Author Archives: Jerry Briggs

Jhivvan Jackson cleared to play for UTSA basketball

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UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson has been cleared to play and is expected to play limited minutes today in Florida against UC Irvine, a UTSA assistant coach said on the team’s radio broadcast.

Jackson led the Roadrunners in scoring last year with 18.4 points per game.

The former Puerto Rico junior national team standout is coming off a knee injury that knocked him out of tournament play last spring and kept him out of the first three games this season.

UTSA will take an 0-3 record into the Gulf Coast Showcase, which is being played in Estero, Florida. Undefefated UC Irvine has won at Texas A&M and is 4-0.

The Roadrunners lost twice last week to Big 12 opponents. They dropped an 87-67 decision at home to Oklahoma and then played Oklahoma State at Stillwater, where they fell, 82-60.

Dawkins’ shooting touch lifts UCF to Myrtle Beach title

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Charles Bassey and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers started fast Sunday night in the finals of the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

But they couldn’t finish, as Aubrey Dawkins and the Central Florida Knights rallied for a 78-62 victory in Conway, S.C.

Dawkins, the son of UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, hit five 3-pointers and led the Knights with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists.

The game started as a battle between preseason favorites in the American Athletic Conference (UCF) and Conference USA (the Hilltoppers).

Also, it was an ESPN2 showcase of sorts featuring Bassey, one of the nation’s most prized freshmen, and 7-foot-6 UCF center Tacko Fall.

While Bassey steamed out of the gate with 15 points in the first 13 minutes of the game, Fall controlled the paint in the second half.

Using his imposing size, Fall bulled his way to 10 of his 13 points in the second half, including several dunks.

Bassey, so hot with his shooting touch early, appeared to get winded and missed some opportunities late.

One Bassey miss on a breakaway layup led to a UCF transition basket going the other way.

But, all in all, the 6-foot-11 freshman was dynamite, finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds in only his fifth game in college.

First half summary

After Bassey’s initial explosion, Central Florida went to a zone defense to limit his touches.

It worked, allowing the Knights to get back into the game. But Bassey adjusted, as well, going strong to the offensive glass, and running the floor to catch passes on the fast break.

By halftime, Western Kentucky held a 32-28 lead, and Bassey had 18 points and seven rebounds.

San Antonio connections

Bassey, a native of Nigeria, played two seasons of high school basketball at St. Anthony in San Antonio. UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, a Duke graduate, played three seasons in the 1980s with the Spurs.

Florida Atlantic holds off UIW, 71-68, in the Bahamas

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The Florida Atlantic Owls held off Incarnate Word in the second half Sunday for a 71-68 victory in The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase.

UIW (4-3) of the Southland Conference trailed by as many as 14 points before mounting a comeback.

The Cardinals pulled within one with less than a minute left but couldn’t sustain the rally.

Anthony Adger and Jaylen Sebree led FAU (4-1) on the final day of the tournament at Nassau, Bahamas.

Tournament summary

UIW finished 1-2 in three days of basketball at the tournament. The Cardinals lost 93-66 to Montana on Friday and then rebounded to beat North Dakota State 80-78 in overtime on Saturday.

Coming up

The Cardinals return home to face Northern Colorado on Wednesday night.

Texas’ first-year D-1 coaches

Carson Cunningham, Incarnate Word

Johnny Jones, Texas Southern

Chris Ogden, UT Arlington

Rodney Terry, UTEP

UIW rallies for 80-78 victory in OT to stun North Dakota State

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Freshman guard Morgan Taylor arrived at the University of the Incarnate Word this summer with a nickname of “Mo-Buckets.”

Taylor lived up to the billing Saturday, hitting the winning shot in an 80-78 overtime victory over North Dakota State at The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase.

The Bison led by 15 points in the second half but could not hold off the Cardinals on the second day of the tournament in Nassau, Bahamas.

UIW, under new coach Carson Cunningham, battled from behind in the final minute of overtime for their first win of the season against an NCAA Division I opponent.

First, senior forward Charles Brown III gave the Cardinals a 78-76 lead with a 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining.

On the other end of the floor, North Dakota State’s Cameron Hunter made a move to the basket, and was fouled, and hit two free throws to tie it.

After a UIW timeout, the Cardinals worked the ball to Taylor, who hit the winning shot with 26 seconds left for the eventual final score.

UIW of the Southland Conference escaped with the win when North Dakota State’s Vinnie Shahid missed a three-pointer.

Taylor finished with 24 points, five rebounds and two steals for the Cardinals, who improved their record to 4-2 on the season.

Brown added 14 points and sophomore guard Cody Graham 13.

