Monthly Archives: January 2021

UTSA trying to find a spark against North Texas

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Jhivvan Jackson. UTSA beat Lamar 88-66 on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson has averaged 16 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Roadrunners. But he says he is ‘struggling’ with his shot. — Photo by Joe Alexander

More than a few questions linger for the UTSA Roadrunners as they prepare to host the defending Conference USA champion North Texas Mean Green on Friday night.

After losing two games to open C-USA play last week at Rice, can they finally find some consistency to get on a hot streak?

Keaton Wallace scored 12 points as UTSA beat Lamar 88-66 on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Keaton Wallace enters a two-game series against North Texas averaging 13.2 points. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Can they find it with Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace scoring a combined 29.5 points per game, roughly two thirds of their output from last year?

In 2019-20, the dynamic twosome was the highest scoring backcourt in the nation, averaging a combined 45.6. So, yes, it probably would help if they could get closer to that number.

But even if they can regain the magic in a two-game series against North Texas, will it be enough to beat a team that won 20 games last year?

Against UTSA (4-5), Grant McCasland-coached North Texas (4-4) hopes to get off to a fast start in an effort to repeat its 14-4 run through the conference a year ago.

“They won the league last year and they got a lot of those guys back,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “The challenges they presented last year are here again.”

The talented Mean Green play a methodical pace on offense and then, on the other end, they try to force poor possessions by cutting off passing lanes and keeping the ball on one side of the floor.

Anchored by a couple of 6-foot-10 post players, North Texas used the approach to hammer UTSA by 20 points last year in Denton.

“We’re excited to play them,” Jackson said. “I think everybody wants that challenge to play the conference champions. So, we’re getting ready for them. They’re going to come over here, and they’re going to get our best.”

Jackson poured in 37 and Wallace had 24 last year in Denton.

But UTSA is, by design, a different team this season, with more balance to foster more sustained success. Jackson averages 16.3, Wallace 13.2 and center Jacob Germany 10.3.

Forward Eric Parrish (8) and back-up post Luka Barisic (7.3) are also involved in a fast-paced attack.

“I mean, everybody’s making plays,” Jackson said. “Kea, he’s starting to get it going. We got Luka making shots. We got Jacob. He’s scoring at a high percentage.

“We got EZ (Erik) Czumbel. He’s shooting almost 50 percent from the three-point line. We got Juice (Jordan Ivy-Curry), who comes in and gives us a stretch of points and hustle plays.

Added Jackson: “I think I’m doing a great job, as well, just looking for people. I mean, I think everybody is kind of getting the shot that they want. We just got to defend better.”

The Owls beat the Roadrunners 95-86 and 84-69 last week in Houston.

Though defense continues to be the focus for UTSA this year, the Roadrunners likely need to get much better shooting out of their best two players if they want to make a run at the upper level of the C-USA Western Division.

Jackson (43.6 percent from the field, 28.3 from three) and Wallace (40.2 and 31) are much better shooters than those numbers would indicate.

“I’m struggling offensively,” Jackson said. “But I’m getting my teammates open. Getting them some good looks. I’m running the point. So, running a lot of the plays for my teammates.

“I’m good, you know. I’m going to get on my rhythm. I’m not really stressed about that. We just focusing on getting better on defense.”

Cedrick Alley Jr. UTSA wanted to emphasize defense on Friday in a 91-62 victory over Sul Ross State at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

The status of injured Cedrick Alley Jr. is in question. Alley sat out last Saturday at Rice. — Photo by Joe Alexander

A victory would help to smooth out most problems, and Wallace said he’s confident that the Roadrunners can get that done against a team that will be playing its conference opener.

“They got us pretty good last year,” he said. “We scored a lot of points … We couldn’t stop them.

“We going to make some small tweaks to our game on defense, and they’re going to translate to (this) game.”

North Texas, scheduled to tip off C-USA play last week in Alabama at UAB, had its openers postponed because of virus issues with the Blazers.

Records

North Texas 4-4, 0-0
UTSA 4-5, 0-2

Coming up

North Texas at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
North Texas at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.

Alley’s status uncertain as UTSA prepares for North Texas

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The status of injured UTSA forward Cedrick Alley, Jr., is uncertain for Friday’s home game against the North Texas Mean Green.

