Author Archives: Jerry Briggs

Seattle men win 71-68, sending UTSA to a fifth straight loss

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Macaleab Rich. Seattle beat UTSA 71-68 in non-conference men's basketball on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Macaleab Rich emerged as a bright spot in UTSA’s fifth straight loss as he scored a career-high 25 points on 11 of 15 shooting. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Austin Maurer and Brayden Maldonado stepped to the line and made two free throws apiece in the final 19 seconds Monday as the Seattle Redhawks survived a furious rally by the UTSA Roadrunners to win 71-68 at the Convocation Center.

After Maurer made his two freebies, UTSA’s Matheo Coffi scored on a layup to bring the Roadrunners to within one with 12 seconds left. But with 10 seconds remaining, Maldonado drove and drew a foul.

He hit both to boost Seattle into the final three-point lead. Subsequently, UTSA advanced the ball and called time out.

Seattle coach Chris Victor. Seattle beat UTSA 71-68 in non-conference men's basketball on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Seattle opened a 13-point halftime lead and then held off UTSA at the end, improving to 11-2 under fifth-year coach Chris Victor. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Inbounding with six seconds remaining, the Roadrunners set up a shot for Brent Moss, who misfired on a three just before the buzzer to seal the victory for the Redhawks.

“Disappointed with the outcome,” UTSA coach Austin Claunch said. “These guys (the Roadrunners) deserved to win, but so did they. It was a good college basketball game.”

Macaleab Rich scored a career-high 25 points and Jamir Simpson 20 for the Roadrunners, who lost their fifth straight.

Rich scored consistently from the low block, hitting 11 of 15 from the field. Simpson, coming off the bench, added five rebounds and a career-high six assists in one of his best efforts of the season.

For the Redhawks, Maldonado scored 15 and Jun Seok Yeo added 13 to lead four players in double figures.

“I’m proud of this team for finding a way to win,” Seattle coach Chris Victor said. “It wasn’t the prettiest game, but we had some tough guys step up and make big plays down the stretch.

“Our success in going 11-2 in non-conference play is because we’ve continued to improve every day, and that has to remain our focus as we head into (West Coast Conference) play.”

After lopsided losses to South Alabama, Alabama, Colorado and USC, UTSA’s second half against Seattle was encouraging moving forward.

Jamir Simpson. Seattle beat UTSA 71-68 in non-conference men's basketball on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA leading scorer Jamir Simpson came off the bench to produce 20 points, six assists and five rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners shot 51 percent after intermission against a team with wins on its record against Stanford and the University of Washington.

Trailing by 13 at intermission and by 14 with 18:54 remaining, the Roadrunners didn’t flinch, engineering a furious rally.

Near the end, Simpson hit a three to cap a streak of eight straight points as the Roadrunners surged to a 64-60 lead with 2:34 left.

“I thought Jamir really led us,” Claunch said. “Macaleab was very efficient, and I just thought as a team we created really good shots for each other. Sixteen assists (for the game). That wasn’t really there in the first half.

“Our offense really got clicking in the second half. We got to look to continue those things.”

In the end, Seattle just played with confidence and made a few more plays.

For the game, Maldonado was a constant nuisance to the Roadrunners, burying three 3-pointers. Yeo, who hit only five of 14 from the field, made the UTSA defense work with his movement without the ball.

Mauer finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, and forward Will Heimbrodt produced 10 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

Records

Seattle 11-2
UTSA 4-8

Coming up

x-UTSA at Florida Atlantic, Dec. 31, noon
x-American Conference opener

Matheo Coffi. Seattle beat UTSA 71-68 in non-conference men's basketball on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman forward Matheo Coffi battled underneath for seven points and 10 rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Notable

The Roadrunners remain hopeful that guard Vasean Allette will play this year, but he has not seen action yet, sitting out all 12 games on the non-conference schedule.

Though he reportedly is practicing with the team and has been since early December, he did not warm up before tipoff against Seattle and was not on the bench during the game.

Allette, a transfer from TCU, remains on the team’s roster but hasn’t been seen at any home games thus far. He was regarded as UTSA’s top recruit out of the transfer portal.

UTSA’s five-game losing streak is one shy of the longest in a little more than one season under Coach Austin Claunch.

It started with a home loss to South Alabama and continued with setbacks on the road at nationally-ranked Alabama, and then at Colorado and USC. The deficits in the four games were by 24 points or more.

Even though the Roadrunners turned around and played well against Seattle, there was a noticeable letdown at the end when the final buzzer sounded. Claunch said the team remains confident with the road trip to FAU looming.

