By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Raekwon Horton, Damari Monsanto and Primo Spears will be honored today on Senior Day as the UTSA Roadrunners host the Rice Owls at 5 p.m. in American Athletic Conference men’s basketball.
A spokesman said the ceremony will be held on the court at the Convocation Center before the game.
The Roadrunners also will try to snap out of a six-game losing streak as they move into the final week in the regular season.
During the skid, UTSA has lost three of the games at home and three on the road. Two of the losses have been by one point, two more by four and one by five.
The Roadrunners, in their last outing a week ago today, took a one-point lead at the intermission and built it to nine with 13:30 left in the second half but couldn’t hold on, dropping a 96-89 overtime decision to the East Carolina Pirates.
In today’s matchup, UTSA and Rice are battling for favorable seeding going into the AAC tournament, which is scheduled March 12-16.
The first day of the tournament is set to be played Denton between the 12th and 13th-place teams in the final standings. The remainder of the tournament is scheduled to be held in Fort Worth at Dickies Arena.
Right now, UTSA is in 11th in the AAC standings with three to play, including two at home, today against Rice and Tuesday night against the first-place Memphis Tigers. They’ll close out the regular season next Sunday at last-place Charlotte.
Rice is currently 12th.
Records
Rice 13-16, 4-12
UTSA 10-17, 4-11
Coming up
Rice at UTSA, today, 5 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Charlotte, Sunday, March 9, 3 p.m.
Notable
The Roadrunners beat the Owls 90-84 on the road Jan. 14 as Primo Spears scored 26, Marcus Millender 25 and Raekwon Horton 20. It was one of the better games of the season for Millender, a Houston native, as he knocked down five of six from three-point range. He also had four assists and three steals. UTSA leads 14-11 in the series.
Raekwon Horton, from Santee, S.C., has been an all-purpose standout for the Roadrunners, averaging 12.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.7 assists. He’s played previously for NCAA tournament teams at the College of Charleston and James Madison.
Damari Monsanto is from Pembroke Pines, Fla. He came to UTSA this season from Wake Forest University. With averages of 11 points, four rebounds and 1.2 steals, Monsanto is known as one of the deadliest three-point shooters in the American, hitting 42 percent from behind the arc.
Former Hartford, Conn., prep standout Primo Spears has averaged 36 minutes and a team-leading 19.8 points per game, which is 21st in the nation. Previously, Spears has played in college at Duquesne, Georgetown and Florida State. In four seasons, he’s scored 1,662 points.