Author Archives: Jerry Briggs

UTSA’s Spears scores 40, but it’s not enough, as Tulsa rallies from down 16 to win, 82-77

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Primo Spears. UTSA men's basketball lost to Tulsa 82-77 in American Athletic Conference action on Monday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Primo Spears poured in a career-high 40 points against Tulsa on 13 of 23 shooting from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Guard Tyshawn Archie scored seven points in the final minute of the game, and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane rallied from down 16 in the second half to knock off the Primo Spears-led UTSA Roadrunners, 82-77, Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.

Tulsa pulled out the victory despite a career-high 40-point performance from Spears, the UTSA guard whose scoring binge tied for the ninth best in school history. It was the first 40-point game for the Roadrunners since 2020 when Jhivvan Jackson scored 45 at Old Dominion.

After the final buzzer, UTSA remained winless after two games in the American Athletic Conference. In the postgame, Roadrunners coach Austin Claunch called it an improvement from the team’s showing at Tulane on Saturday, when they lost 92-63.

Jonnivius Smith. UTSA men's basketball lost to Tulsa 82-77 in American Athletic Conference action on Monday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Jonnivius Smith contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA held Tulsa to 29 points in the first half, but gave up 53 in the second, including eight 3-pointers. “We just weren’t able to get that big stop,” said Claunch, who attended the postgame media session with Spears and forward Jonnivius Smith.

“Now we’re 0-2 (in the American) with another home game coming up,” the coach continued, “and we just got to keep playing. Listen, that was a great improvement. It’s disappointing to not ultimately get a win when the two guys sitting next to me played their hearts out.”

Smith produced a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes.

Spears, playing 38 minutes, hit 13 of 23 shots from the field. Included in his masterpiece were five 3-point buckets, in addition to an array of mid-range jumpers and quick-step drives to the bucket.

Speaking with the media, the 6-foot-3 senior, who has played previously at Duquesne, Georgetown and Florida State, downplayed his individual success and looked ahead to an AAC home game Saturday against Wichita State.

“I’m about winning,” Spears said. “The 40 doesn’t matter unless you come up with the W. It’s a hard loss, but we got a bounce back game, another one at home, so we just got to get that one.”

Braeden Carrington scored 20 to lead the Golden Hurricane, who won their first game in the American with a sizzling offensive attack in the second half, when they shot 66.7 percent from the field.

Guards Tyshawn Archie and Keaston Willis each scored 19 for Tulsa. Willis, who once played in San Antonio at the University of the Incarnate Word, poured in all of his points in the second half.

The Roadrunners seemed to have the game well in hand, leading 52-36, after Spears hit a three with 16:42 remaining. From there, the Golden Hurricane went to work, scoring the next eight points to force a timeout.

At that point, UTSA settled down and ran some offensive sets, which led to a Raekwon Horton dunk and a three from Spears. Down 13 at that point, Tulsa just would not go away. The Golden Hurricane promptly hit the Roadrunners with a 19-5 run.

Willis finished it with a three that gave the visitors a 63-62 lead with 6:57 remaining. It was their first lead since the nine-minute mark in the first half.

Tulsa coach Eric Konkol. UTSA men's basketball lost to Tulsa 82-77 in American Athletic Conference action on Monday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Tulsa coach Eric Konkol watched as his team caught fire in the second half, hitting 18 of 27 from the field for 66.7 percent. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Challenged with adversity, Spears responded by scoring 10 points in a little more than two minutes. His move on a three-point play left the home fans aghast, as he spun on a drive, got fouled and made a free throw for a 72-68 UTSA lead with 4:19 remaining.

After another Golden Hurricane surge, Spears did it again, driving to his right and scooping a shot high off the glass. Fouled on the play, he connected, lifting the Roadrunners into a 75-74 advantage with 39.8 seconds remaining.

It would be their last lead of the game, as Archie scored five points, including a three from the corner, and Tulsa held UTSA without a field goal down the stretch.

Trailing by three in the closing seconds, UTSA brought the ball up, with Spears on the dribble. Spears lost the handle and turned it over, leading to a breakaway dunk by Archie with one second left for the final points.