“We’re disappointed but we’re also confident in coming back and (getting) ready to work,” he said.

A new look

Austin Nunez. Seattle beat UTSA 71-68 in non-conference men's basketball on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Guard Austin Nunez returned to action after sitting out the USC game. He hit a three out of the corner in a 32-14 UTSA run during the second half that covered 14 minutes.- Photo by Joe Alexander

The Redhawks held the Roadrunners to 35 percent shooting and forced eight turnovers en route to a 37-24 halftime lead.

UTSA opened with a new-look starting five: Matheo Coffi and Macaleab Rich on the front line, with Austin Nunez, Dorian Hayes and Brent Moss in the backcourt.

Jamir Simpson, the Roadrunners’ leading scorer and a starter all season, played off the bench.

Six-foot-nine freshman Kaidon Rayfield, another regular UTSA starter, was on the bench in a sweat suit nursing an ankle injury and did not play.

The injury apparently is not serious. Rayfield was on the floor shooting a flurry of three pointers before the game, and so he is expected to be ready to play against FAU.

End-of-half woes

UTSA’s alternate lineup proved to be effective initially, holding the Redhawks to 40 percent shooting and trailing by only two in the first five minutes.

But with Seattle forcing turnovers and hitting the offensive glass for extra offensive possessions, the visitors soon started to pull away into double-digit leads.

In the final minutes, Rich muscled inside for a tip in to bring the Roadrunners within eight.

In response, the Redhawks answered with an offensive rebound and two free throws by Maurer and then a three pointer by Maldonado with four seconds left for a 13-point lead at the break.

UTSA’s hot streak

In one of their best streaks of the season, the Roadrunners outscored the Redhawks 32-14 in one 14-minute span in the second half.

It started after Seattle had taken a 46-32 lead with 16:20 remaining and ended with UTSA holding a 64-60 advantage with 2:32 left.

Simpson, a senior from Lima, Ohio, scored 12 points during the run.

UTSA held Seattle to one of 10 from the field during the early stages of the streak. In another segment, UTSA hit six of eight afield.

Macaleab Rich. Seattle beat UTSA 71-68 in non-conference men's basketball on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Macaleab Rich, a 6-7, 245-pound transfer from Kansas State, scored 14 of his season-high 25 points in the second half. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA men host Seattle in hopes of stopping a four-game skid

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners hope to break a four-game losing streak when they host the Seattle Redhawks in men’s college basketball at the Convocation Center. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. Monday at the Convocation Center.

In the final non-conference game on the schedule before opening play in the American on Dec. 31 at Florida Atlantic, the Roadrunners will face a tough challenge.

Seattle, a member of the West Coast Conference, comes in with a 10-2 record, victories over two power conference teams and a top 100 standing in the NET rankings.

The visitors are listed at No. 94 on the NET. UTSA, at 4-7, with only two wins against NCAA Division I programs, carries a ranking of 308th among 365 teams in the nation.

Seattle, under fifth-year coach Chris Victor, hopes to use its fast start to create momentum toward play in the WCC.

In Victor’s first three seasons, the Redhawks finished 23-9, 20-12 and 23-14, before going 14-18 last year.

Last fall, they were picked eighth in the WCC, a league dominated recently by Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s, Calif.

So far this season, Seattle has evolved into a force among mid majors, winning on the road at Stanford of the Atlantic Coast Conference and on a neutral site against Washington of the Big Ten.

In the Redhawks’ last game, played on Dec. 19, they beat the Huskies, 70-66, in a grind-it-out matchup of Seattle-based programs.

Seattle is a high-scoring team, averaging 81.8 points behind Brayden Maldonado, Will Heimbrodt and Gonzaga transfer Jun Seok Yeo. They shoot 51 percent from the field as a team.

Records

Seattle 10-2
UTSA 4-7

Coming up

Seattle at UTSA, Monday, 2 p.m.
x-UTSA at Florida Atlantic, Dec. 31, noon
x-American Conference opener

Notable

UTSA hasn’t won since Nov. 25 in Jacksonville, Fla., against Georgia Southern.

Since then, Coach Austin Claunch’s Roadrunners have lost at home against South Alabama and on the road against nationally-ranked Alabama, Colorado and Southern Cal.

In their last game, played last Wednesday in Los Angeles, the Roadrunners played on mostly even terms with the Trojans for the first 17 minutes. After that, USC rolled, claiming a 97-70 victory.