“He’s pretty sore,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said on a zoom call with reporters Wednesday.

Henson said Alley has spent “a lot of time” with the training staff as the Roadrunners resumed practice this week following a pair of losses at Rice last weekend.

Alley, a starter at power forward, fueled an 11-2 UTSA run late in the first half in Game 1 of the two-game series against Rice in Houston last Friday.

In one sequence, he had a steal and then hit a 3-pointer as UTSA rolled to a 48-42 intermission lead.

For the game, Alley hit 5 of 11 from the field and scored a season-high 15 points in a 95-86 loss for the Roadrunners.

He aggravated his groin during the game, Henson said. Subsequently, Alley warmed up Saturday but wasn’t able to play in Game 2 when Rice knocked off UTSA, 84-69.

UTSA has been watching him closely this week as it prepares to host North Texas, the defending Conference USA champions.

“Right now I don’t know what he’ll be able to do (Thursday) or Friday,” Henson said.

Henson said he’s hopeful that Alley’s showing at Rice is a glimpse of what he can produce as the 18-game C-USA schedule continues.

Coming up

North Texas at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
North Texas at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.

Records

North Texas 4-4, 0-0
UTSA 4-5, 0-2

Rice wins 84-69, sweeps a two-game C-USA series from UTSA

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If you’re a fan of the UTSA basketball program, just call it the lost weekend in Houston.

The Rice Owls rolled to a 32-point lead in the second half and then held on Saturday for an 84-69 victory over UTSA at Tudor Fieldhouse.

With the win, Rice claimed its second victory over UTSA in two days for a 2-0 start in Conference USA. Consequently, UTSA dropped to 0-2 in the C-USA West Division and to 0-5 on the road this season.

Guard Chris Mullins scored 20 points and hit three 3-point shots to lead four Rice players in double figures. Center Max Fiedler added 18 on 8 of 8 shooting from the field.

Senior Keaton Wallace and freshman Jordan Ivy-Curry scored 15 each for the Roadrunners, who will look to regroup for a two-game home series Jan. 8-9 against North Texas.

Records

UTSA 4-5, 0-2
Rice 8-2, 2-0

Coming up

North Texas at UTSA, Jan. 8-9

Notable

Coming into Houston, UTSA felt good after playing a strong game at Oregon State and then winning two straight at home. But once again, the Roadrunners couldn’t get much going on the road. They shot the ball well in the first half of Game 1 against the Owls but then couldn’t stop them from scoring in the second half. In Game 2, they were out of sync from the beginning, falling behind 22-8 in the first nine minutes. They were down 48-28 at halftime and then 66-34 with 13:40 remaining.

Quotable

UTSA coach Steve Henson: “We can’t panic. But we got to do some soul searching. You know, this group, we’re a little concerned about some intangibles. We know we got some talent. We got some size. We’ve got a little bit of everything. I wish we could finish at the rim much better. I wish we had more guys who were comfortable attacking … (with) a more downhill attack. Again, that’s such an important part of the game.

“But we’ve got enough talent in there. We just got to make sure we’re locked in, playing for our teammates. Be more vocal, more talk from our upper classmen. They can’t feel good about what happened. Right? They can’t feel good about what happened in these two ball games. Rice was better than us. Both days. There wasn’t any doubt about it. We like our talent. But we got to figure out how to play better basketball.” — Henson.

Road blues

In five road games, UTSA has played well in stretches of two of them, but in the five games combined, they’re getting outscored by a combined average of 87.6 to 69.2 On the road, the Roadrunners are shooting 38.5 percent from the field and only 27.4 percent from three, while opponents are shooting 49.1 percent afield and 41 percent from three.

Injury update

Junior forward Cedrick Alley, Jr., did not play because of a nagging groin injury that he aggravated in Game 1 on Friday. Henson said he thinks Alley will be out a couple of days when the Roadrunners start practice next week. “It’s really sore,” the coach said. “He tried to go (today) and about the 30-minute mark (before tipoff) he told us he thought he’d be able to give us a little bit. Then went out for that last warm-up right before the game and just couldn’t do it.” Henson said Eric Parrish played through a sprained ankle.

Rice newcomer scores 36 points in 95-86 victory over UTSA

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Sophomore guard Travis Evee introduced himself to the UTSA Roadrunners Friday, knocking down eight 3-point shots and scoring 36 as the Rice Owls registered a 95-86 victory in the Conference USA opener for both teams.

