Lumberjacks (28-5) had allowed only 63.2 points per game this season, albeit while mostly playing against the weaker Southland Conference, but showed that their high-intensity defense could translate to the biggest of stages. They have won 21 straight dating to Dec. 29.
When asked if it was the biggest performance of his career, Walkup hesitated, and Underwood took over.
“No, it was a doggone good one, but no,” Underwood said. “Can’t let him be too satisfied.”
Walkup smiled under his beard, disagreeing. “Yes [it was]. Yes.”
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