UTSA is looking for its first home win this season against a Division I program.

The Roadrunners are 2-2 at the Convo, with the wins against the College of Biblical Studies from Houston and Oklahoma-based Southwestern Christian (Okla.)

Columbia women rally late to beat UTSA, 70-65, in New York City

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The defending Ivy League champion Columbia Lions erased a six-point deficit in the final three minutes and defeated the UTSA Roadrunners 70-65 on Saturday afternoon in New York City.

In a women’s college basketball game that was hotly contested from the opening tip, the Lions outscored the Roadrunners 11-0 in the last three minutes to win on their home court.

The emotions boiled over in the final seconds as UTSA coach Karen Aston was hit with a technical foul for having words with one of the referees.

“I thought we played really hard,” Aston said on the team’s radio broadcast. “We probably had some fatigue mistakes there late in the game, and there’s nothing we can do about that.

“You know, the turnovers we had late were probably from fatigue, to be honest with you. They’re just going to have to learn how to handle that.”

The game seemed to turn inexorably in the Lions’ favor with less than 40 seconds remaining when UTSA guard Ereauna Hardaway drove to the basket, trying break to a tie score.

Columbia guard Fliss Henderson blocked the shot and sent the action the other way.

On the attack, Columbia’s Perri Page passed to Henderson, who sank a layup, giving the Lions a two-point advantage at 67-65 with five seconds left.

During the ensuing timeout, Aston was hit with a technical foul.

Columbia was awarded free throws, and Riley Weiss made one of two for a three point spread.

The Lions were also awarded possession, which resulted in Weiss going to the line again to make both for the game’s final points.

Guard Marija Avlijas scored 21 to lead five Columbia players in double figures. Weiss added 16 for the Lions, who improved to 8-4 on the season.

The Roadrunners had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-6. For UTSA, the loss was a heartbreaker.

Playing without starting forward Idara Udo, the Roadrunners built an eight-point halftime lead and had a chance to beat a team that has played in the last two NCAA tournaments.

They had a chance to record a signature victory against a team listed at No. 70 in the NET rankings. But, in the end, they couldn’t hold on.

Guard Ereauna Hardaway led the Roadrunners with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. It was her fourth straight game in double figures.

Forward Cheyenne Rowe hit seven of 11 from the field and scored 15 among four players in double figures. Guards Damara Allen scored 12 and Jayda Holiman 10.

Records

UTSA 5-6
Columbia 8-4

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Dec. 30, 1 p.m.
(American Conference opener)

First half

Playing without injured starting forward Idara Udo, the UTSA Roadrunners fell behind by nine points early and then rallied at the end for a 30-23 lead at halftime.

UTSA won the first 20 minutes with a defensive effort that resulted in 29 percent shooting and 14 turnovers by Columbia.

On the other end, senior guard Ereauna Hardaway led the way with eight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers to cap an 8-0 run in the final one minute and 30 seconds.

The Roadrunners shot 40 percent from the field and 28 percent from three, knocking down four of 14 shots from behind the arc.

Notable

Idara Udo‘s absence from the lineup was announced prior to tipoff when starting lineups were posted.

Emilia Dannebauer started on the front line for UTSA along with Cheyenne Rowe. The starting guards were Ereauna Hardaway, Damara Allen and Jayda Holiman.

Broadcasters on ESPN+ said the nature of Udo’s injury was undisclosed, but the television broadcast showed her on the bench with a walking boot.

The 6-foot junior from Plano was wearing the boot on Dec. 15 after she played in a home game against Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Without Udo, UTSA showed up at Columbia’s Levien Gym with nine players, and with only eight on scholarship.

UTSA women hoping for a signature victory today in New York City

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

On a trip to New York during the holidays, the UTSA women will get more than a chance to see the sights in the big city.

Coach Karen Aston. UTSA women's basketball lost to UNLV 66-39 on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Karen Aston leads the Roadrunners into New York today to play the defending Ivy League champion Columbia Lions. – File photo by Joe Alexander

The defending champions in the American Conference have one last opportunity to produce a signature victory and boost their standing in the NCAA rankings before league play commences.

With tipoff set for noon today Central time, the defending Ivy League champion Columbia Lions will be waiting at Levien Gymnasium to test the Roadrunners.

UTSA coach Karen Aston said her players will need to be “on task” against a very good team.

“We’ll have to have a competitive mindset for 40 minutes,” she said.

Columbia finished 24-7 last season and made school history by winning its first NCAA tournament game.

