UCLA to battle a rising Stephen F. Austin in NCAA matchup
By Andrew Erickson
March 22, 2014 7:07 p.m.
SAN DIEGO — When UCLA tips off against Stephen F. Austin Sunday afternoon, it will be billed as yet another iteration of David versus Goliath.
Except this David is hardly David. The Lumberjacks have won 29 straight games dating back to Nov. 26. They hold the nation’s eighth best assists per game average and have a starting five that is give-the-shirt-off-their-backs unselfish, three averaging double figures in scoring this season.
“They haven’t lost a game since Thanksgiving,” said sophomore forward/center Tony Parker. “They’re more of a Goliath than we are.”
Stephen F. Austin is a David that doesn’t have to sling up any miracles to win, but it already did that, too.
The Lumberjacks trailed the Rams of VCU by four with 10 seconds to play in their Friday night tournament opener. Sophomore guard Thomas Walkup drove and kicked to senior guard Desmond Haymon, who nailed a 3-pointer over the hand of VCU’s JeQuan Lewis and drew a critical foul. Haymon sank the free throw and another overtime deep ball to give the Lumberbacks their first-ever NCAA Tournament win.
Haymon’s highlight has already gone viral, but it’s just an extension of Stephen F. Austin’s DNA. The Lumberjacks have won in blowouts this season just as they have in nail biters. Stephen F. Austin had to rebound a missed free throw, assemble its offense, hit a contested three and hit a free throw all in under 10 seconds Friday, and all four happened.
The win was fortunate, but fortune favors the teams willing to do the little, extra things to win. Not because they’re luckier or because they have more athletic ability, but because they don’t know anything else but winning, so Stephen F. Austin did.
“They never doubted for one second that they were going to win the ballgame last night,” said Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood in a Saturday press conference. “Until the final horn blows and that’s the way I try to coach it as well. I’m a guy who is going to foul and I’m not going to let the clock run out.”
As UCLA coach Steve Alford tries to earn a spot in just his second Sweet 16 since becoming a college coach, he is reminded of one of his own teams that simply couldn’t lose. His 1994-1995 squad at Division-III Manchester College finished 31-1, winning 31 straight before losing in the D-III title game. The Spartans were talented, the product of three years of improvement under Alford, but they occasionally won just because winning was how they operated.
“We had two or three games where we had no business winning the game, but they just knew how to win and they believed in themselves,” Alford said. “When you have a culture of winning, that’s what happens. You don’t understand anything else so you don’t accept anything else, regardless of the ebb and flow of a basketball game.”
Alford said he sees that trait in Stephen F. Austin. The No. 12 seed Lumberjacks will stop runs, make free throws and rebound their way into basketball games. They also force opponents into turnovers on 24.1 percent of their possessions, per kenpom.com, setting up a battle for possession with a No. 4 seed UCLA team that rarely turns the ball over.
“That’s kind of where we hang our hat, is taking care of the ball and sharing the ball on offense,” said freshman guard Bryce Alford. “(Stephen F. Austin does) a good job of denying passes and not letting you get into an offense and operation areas so we have to be ready to not shy away from the pressure but go right at them.”
The winner of Sunday’s game will take on No. 1 seed Florida in Memphis on Thursday, but UCLA can’t afford to look ahead just yet. The Bruins first have to beat a team that can’t get enough of winning.
“They earned our respect and VCU’s respect,” said sophomore guard Jordan Adams. “We think it will be a good game tomorrow.”