The Roadrunners played without two of their primary big men, Mo Njie and Jaquan Scott. Njie sat out his third game in a row with a foot injury, while Scott was not in attendance, dealing with a personal matter.

First half

Smith sparked an 8-0 run in the final two minutes as the UTSA Roadrunners opened a 38-29 lead on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Smith had a steal that led to a basket and later converted a three-point play, rebounding his own miss to score the last bucket before intermission.

Fouled on the play, he knocked down a free throw to give UTSA the nine-point lead.

Damari Monsanto. UTSA men's basketball lost to Tulsa 82-77 in American Athletic Conference action on Monday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Damari Monsanto, playing off the bench, produced six points and three rebounds . He hit two of seven from the 3-point arc. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Smith, a 6-9 forward, finished the half with 10 points and seven rebounds and a steal. Three of his rebounds came off the offensive glass on a night when the Roadrunners needed him.

The absence of the two left UTSA with only two big men, Smith and David Hermes. Tulsa was also playing short-handed without injured forward Isaiah Barnes.

Carrington led the Golden Hurricane in the half, pouring in 17 points on four of four shooting from the three-point line.

UTSA ratcheted up the defense from the start, holding Tulsa to two of 11 shooting and racing to a 17-7 lead in the first 10 minutes. Tai’Reon Joseph hit two shots off the bench to score five points in the burst.

Records

Tulsa 7-9, 1-2
UTSA 6-8, 0-2

Coming up

Wichita State at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Jan. 14, 7 p.m.

Notable

The Wichita State Shockers have forged a 10-5 record, including a couple of wins against Power 4 teams this season, but they have started the season 0-2 in the American Athletic Conference. The Shockers lost at home Tuesday night, falling to the South Florida Bulls, 91-72. Earlier, Wichita State registered victories against Minnesota of the Big Ten and Kansas State of the Big 12.

Tulsa holds a 8-1 record against UTSA in the all-time series, including 7-0 at home and 1-1 in San Antonio. Last year, the Golden Hurricane hit 16 3-point baskets and beat the Roadrunners 107-78 in Tulsa. That game was played in January, and freshman PJ Haggerty led the Hurricane with 25 points. In the rematch on Feb. 28 at the Convo, UTSA won 89-73 behind Christian Tucker’s 12 points and 14 assists, a conference record.

Haggerty is playing for Memphis this season and Tucker for Cal.

Austin Claunch. UTSA men's basketball lost to Tulsa 82-77 in American Athletic Conference action on Monday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Austin Claunch’s Roadrunners fell to 6-8 on the season and to 0-2 in American Athletic Conference play. UTSA hosts Wichita State on Saturday at 3 p.m. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Stung in New Orleans, Claunch’s Roadrunners return home to face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Routed by 29 points a few days ago in New Orleans, Austin Claunch’s UTSA Roadrunners return home looking for redemption as they prepare to take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.

Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Raekwon Horton. The UTSA men's basketball team beat Houston Christian 78-71 on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Raekwon Horton is averaging 10.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals this season. He had 15 points and nine rebounds at Tulane last weekend. – File photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners have won four out of five at home this season, including three in a row, but UTSA’s first-year coach is still haunted by a 92-63 loss at Tulane in their American Athletic Conference opener.

In that game, they gave up 63 percent shooting from the field and 46 points in the paint. But with Tulsa, a ball club that is also struggling, the Roadrunners will play the first of two home games this week and three of the next four overall.

It’s a chance to turn the page on the team’s most lopsided loss of the season.

“Yeah, I’m excited, our first conference game at home,” Claunch told reporters Monday on a zoom call. “But we got to come out and play better. We got to play better than we did the other night in New Orleans, or, it doesn’t matter if we’re playing here, on the road, outside, (on a) different planet. We got to prepare today to step out and beat a good Tulsa team.”

Tulsa basketball has a proud tradition with a list of distinguished coaches having elevated the program over the years. Nolan Richardson in the 1980s, followed by J.D. Barnett, Tubby Smith, Steve Robinson and Bill Self, all made regular appearances in the NCAA tournament through the turn of the century.