The Lions defeated the Big Ten’s Washington Huskies in the Round of 68 before getting knocked out in the next round by the Big 12’s West Virginia Mountaineers.

This season, the Lions return six players from the NCAA squad, including their two leading scorers, guards Riley Weiss and Perri Page.

Columbia (7-4) has played a rigorous non-conference schedule and has been prone to inconsistency, but has won a few games against high major competition.

On opening night, the Lions won on the road, beating Butler of the Big East in Indianapolis.

Eleven days ago, they defeated another Big East team, the Seton Hall Pirates, on the road in South Orange, N.J.

Page hit the game-winning basket on a driving layup with one second remaining.

As a result, the Lions are 70th in the NET rankings of 363 NCAA Division I programs, with the Roadrunners (5-5) coming in at No. 148.

UTSA finished 26-5 last season and won the American at 17-1.

But this year has served as a challenge with a few stars playing out their eligibility, a few others transferring to other programs and more than a few talented athletes sitting out with injuries.

On top of all that, the Roadrunners have played four games, dropping all four, against power conference opponents.

The team’s best wins have come on a neutral site (in Frisco) against Grand Canyon Lopes of the Mountain West and at home against the Sun Belt’s Texas State Bobcats.

UTSA enters today’s game coming off home victories over Prairie View A&M and NCAA Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Records

UTSA 5-5
Columbia 7-4

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Dec. 30, 1 p.m.

USC men rally to hand UTSA its fourth straight loss, 97-70

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Out-hustled for most of the first half, the USC Trojans responded Wednesday night by scoring the last 13 points before intermission, on their way to an easy 97-70 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

USC (11-1) of the Big Ten Conference shot 59 percent from the field and outscored the visiting team from Texas 57-39 in the second half en route to its third straight win.

Senior forward Ezra Ausar led the Trojans with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Chad Baker-Mazara, who played in the Final Four last year with Auburn, had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.

USC entered the week receiving votes, just behind the Top 25, in the Associated Press poll. The Trojans entered Wednesday night’s game at the Galen Center 39th in the NET rankings.

Playing without starting guard Austin Nunez, UTSA (4-7) lost its fourth straight despite the efforts of Jamir Simpson, Brett Moss and Kaidon Rayfield. Simpson and Moss scored 16 points each and Rayfield 14.

The Roadrunners started off the game well, crashing the boards and creating a few turnovers, but they failed to slow down the pace when the momentum turned.

As a result, their losing streak has reached four games, with all of the scoring margins by 24 points or more.

UTSA will now return home to San Antonio with one home game remaining (Monday against Seattle) before the start of conference play in the American.

The Roadrunners’ last win came on Nov. 25 in Jacksonville, Fla., when they beat the Georgia Southern Eagles, 77-64.

In the losing streak, they started it off with the South Alabama Jaguars, who beat the ‘Runners 82-58 at the Convocation Center.

Subsequently, they took to the road for three straight against power conference opponents and dropped all three, falling to nationally-ranked Alabama, 97-55; to Colorado, 88-64 and now to USC.

Against the Trojans, they played well enough to win for the first 17 minutes and then went flat. The Roadrunners finished by shooting 34.9 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from three.

UTSA hit seven of 27 from behind the arc.

In the USC camp, the Trojans announced on game day that high-scoring guard Rodney Rice would be lost for the season.

On the other hand, it was reported that freshman guard Alijah Arenas could be getting ready to play after sitting out the first 12 games.

It didn’t seem to matter either way for the Trojans, who blew out the Roadrunners and led by as many as 29 points late in the game.

Records

UTSA 4-7
USC 11-1

Coming up

Seattle at UTSA, Monday, 2 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners finished their non-conference run against power conference teams at 0-3 this season, extending the program’s losing streak against the majors to 31 games.

UTSA hasn’t won against a power conference team (Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC or Pac 12) since beating Iowa on the road in November of 2009.

With Nunez out, Moss started in his place on a guard line that included Dorian Hayes and Simpson. Daniel Akitoby started along with Kaidon Rayfield on the front line.

Akitoby finished with four points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes. Freshman Matheo Coffi, a frontcourt starter most of the season, came off the bench. He finished with zero points and four rebounds.

First half

The Trojans picked up the intensity in the final minutes of the half, overcoming a four-point deficit to take a 40-31 lead at intermission.

For the first 17 minutes in the half, the Roadrunners used a strong performance on the boards to play the Trojans mostly on even terms.

