Monthly Archives: December 2021

Roadrunners fine-tune for their next game Saturday in Houston

Posted on by
Steve Henson. UTSA beat St. Mary's 76-65 in men's basketball on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Steve Henson’s UTSA Roadrunners are in final exam week, with their next game set for Saturday in Houston against the Sam Houston State Bearkats. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Coming off a strong performance in a three-point loss in Arizona last Thursday, the UTSA Roadrunners are fine tuning in preparation for a game Saturday in Houston against Sam Houston State.

Tipoff is at 3 p.m. at the Toyota Center between the Roadrunners (5-4) and the Bearkats (3-5).

In their last game, the Roadrunners bolted to an early 12-point lead and led by five midway through the second half before falling to the once-beaten Grand Canyon, Ariz., Antelopes.

Despite the loss, Roadrunners coach Steve Henson said it was “the best we’ve played” this season.

“The theme for a couple of weeks has been having better possessions,” Henson said after Wednesday’s practice. “Taking better shots. Moving the ball more. Taking a big step in that regard.

“I think we’re understanding what good possessions look like. We’re getting a better idea of who we are. You know, we’re not the kind of team that’s going to make 10 or 15 threes most nights.

“I don’t think we’re a bad shooting team. It’s just not who we are right now. I think they’re buying into the idea that they’ve got to make some stronger plays. With more drive and kicks. More paint touches.”

After playing in Phoenix, the Roadrunners returned to San Antonio on Friday and took the rest of the day and all day Saturday off, leading into this week, which is final exams week.

“(We had) Sunday practice, kind of normal,” Henson said. “Monday, we did some skill work, broke up in groups … did a lot of skill work, a very productive day.”

Players had another day off Tuesday and then returned to practice on Wednesday.

McNeill making progress

Senior guard Darius McNeill, who has missed the last two games, remains a question mark with a foot injury. Henson declined to speculate on when he might be able to play again. McNeill was a starter before he suffered the injury at home against Lamar on Nov. 24.

“He’s made some progress,” Henson said. “He got the (walking) boot off. It’s good to see him walking around. He was on that high-tech treadmill the other day, take some of the body weight off … He was able to jog on that. (But) we don’t have a time frame (for his return).”

Asked if McNeill could be ready for the start of conference play at the end of the month, the coach said “we haven’t even talked about it. We’ll have to see what the doctors tell us.”

Bofinger running hard

Sophomore forward Lachlan Bofinger was running hard Wednesday, obviously in much better physical shape than he has been since twisting an ankle on Nov. 29 at home against the St. Mary’s Rattlers.

Bofinger played only two minutes at Grand Canyon.

“It was really swollen when we went to Grand Canyon the other day. He wanted to play. But we just didn’t think he’d be able to (go),” Henson said. “Sunday, he had an unbelievable practice … He was much, much improved.”

‘The best we’ve played in quite some time.’ – Steve Henson

Posted on by

Guard Jovan Blacksher scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half Thursday night as the Grand Canyon University Antelopes rallied at the end of a back-and-forth battle for a 74-71 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

The game was played in Phoenix at the GCU Arena. In UTSA’s best effort on the road this season, forward Cedrick Alley, Jr., led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Jacob Germany also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards.

UTSA led by 12 points early in the game. GCU came back to lead by five at halftime. Undeterred, the Roadrunners rallied into a 53-48 advantage with 8:42 remaining. But the Antelopes came back again, with Blacksher hitting two 3-point buckets in a 12-2 run.

Grand Canyon held on at the end when the Roadrunners missed a couple of threes in the final minute. Overall, the UTSA coaches will leave Phoenix feeling pretty good about their progress.

The Roadrunners out-rebounded the Antelopes 51-32 and played well, for the most part, in front of a raucous crowd, hanging in to the end against a squad that made the NCAA tournament last year.

Announced attendance was 6,844.

“Lots to be proud of,” UTSA coach Steve Henson told Jay Howard on the team’s radio broadcast. “That’s the best we’ve played in quite some time.”

Records

Grand Canyon 7-1
UTSA 5-4

Alley’s breakout

Alley made his presence known with a career high in points. His previous high was 18. With the 11 boards, the Houston native registered his second double-double of the year. He scored 19 points and snared 9 rebounds in the second half.

“He was kind of a go-to guy there,” Henson said. “Cedrick has been really, really good in a lot of areas. He has not been shooting good percentages. From two. From three. He’s been struggling. He got it going tonight.

“He got some big-time rebounds. Big-time rebounds. Made free throws, which he typically does. Then to knock down a couple of threes. It was just a great line for him. Played big minutes. Got tired. He was awfully good.”

Coming up

Dec. 11, 3 p.m. — UTSA vs. Sam Houston State, in Houston, at the Toyota Center.

The last word

“Well, we’re not going to try and make our guys feel real good, with the result (tonight),” Henson said. “But the way we played, if we do that, moving forward, we’ll have a chance to be a good ball club.

“We took a step this week. That’s the best we’ve played all year.

Division I upstart Grand Canyon set to host UTSA

Posted on by

The UTSA Roadrunners have won four of their last five leading into a Thursday night road contest in Phoenix against the upstart Grand Canyon University Antelopes.

Over the course of a 4-1 streak, UTSA has recorded victories over Denver, IUPUI, Lamar and St. Mary’s, with the first two victories and the last two sandwiched around a loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, all at home.

The Roadrunners will be playing on the road for the second time this season and for the first time since Nov. 12, when they lost 96-44 at Oklahoma.

Arizona-based Grand Canyon started playing basketball in 1949. Originally affiliated with the NAIA, the program moved up to NCAA Division II in 1991 and then to Division I in 2013.

Last spring, the Antelopes of the Western Athletic Conference qualified for and played in their first NCAA tournament.

Coach Bryce Drew, the brother of Baylor coach Scott Drew, is in his second season as head coach.

The Antelopes have won three in a row, most recently claiming road victories at Pepperdine and Loyola-Marymount.

Records

UTSA 5-3
Grand Canyon 6-1

Notebook

The Roadrunners will play on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Houston, at the Toyota Center, against the Sam Houston State Bearkats. They’ll return home on Dec. 17 to take on UT Rio Grande Valley.