Tyson Ward scored 14 to lead the Bison, followed by Rocky Kreuser (13) and Jared Samuelson (12). With the loss, North Dakota State of the Summit League fell to 1-3.

Notable

Taylor played under coach Gene Nolan at Marist High School in Chicago. He averaged 21.8 points in his senior year at Marist.

Bassey, Western Kentucky upset West Virginia, 63-57

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The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Friday night upset the West Virginia Mountaineers, 63-57, at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

Freshman center Charles Bassey produced a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds as the Hilltoppers (3-1) advanced to Sunday’s championship game against Central Florida.

Bassey, a 6-foot-11 native of Nigeria native who played in high school at St. Anthony in San Antonio, keyed a major upset victory for Conference USA by blocking a shot and making two steals.

Asked about playing against West Virginia’s Sagaba Konate, Bassey told Brad Stephens of the Bowling Green Daily News, “I’ve played against kids like him before. I’m ready to play against anybody.”

Three Western Kentucky guards scored in double figures, including guard Taveion Hollingsworth with 13 points, Josh Anderson (12) and Jared Savage (11).

Forward Esa Ahmad had 12 points and five rebounds for the Mountaineers (1-2) of the Big 12.

The Mountaineers committed 22 turnovers, causing coach Bob Huggins to call his team’s performance “a train wreck.”

“You can’t score when you throw it out of bounds 22 times,” he told the West Virginia radio broadcast.

Trailing by six, West Virginia made a late charge to tie the game at 57-57 on a free throw by Konate.

On the other end, Desean Murray elevated and dunked with the shot clocking winding down to spark a 6-0 run to the finish for the Hilltoppers.

Montana offense sizzles in 93-66 victory over Incarnate Word

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Michael Oguine scored a game-high 25 points Friday as the Montana Grizzlies overwhelmed the Incarnate Word Cardinals 93-66 at The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase.

On the opening day of the showcase, being played at Nassau, Bahamas, Incarnate Word (3-2) was within 11 points early in the second half when Montana (3-0) scored 15 straight to take charge.

Oguine was unstoppable, hitting 10 of 11 from the field and four 3-pointers. The Grizzlies hit 20 of 27 shots in the second half en route to 62.3 percent for the game.

Montana’s defense held first-year coach Carson Cunningham’s young Incarnate Word squad to 43.8 percent. Freshman guard Morgan Taylor and sophomore forward Christian Peevy each scored 12 points apiece for the Cardinals.

No. 3 Gonzaga wallops Texas A&M, 94-71

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Third-ranked Gonzaga allowed Texas A&M to stay in the game for the first 14 minutes and then rolled to an easy 94-71 victory Thursday night in front of a rowdy crowd at the McCarthey Center in Spokane, Washington.

In the first home game for Gonzaga against a team from the Southeastern Conference, the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Aggies by shooting 49.2 percent from the field while forcing 14 turnovers and blocking 10 shots.

Guard Zach Norvell scored 22 points to lead Gonzaga, a team that reached the NCAA title game in 2017 and the round of 16 last season. Forward Rui Hachimura produced 18 points and seven rebounds.

Savion Flagg scored 18 and T.J. Starks 16 for A&M.

Both teams entered the game with key players sidelined. Forward Killian Tillie is out for Gonzaga with a leg injury. Guard Admon Gilder did not make the trip for A&M because of unspecified health issues.

Gilder out indefinitely

A&M senior guard Admon Gilder will be out indefinitely due to health issues, according to a story posted on texags.com.

Gilder will remain in Texas for further evaluation while the Aggies travel to Washington and Vancouver in the coming week.

“I’m grateful for our medical team at Texas A&M. They are working diligently to get Admon back to the court as soon as possible, but his overall well-being is our priority,” head coach Billy Kennedy said.

Gilder said he is disappointed that he can’t be with the team this week.

“I understand that my health is important and that resolving this successfully will allow me to continue to pursue basketball for years to come,” he said. “I will overcome with God’s help, for I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”

No. 21 TCU rallies past Fresno State to remain undefeated

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The 21st-ranked TCU Horned Frogs on Thursday night rallied from a two-point halftime deficit at home to remain undefeated with a 77-69 victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Junior guard Desmond Bane led the Frogs with 23 points and 7 rebounds.

Senior guard Alex Robinson added 14 assists and 13 points to facilitate an offense that finished with 51.7 percent shooting.

Bane’s drive to the basket for a layup and a three-point play helped TCU (3-0) pull away from Fresno (1-1) in the last two minutes.

TCU opened the season with a come-from-behind, 66-61 victory at home over Cal State Bakersfield.

The Frogs outscored the Roadrunners 38-24 in the second half after trailing by nine at intermission.