Moss hit a jumper and Jamir Simpson added two free throws to lift UTSA into a 31-27 advantage with less than four minutes remaining.

From there, the Trojans retaliated with their best effort of the night.

Forcing the pace with their defense on one end, they hit five of eight shots on the other.

The Trojans capped the run in the final minute with a 6-0 streak. Chad Baker-Mazara started it by picking up a steal. Later, he snared an offensive rebound and followed it in.

After a miss by Akitoby, junior guard Jordan Marsh responded on the other end with a three-pointer.

USC’s defense stepped up again as Ryan Cornish got a steal off UTSA’s Jamir Simpson, which led to a driving layup by Marsh with 27 seconds left.

UTSA turned it over again on its last possession, but USC’s Terrence Williams II missed a three at the buzzer.

UTSA men to take on USC in Los Angeles tonight

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA men will face a third straight road test against an opponent from a power conference Wednesday night in Los Angeles, taking on the USC Trojans at 8 p.m. at the Galen Center.

The Roadrunners have lost three straight, losing by 24 points or more to South Alabama at home, and then on the road at 12th-ranked Alabama and Colorado.

After returning from the trip, UTSA will play Seattle at home on Monday in the final non-conference game on the schedule. UTSA opens play in the American on Dec. 31 at Florida Atlantic.

Eric Musselman-coached USC is receiving votes in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Trojans, averaging 87.5 points, are 39th in Wednesday’s NET rankings.

UTSA is No. 308 out of 365 teams in Division I. In their last game, the Roadrunners played on even terms with the Buffaloes for a half, trailing by three before losing 88-64.

In the second half, Colorado started to click, hitting 62 percent from the field and ultimately matching its scoring average for the season.

USC has its own prolific offense that will present problems for UTSA. The Trojans shoot 48 percent from the field and 37 percent from three.

Auburn transfer Chad Baker-Mazara averages 21.6 points to lead the Trojans. Baker-Mazara, a 6-7 forward who grew up in the Dominican Republic, is a 38-percent three-point shooter.

USC is in transition with its personnel after star guard Rodney Rice went out with an injury in late November. He hasn’t played since. Rice was averaging 20.3 points through six games.

Records

UTSA 4-6
USC 10-1

Coming up

Seattle at UTSA, Monday, 2 p.m.

UTSA women ignite a ‘6-7’ cheer from young fans as they win their second straight

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Ereauna Hardaway, Dec. 15, 2025

Guard Ereauna Hardaway produced 15 points and eight assists Monday as the UTSA Roadrunners overwhelmed the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas, 82-40. – Photo by Antonio Moreno, from UTSA athletics

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Hundreds of giddy elementary school students on Monday afternoon playfully ushered the “6-7” phenomenon into the halls of higher education at UTSA.

On a day billed as “Rowdy’s Fast Break Field Trip,” school kids in attendance at a Roadrunners’ women’s basketball game waited patiently for an opportunity to celebrate the latest pre-teen fad.

Their chance came two minutes into the fourth quarter at the Convocation Center when UTSA forward Sanaa Bean tossed a pass out of the post. Her teammate, Adriana Robles, caught it and calmly swished a three pointer.

As soon as the scoreboard flashed to 67-31, in favor of the Roadrunners, kids seated on the east side of the Convo’s lower section of seats erupted in cheers.

Remarkably, the celebration lasted pretty much to the end of UTSA’s 82-40 victory over the Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas, their second win in three days.

UTSA players rekindled the positive vibes afterward, taking a few minutes after the school song to walk as a group to an area right in front of their new fans.

Mia Hammonds, a sophomore from San Antonio-area Steele High School, led an impromptu cheer, thanking them for coming out. She said later that she likes playing in front of kids.

“I just love the energy,” Hammonds said. “Like, that’s our best crowd … kids full of energy. I think they were really into the game, and I think that really helped us, especially with our 6-7.

“We all had a good time when we hit 67.”

According to published reports, the nationwide fad among young people apparently started with a rap song by Skrilla, entitled, “Doot Doot (6-7),” with it gaining viral attention via TikTok.

In media interviews after the game, Hammonds was asked about it and tried to explain what it was all about, with coach Karen Aston and guard Ereauna Hardaway seated next to her and listening in.

“As a young adult and as children,” Hammonds said, “that 6-7 is such an important number to us. I don’t know how we got here. But we love it, and we cheered for it. Right coach?”

Replied Aston, “I can’t tell you what it is. I don’t even know how it originated. But it’s a craze right now, so we just went along with it.”