In the game played at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Evee, a first-year Rice player and a transfer from VMI, hit 13 of 19 from the field. Shooting from long range, he was equally efficient, making 8 of 13 for the Owls.

For the Roadrunners, it was a tough loss in that they played well in many phases of the game, only to allow the Owls’ second-leading scorer to get loose on them with a second-half barrage of 23 points.

After intermision, Rice overcame a six-point deficit by hitting 59 percent from the field and nine threes. The Owls outscored the Roadrunners 13-2 in the final four minutes.

“There were so many winning plays by so many different guys,” Rice coach Scott Pera said. “Max (Fiedler) with an and-one, Travis (Evee) with a pull-up jumper, Chris (Mullins) with a defensive steal (and) Quincy (Olivari) with a big bucket. Just so many different guys did so many different things down the stretch.”

The Owls (7-2, 1-0) can’t celebrate the New Year’s Day victory for too long. The Roadrunners (4-4, 0-1) will get a chance for redemption Saturday afternoon, in the same arena, with the second end of a back-to-back to open the C-USA schedule.

Records

Rice 7-2, 1-0
UTSA 4-4, 0-1

Coming up

UTSA at Rice, 2 p.m., Friday

Strong start for UTSA

The Roadrunners played well in the first half, making 54 percent from the field and forging a 48-42 lead at the intermission. Senior Keaton Wallace got untracked with 6 of 6 shooting, including 5 of 5 from three. Newcomer Cedrick Alley, a junior transfer, also emerged from some shooting woes with a solid showing and 12 points. Referees waved off Jordan Ivy-Curry’s bucket at the buzzer because of basket interference on Jacob Germany.

Roaring from behind

Reeling from Wallace’s shooting spree, the Owls didn’t flinch. Evee came out and made his first three attempts of the second half — all threes. Altogether, the Owls put together an 11-minute stretch in which they outscored the Roadrunners 33-20. Chris Mullins capped it with a drive that made it 75-68 in favor of the Owls with 9:02 remaining. At that juncture, Jhivvan Jackson, the active leading scorer in the NCAA with more than 2,100 points in three plus seasons, started to heat up. Jackson hit a couple of threes. UTSA kept applying pressure and took a 84-82 lead into the final four minutes.

Down the stretch

Playing at a fast pace all afternoon, Rice summoned enough energy at the end to outscore UTSA 13-2 in the final four minutes. Quincy Olivari scored seven of his 21 points in the run for the Owls. Evee scored five. From the four-minute mark to the buzzer, UTSA hit only one basket. The Roadrunners committed three turnovers and misfired on four threes.

Sweet victory

With the victory, Rice broke a string of four straight losses to Steven Henson-coached UTSA. The Owls’ last victory over the Roadrunners came in February of 2017, in Henson’s first year. Last season, UTSA won 90-88 at Tudor Fieldhouse on a driving layup by Erik Czumbel with one second left.

Coach’s corner

UTSA coach Steve Henson acknowledged that the Roadrunners didn’t have much of an answer for Evee, a 6-1 guard from Randolph, Mass.

“It didn’t look like we did much to slow him down,” Henson said on a zoom conference. ” … Several of his early (baskets, in the second half) we got lost (defensively). He had a good first half. He hits three in a row in the second half, and it’s pretty obvious … You can’t totally forget about the team defense concept, but, man, the guy was on fire. You can’t go under a screen at that point. You can’t over-help.”

In spite of the defensive problems, UTSA was in the game until the end, when a fairly solid offensive showing came unraveled.

“It was almost like we panicked a little bit,” Henson said. “We did not have good possessions down the stretch … Quick shots, not much movement, not much passing. Hard shots. Questionable decisions.”

At a glance — Rice

Travis Evee 36 points, 4 assists; Quincy Olivari 21 points, 7 rebounds; Chris Mullins 14 points, 5 rebounds 4 assists; Max Fiedler 12 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists.

At a glance — UTSA

Keaton Wallace 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists; Jhivvan Jackson 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals; Jacob Germany 17 points, 3 rebounds; Cedrick Alley Jr. 15 points, 4 rebounds; Eric Parrish 6 points, 6 assists.