In Game 2, TCU played at a much higher level, shooting 50 percent from the field and rolling past Oral Roberts, 79-62.

Guard Braxton Huggins scored 18 points to lead Fresno State, a program with 66 wins in the past three seasons.

Bulldogs guard Deshon Taylor, a first-team, all-Mountain West Conference player, was held to 13 points on 4 of 13 shooting.

Dixon’s extension

After reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time in 20 years last spring, TCU handed coach Jamie Dixon a two-year extension on his contract that runs through 2023-24.

In Dixon’s first year at TCU, the Frogs finished 24-15 and won the NIT. Last season, they posted a 21-12 record and lost in the NCAA round of 64 to Syracuse.

Hutson takes over at Fresno

Justin Hutson is in his first year as head coach at Fresno, replacing Rodney Terry, who left to take the head coaching job at uTEP.

Hutson helped lure Kawhi Leonard to San Diego State. Hutson worked as an assistant with the Aztecs from 2006-11 and from 2013-18.

Leonard played at San Diego State for two seasons from 2009-11 before entering the NBA Draft, where he became a star with the Spurs.

The Spurs traded Leonard to Toronto last summer.

McGriff-led Oklahoma State shakes off slow start, routs UTSA

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Cameron McGriff, Thomas Dziagwa and Lindy Waters III made sure on Wednesday night that the Oklahoma State Cowboys would not lose two in a row to start the season against teams from Conference USA.

Byron Frohnen. Oklahoma beat UTSA 87-67 on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Byron Frohnen

After dropping their opener to the Charlotte 49ers, the Cowboys cranked up the offense and pounded the UTSA Roadrunners 82-60 in their home opener at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Oklahoma State (1-1) shook off a slow start, took a nine-point lead at halftime and then shot 62.1 percent in the second half to overwhelm UTSA (0-3).

McGriff led the Cowboys with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Dziagwa added 16 points on 4 of 5 three-point shooting. Waters added 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Once again, turnovers and poor shooting plagued the Roadrunners, who are playing without injured scoring whiz Jhivvan Jackson.

Playing a second-straight opponent from the Big 12, UTSA had 18 turnovers to boost a three-game total to 57.

The Roadrunners shot 33 percent from the field. Byron Frohnen led UTSA with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Coming up

UTSA will return home to prepare for the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida. UTSA will open the event Monday against UC Irvine. The Roadrunners are scheduled to play three games in three days.

Notable

Trailing by 10 points in the first five minutes, the Cowboys rallied behind Dziagwa and McGriff to take a 36-27 lead at halftime.

Dziagwa had nine points and McGriff added eight points and seven rebounds to erase what had been a 9-0 lead by UTSA.

In the early going, Atem Bior had a couple of layups in the first three minutes for the Roadrunners. Nick Allen hit a layup with 14:52 remaining to make it 13-3.

Quotable

UTSA coach Steve Henson. Oklahoma beat UTSA 87-67 on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Steve Henson. — Photo by Joe Alexander


“We got to change our mindset. We’re just not playing the right way right now. We love our guys. They come to practice and they’re ready to go. But we just need so much more intensity and … physicality. We got a long, long, long way to go.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson said on KTKR radio.

Streak

UTSA has lost 19 straight games over the past nine years against teams from the five major conferences, plus the Big East.

Oklahoma beat UTSA 87-67 Monday night in San Antonio.

The Roadrunners’ last win against a major came on Nov. 15, 2009 at Iowa, when the Roadrunners beat the Hawkeyes, 62-50.

Tribute

Before the national anthem, Oklahoma State paid tribute to two former UTSA coaches, the late Rae Rippetoe-Blair and Brooks Thompson.

Both played at Oklahoma State before going on to coaching careers that led to UTSA.

Rippetoe-Blair was killed in a motorcycle accident in Austin in 2014.

She coached the UTSA women’s basketball teams for 13 years through 2013 and compiled a 216-173 record. Rippetoe-Blair led the Roadrunners to NCAA tournaments in 2008 and 2009.

Thompson died in 2016 after an illness. He coached the Roadrunners for 10 seasons through 2015-2016, leading UTSA to the NCAA playoffs in 2011.

UTSA signs two to national letters of intent

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UTSA on Wednesday announced the signing of Le’Jon Doss and Jacob Germany.

The Roadrunners released the news on the first day of the NCAA Division I fall signing period.

Doss is a 6-foot-5 forward from Fort Worth Nolan Catholic High School. Germany is a 6-11 center from Kingston High School in Kingston, Oklahoma.

The pair will join the team for the 2019-20 season.

Looking for their first victory of the season, the Roadrunners (0-2) will play on the road against the Oklahoma State Cowboys (0-1).