Stephen F. Austin Basketball: How Lumberjacks stunned Duke in Cameron

Stephen F. Austin Basketball: How Lumberjacks stunned Duke in Cameron Indoor

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Kevon Harris #1 of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks celebrates against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

4 of 6

COLUMBIA, MO – DECEMBER 19: Head coach Kyle Keller of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks reacts from the bench during the game against the Missouri Tigers at Mizzou Arena on December 19, 2017 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Stephen F. Austin dominated the paint on offense

I cannot think of too many times in which I have seen Duke get dominated in the paint. It certainly did not happen last year, but I did not think it would happen this year either.

Now, Wendell Moore Jr. and Vernon Carey Jr. did plenty of scoring on the SFA end of the floor, but when the Lumberjacks had possession of the ball, the Duke defense did not have much of an answer for how the paint was attacked.

The Lumberjacks rarely shot 3s. Rather than beating Duke by spreading out and taking deeper shots, they went straight at Duke’s bigs all night. They took their time on offense and used crafty backcourt movement around the perimeter to free up some space on the inside.

The smaller Stephen F. Austin forwards proved to be more physical. They were well-coached and spectacular at getting themselves in the right place at the right time for easy points down low. Not only did the forwards dominate the paint, but the guards also had the vision to take the game close to the basket.

Guards Kevon Harris and Cameron Johnson were great at using openings to drive into the lane and get to the hoop. This ability to win the battle in the paint against Duke by scoring with ease allowed the Lumberjacks to finish the night with 64 points in the paint.