The UTSA women started the season with their toughest schedule in years, playing four Power Four conference opponents among six games away from home out of their first eight.

Returning home to play twice in the past three days against teams they should beat, they took full advantage of the situation, rolling to two easy victories and evening their record at 5-5.

After powering past the Division I Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers 86-40 on Saturday, they played a game against the Javelinas that was similar in some respects.

Like the Lady Panthers on Saturday, the Javelinas hit a few shots early and started fast but soon gave way to the Roadrunners, who dominated with their size and quickness over the last three quarters to win easily.

Hardaway produced 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds to lead the Roadrunners. Cheyenne Rowe and Hammonds scored 12 apiece, and Damara Allen had 10.

For the third straight game, Hardaway, a senior transfer from North Texas, scored in double figures.

In that stretch, she’s scored 40 points combined against Baylor, Prairie View and Kingsville, while nailing 16 of 33 from the field and five of seven from three.

Records

Texas A&M-Kingsville 0-7
UTSA 5-5
x-The game counts on UTSA’s record but not on Kingsville’s.

Coming up

UTSA at Columbia (N.Y.), Dec. 20, 1 p.m.
x-Tulane at UTSA, 1 p.m., Dec. 30, 1 p.m.
x-American Conference opener

Freshman guard Adriana Robles hit a three in the fourth quarter to give UTSA 67 points, prompting a cheer from fans who have taken to a social media fueled ‘6-7’ fad among children. – Photo by Antonio Moreno, from UTSA athletics

A one-point quarter

The Javelinas had problems on the offensive end of the floor long before they showed up at the Convocation Center. They were averaging 47 points a game in an 0-7 start.

The Roadrunners added to the visitors’ woes by building a 38-17 halftime lead.

As they won the second quarter, 14-1, they held the Javelinas to zero for eight from the field.

Kingsville was held without a point for more than nine minutes before Landri Richey was fouled and hit the second of two free throws with 16 seconds left.

The Roadrunners also struggled offensively, especially early, though they warmed up to finish with more than 80 points for the second straight game.

In the end, UTSA shot 41.7 percent from the field and 48 percent (12 of 25) from three. Defensively, the Roadrunners dominated, forcing 30 turnovers that led to 34 points.

UTSA sophomore guard Mia Hammonds scored 12 points, including nine in the second half on three of three shooting. – Photo by Antonio Moreno, UTSA athletics

Notable

Six scholarship players out of 15 on the UTSA roster have not played this season.

Five of them regularly attend all home games, including forwards Taylor Ross and Sema Udo, plus guards Maya Linton, Siena Guttadauro and Saher Alizada.

Another, Nyayongah Gony, hasn’t been seen in warmups or on the bench at home games this season.

UTSA has said that Ross and Udo have suffered season-ending injuries, while Guttadauro gave birth to a son in July. The others are presumed to be dealing with injury rehabilitation or other unspecified issues.

It’s uncertain if any among the six will be available to play in the Roadrunners’ 18-game conference schedule, which commences on Dec. 30 against Tulane.

Linton emerged last season as one of the best defensive players in the American Conference for the Roadrunners, who won the league title at 17-1.

UTSA women run away from Prairie View A&M, 86-40

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UTSA junior forward Idara Udo produced 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Roadrunners snapped a two-game losing streak with a blowout victory. – Photo by Vashaun Newman, UTSA athletics

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Coach Karen Aston is always wary of the first game after final exams, and so she was relieved to see her players come out and compete with energy and efficiency Saturday afternoon.

In pounding the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers, 86-40, Aston was also pleased to see the UTSA Roadrunners put five losses — including four against Power 4 competition — behind them.

“I think it was good to get back to the Convocation Center,” she said, “and … play again after we get through a tough stretch and, in particular, (after we get) through finals.

“You never know how you’re team’s going to react coming out of finals.”

Facing a team coached by San Antonio native Tai Dillard, who once was one of the city’s greatest female basketball players, Aston also knew that Prairie View would be ready to play.

And they were, if only for a quarter. In the last three periods, the Roadrunners rolled — 21-9 in the second, 20-6 in the third and 26-9 in the fourth.

“I think there was part of the team that looked like it had been through a long week mentally,” Aston said, “but I thought that as the game went along, we connected a little bit better.

“The thing I’m most proud about today is our assist-turnover ratio (24-12). I mean, we’ve had a struggle with that, and I thought we were pretty intentional today with making extra passes, sharing the ball.

“It’s fun to watch when you play like that.”

