By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
After nearly three months of frustration, the UTSA Roadrunners discovered the secret of winning on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte, N.C.
They fell behind by 13 points with eight minutes left against the Charlotte 49ers, but instead of folding, they seized momentum and won 88-79 to snap a 17-game losing streak.
The Roadrunners will try to keep the feeling alive on Wednesday when they face the slumping Florida Atlantic University Owls at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
FAU soundly beat UTSA 110-70 in Florida on New Year’s Eve, the start of a streak in which the Owls won six of their first seven in American Conference play.
Leading into the rematch, the Owls are struggling with injuries and a six-game losing streak, after falling on Sunday, 83-81 in overtime, to the South Florida Bulls.
FAU enters the game Wednesday at 14-12 overall and 6-7 in the conference, compared to last-place UTSA at 5-20 and 1-12.
“Really, really good offensive team,” UTSA coach Austin Claunch said. “They play the fastest tempo in the league. They’ve lost a couple in a row. They’ve had some injuries and some close games. Lost an overtime game (Sunday).
“There’s a lot of firepower there. We’ve got to be clear on personnel. You know, we’ve been mixing up defenses a little bit, and I think that’s been OK for us. But (against Charlotte) our offense really pushed us.
“The defense obviously came alive there and we made some really tough plays. We rebounded and turned them over. That’s got to continue to be a theme for us, you know, finding ways to disrupt Florida Atlantic.”
The Owls enter the rematch against the Roadrunners as the No. 3 scoring team in the league (81 points) and No. 2 in field goal percentage (46.3).
“They’re going to score,” Claunch said. “They’re going to make some shots. But obviously we’ve got to find ways to impact the ball, get deflections and get steals, so that we’re also creating easy offense for us.”
Records
FAU 14-12, 6-7
UTSA 5-20, 1-12
Coming up
FAU at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at Tulsa, Sunday, 3 p.m.
Notable
Just as UTSA finds itself on the verge of elimination from conference tournament consideration, the Roadrunners’ offense is finding a rhythm.
The offense is averaging 76.5 points on 45.3 percent shooting in its last four games. UTSA is also hitting 36 percent from three in that stretch.
For the season, UTSA ranks last in the American in scoring (69.6 points) and last in field goal percentage (39.9). The Roadrunners are 11th out of 13 teams in 3-point percentage (29.2).
Only 10 teams will make the conference tournament this year. As of today, both FAU and North Texas, with 6-7 league records, are tied for ninth in the standings.
The Roadrunners are five games out of the last spot with five to play.
UTSA junior guard/forward Brent Moss has averaged 15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals over the last seven games.
In that span, he has scored in double figures six times and has shot 44.9 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from the 3-point line.
Included in the streak is a season-high, 32-point game at South Florida on Feb. 4. Moss had 16 points and six rebounds at Charlotte.
It’s possible UTSA will have only eight players available for the third straight game.
Austin Nunez is day to day with a knee. Center Mo Njie broke his finger in practice a few weeks ago and had surgery, Claunch said.
“He wants to come back and play a couple,” the coach said in media interviews on Monday. “Dorian Hayes is day to day. He wants to play. We’ll see. Obviously as a young guy we’re not going to bring him back until he’s 100 percent with the shoulder that’s been touch and go.
“That’s the one thing. We’re banged up but we’re not short of guys who want to get out here and play.”