It’s been awhile since the Golden Hurricane have made those kind of headlines, however, with the program’s last NCAA trip coming in 2016. Third-year coach Eric Konkol, who had a long and successful run at Louisiana Tech, is in his third season at Tulsa with mixed results.

Last year, the Golden Hurricane started to make progress with freshman guard PJ Haggerty leading them to a 16-15 record. But Haggerty is now at Memphis and is one of the top players for the highest-rated team in the AAC. Meanwhile, Tulsa is 6-9, having lost its first two in AAC play — by six at home to the Rice Owls and by 32 on the road to UAB on Saturday.

“They’ll be ready to go when they come in here on Tuesday,” Claunch said. “They really guard. They really compete defensively. They’re not quite as big as some of the teams in our league, sort of like us. But they really fly around and compete.”

Tulsa mens basketball coach Eric Konkol. UTSA beat Tulsa in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Third-year Tulsa coach Eric Konkol leads his team into the Convocation Center tonight. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Both UTSA and Tulsa feature strong guard play, with the Roadrunners relying on Primo Spears, Marcus Millender and Tai’Reon Joseph and the Golden Hurricane countering with Keaston Willis, Dwon Odom and Tyshawn Archie.

Speaking on the UTSA basketball radio show Monday night, Spears described the Hurricane as “a great team” that relies on strong guard play. “So we just have to be the better three backcourt guys, to be able to take over the game and lead our team to victory,” he said.

Both teams are also limited at the moment with injury concerns. For Tulsa, forward Isaiah Barnes has been out with a fractured hand since Dec. 7. UTSA center Mo Njie has sat out the last two games with a foot injury. His return timeline is uncertain as Claunch describes it as “a couple of weeks” to a month.

Records

Tulsa 6-9, 0-2
UTSA 6-7, 0-1

Coming up

Tulsa at UTSA, today, 7 p.m.
Wichita State at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.

Coach touts Maya Linton as ‘the difference’ for UTSA against Tulsa

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Maya Linton. UTSA beat South Florida 65-42 in American Athletic Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Maya Linton and others held the leading scorer in the American Athletic Conference to 10 points in Saturday’s 60-53 road victory at Tulsa. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA coach Karen Aston on Monday praised junior forward Maya Linton for her effort on the defensive end in a 60-53 victory Saturday at Tulsa.

Linton held Golden Hurricane star Delanie Crawford to 10 points as Roadrunners won their fifth in a row and improved to a school-record 12-2 record, including 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference. Crawford, the AAC’s leading scorer at the time, was held to 3 of 13 shooting from the field.

“Really proud of our team’s resiliency at Tulsa,” Aston said. “I thought that was a hard-fought game. Both teams played really hard. I just thought that we showed some toughness and resilience in that game, for sure.”

Aston said that Linton, a 5-foot-11 junior from Duncanville, was “the difference in the game.”

“No question about it,” the coach said on her weekly zoom call with the media. “Delanie Crawford is a wonderfully-gifted offensive basketball player. I just thought Maya committed to being unconcerned about other things … and just made it difficult for her to get shots off.”

The coach said “a lot of different people” guarded Crawford but she said Linton sets the tone for the team defensively.

Coming up

As play in the American continues, the UTSA men (6-7, 0-1) will host Tulsa (6-9, 0-2) on Tuesday at 7 in the Convocation Center, and the women will host the defending AAC tournament champion Rice Owls (8-6, 1-1) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Notable

Despite 17 points and nine rebounds from UTSA forward Raekwon Horton, the short-handed Roadrunners men suffered a 92-63 loss at Tulane on Saturday afternoon. Tulane manufactured a 15-0 run early in the game to take charge. The Green Wave led 47-23 at intermission and by as many as 35 points in the second half.

UTSA played without 6-foot-11 center Mo Njie for the second game in a row. Coach Austin Claunch said that Njie has a foot injury and might be out for between “a couple of weeks” and a month. “Obviously we really, really miss his size,” the coach said. “That’s a tough break. More than that, just the spirit he plays with. He’s (rehabilitating) every day and when we get to that point in February, maybe he can get back in and help us.”