The Roadrunners took complete control in the second and third periods, turning the fourth into garbage time. Leading by 31 going into the fourth, they kept pouring it on and led by 40 with three minutes to play.

All day, graduate senior guard Ereauna Hardaway was the facilitator, passing for seven assists against three turnovers. It was a point guard’s dream, as everyone seemed to be open.

“Just seeing my teammates, getting in the windows, what we’ve been working on in practice,” she said. “Just gettin’ downhill and making plays with ’em.”

In all, five UTSA players reached double figures in scoring, with sophomore Mia Hammonds leading with 17. Damara Allen had 14, Idara Udo 12, Jayda Holiman 11 and Hardaway 10.

Udo, who had fouled out in three of her last six games, pulled down 10 rebounds to complete her third double double of the season and her first since Nov. 19.

She said her bounce-back game centered on making adjustments.

“I talked a lot with coach this week, coach Cam (Miles),” she said, “just watching the film and seeing what I can do in applying those adjustments to changes in the game, and then, being more disciplined on defense.”

UTSA may have needed a game like this one.

A week ago, the Roadrunners fell 66-39 to UNLV and had their 17-game homecourt winning streak snapped. Then they followed with a road test at 14th-ranked Baylor that also didn’t go their way.

While they played well for a half against the Lady Bears, they dropped a 73-55 decision, giving them as many losses (five) as they had all last season.

UTSA (4-5) plays again on Monday at 11 a.m. against Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville. Prairie View (2-7) lost its third straight under Dillard, who was an all state player at Sam Houston High School.

Dillard also played for the Texas Longhorns and in the WNBA for the San Antonio Silver Stars.

After her playing career, she worked in high schools in the city for a few years before UTSA coaches approached her about joining the Roadrunners’ staff.

She worked at UTSA from 2007-12, assisting Head Coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair with NCAA tournament teams in 2008 and 2009.

Before the game, Dillard engaged in a 10-minute conversation on the court with current UTSA assistant Amber Gregg, one of her players on UTSA women’s basketball’s only two NCAA entries.

“Amber and her crew, they made a lot of memories and did a lot while they were here,” Dillard told The JB Replay before the game. “I was just blessed to be in their lives while they were at UTSA.”

First half

Hammonds connected on three of four from the field in the second quarter as the UTSA Roadrunners opened a 40-25 halftime lead.

Responding after an inconsistent first period, UTSA shot nine of 16 and outscored Prairie View 20-9 in the second.

Hammonds scored the last six points of the half on a 15-footer, a baseline drive and a layup.

Records

Prairie View A&M 2-7
UTSA 4-5

Coming up

Texas A&M-Kingsville at UTSA, Monday, 11 a.m.

Notable

Crystal Schultz led the Lady Panthers with 20 points on eight of 19 shooting from the field. The rest of the team didn’t fare so well, making only seven of 43. Altogether, the Roadrunners held the Panthers to 24.2 percent.

UTSA, on the other hand, shot 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from three. The Roadrunners made nine of 22 shots from behind the arc.

Free throw shooting was a problem for UTSA early, as the Roadrunners made only six of 14 in the half. UTSA made nine of nine after intermission and finished 15 of 23 at the line.

Colorado men ride second-half surge, wallop UTSA, 88-64

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Point guard Barrington Hargress scored 10 of his 23 points in the first six minutes of the second half Saturday in Boulder, allowing the Big 12’s Colorado Buffaloes to pull away from the UTSA Roadrunners in an 88-64 victory.

Colorado (9-1) led by three points at intermission and then unleashed Hargress, a transfer from UC Riverside, to kick-start its high-scoring offense.

UTSA (4-6) couldn’t keep pace as the 6-foot-1 guard opened the second half with a three-pointer and then added a jumper and another three, all in the first three minutes.

Hargress followed with a layup, pushing Colorado’s lead to 14 points at the 14:01 mark. The Buffaloes led by as many as 27 points late in the game.

For the Roadrunners, guard Jamir Simpson produced another strong game with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. Brent Moss and Daniel Akitoby supplied spark off the bench, with Moss scoring 11 and Akitoby 10.

UTSA has now lost three straight, all by more than 20 points. On the last day of November, the South Alabama Jaguars played zone defense primarily and won 82-58 at the Convocation Center.

Alabama, the 12th-ranked team in the nation, soundly defeated UTSA 97-55 last weekend in Tuscaloosa. Now, Colorado has piled on, using 62.2 percent shooting in the second half to win going away.

Coming in shooting 52 percent from the field and 41 percent from three, the Buffaloes nearly reached those numbers. They shot 49 percent for the game and 39 percent (9 of 22) behind the arc.

In areas of improvement, the Roadrunners played well defensively in the first half, holding a team that averages 88 a game to 35 points. In addition, they shot the ball better, hitting 39 percent and getting substantive contributions off the bench.

But it wasn’t enough to stop the program’s long losing streak against power conference competition. The loss was UTSA’s 30th straight against teams from the biggest revenue-producing conferences in the nation.

The Roadrunners haven’t won against a team from one of the financial majors since November of 2009 when they claimed a victory in Iowa City against the Big Ten’s Iowa Hawkeyes.

Records

UTSA 4-6
Colorado 9-1

Coming up

UTSA at Southern Cal, Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Notable

UTSA coach Austin Claunch said on the team’s radio broadcast that the game got away from his team early in the second half primarily because of some empty offensive possessions.

“Against good teams, if you take bad shots, and you don’t move (the ball), or you’re stagnant, they’re going to punish you on the other end, and that’s what happened,” Claunch said.

In the first eight minutes of the game, the Roadrunners held a surprising 13-12 lead. They were within one of two possessions for the remainder of the half.

“First 20 minutes, probably the best we’ve played this year,” Claunch said, “and the second 20, we got to figure out why that happened.”

UTSA’s Aston set to coach against ‘a San Antonio legend’

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Prairie View A&M head coach Tai Dillard (left) visits with UTSA assistant Amber Gregg Saturday at the Convocation Center. Dillard worked on the coaching staff and Gregg played for UTSA teams that reached the NCAA tournament in 2008 and 2009. – Photo by Jerry Briggs

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Tai Dillard returns home to San Antonio on Saturday, with the first-year head coach of the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers leading her team into the Convocation Center to take on the UTSA Roadrunners.

Tipoff is at 1 p.m.

Dillard is a San Antonio native who played for the powerhouse Sam Houston High School teams in the late 1990s and for the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA from 2003-05.

After high school, she moved on to the University of Texas, where she learned the game under head coach Jody Conradt and a UT assistant by the name of Karen Aston.

Aston, now the fifth-year head coach of the Roadrunners, recruited Dillard and another former Sam Houston player, Annissa (Hastings) Jackson, to Texas.

Jackson is the head coach at San Antonio’s Wagner High School.

Dillard, meanwhile, is in her first season as a head coach in college basketball after working for almost two decades as an assistant, including 2007-12 at UTSA under Rae Rippetoe-Blair.

“Just two of the most competitive players and two of the best people that I’ve ever coached in my lifetime,” Aston said. “I mean, (Tai)’s a treasure. She was just one of those players who put on her hard hat every day, as I’m sure she’s done as a coach.

“She was an absolute pleasure to coach. She’s got a wonderful family. She’s a San Antonio legend, in my opinion. I use her as a story a lot when I have young players who struggle, because, as a freshman she didn’t get to play very much.

“And then, right at the end of her freshman year, right before the conference tournament, I remember this so vividly, it was like the light came on, and she never really looked back once that happened.”

Dillard played in high school at Sam Houston under coach Charlotte Jones, earning all-state honors as a junior and senior, as the team compiled a record of 60-14.

Sam Houston reached the state semifinals in both years, falling to Bay City in 1998 and to Dallas Lincoln in 1999.

Records

Prairie View A&M 2-6
UTSA 3-5

Coming up

Prairie View A&M at UTSA, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Notable

After opening the season by playing a schedule that included four Power Four conference teams, plus the UNLV Lady Rebels, the Roadrunners emerged with five losses.

But Coach Karen Aston hopes the experience gave the players a perspective on what it will take to compete in the upcoming American Conference race.

“The schedule obviously didn’t do this young team any favors, if you look at it just from a win-loss perspective,” Aston said.

“But,” she added, “if you look at it from a perspective that they didn’t need to have a false sense of who they were going into conference play — they needed to understand what it takes to compete against a good basketball team.

“They needed to understand what their weaknesses were. For lack of better words, they needed to become a team. This is a new group that wasn’t — and still isn’t — where they need to be from a team perspective.”

She said the team still needs to grow because of so many new players in the system and because of others who have taken on expanded roles.

“We’re growing,” she said, “but are we going to be exactly where we need to be when we open up against Tulane (on Dec. 30). Probably not. But I think we’re getting closer every day, if they just … continue to work on the things it’s going to take to win close games.”