UTSA women improve to a school-record 12-2 after beating Tulsa, 60-53

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women’s basketball team set a school record with a 12-2 start to the season after claiming a 60-53 victory Saturday over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

Jordyn Jenkins produced 30 points and seven rebounds for the Roadrunners, who won their fifth game in a row and improved to 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference.

In addition, UTSA forward Maya Linton highlighted the defensive effort, holding Tulsa star Delanie Crawford to 10 points on three of 13 shooting from the field.

Earlier this week, Crawford scored 36 points in a victory over East Carolina and 22 in a road loss at North Texas.

Notable

The team’s previous best start after 14 games was 11-3 in 1985-86, in the program’s fifth season of basketball.

Quotable

“Hard-fought game,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said on the team’s radio broadcast. “I thought both teams looked quite fatigued, really as the third and fourth quarter started rolling along.

“It’s just one of those games that, you know, I would have liked to have played a few more kids, because I thought we had some fatigue going on with our players. But we just couldn’t find a combination that was great tonight.”

Continued Aston: “I think (Tulsa) would say the same thing. Third game in six days. First week of conference play and you could really tell. I thought our team was just fourth-quarter tough.”

Aston said Linton “was fantastic” in shadowing Crawford, who was averaging 19 points a game.

“If you want to have a team that has a chance to do something special, you have to have a kid like Maya that is willing to step up and guard somebody’s best player … and not worry about anything else. You know, ‘My shot’s not going in. I turned the ball over, but I’m going to get back and guard the best player,’ and she did that today.

“That’s the reason why we won.”

First half

Jenkins scored 15 points to lead the mistake-prone Roadrunners to a 30-25 lead on the Golden Hurricane at intermission.

UTSA reserve forward Cheyenne Rowe also provided a lift with eight points on four of four shooting.

In an AAC contest played at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, the Roadrunners also played well defensively, holding the explosive Golden Hurricane to 31 percent shooting from the field.

Crawford, the AAC’s leading scorer, hit two for seven shots from the field and was held to six points.

But the Roadrunners, who led by 11 points early, committed eight turnovers. Some were forced by the Tulsa defense but some came on tentative, hesitant execution. The Golden Hurricane scored five points off those miscues.

Kennedi Alexander came off the bench to lead the Golden Hurricane with eight points in the half.

Individuals

UTSA – Jordyn Jenkins hit nine of 15 from the field and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. It was her second 30-point game of the season after scoring 30 at UTEP on Nov. 16. She had four games of 30 or more in her first year at UTSA, in 2022-23.

Tulsa – Sophomore guard Elise Hill led the Golden Hurricane with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists. For Crawford, her 10-point production was her second lowest of the season after she scored eight on the road at Missouri State on Nov. 10.

Records

Tulsa 7-8, 1-2
UTSA 12-2, 3-0

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
Wichita State at UTSA, Jan. 11, noon

Notable

UTSA gained a measure of redemption after allowing a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead to slip away in a 74-70 loss at Tulsa last season. The Roadrunners’ 3-0 start in conference is the best since the team started 3-0 in the Southland Conference in 2009-10.

In the AAC preseason poll, Tulsa was picked to finish fourth, with UTSA fifth. Tulsa finished 25-10 a year ago. Temira Poindexter, the AAC Player of the Year last season at Tulsa, is now playing for the 13th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats.

Banks-led Tulane Green Wave roll past UTSA, 92-63

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Six-foot-eight forward Kaleb Banks scored from inside and also from the perimeter, producing 24 points and pacing the Tulane Green Wave to an easy 92-63 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners Saturday in New Orleans.

In the game played at Devlin Fieldhouse, the Green Wave shot 63.5 percent from the field, including 72.7 percent in the second half, and scored 46 points in the paint against the visitors from San Antonio.

For first-year UTSA coach Austin Claunch, a former coach at Nicholls State, La., who lived in South Louisiana for seven years, it was a tough day.

By halftime, his team was down 24 in its American Athletic Conference opener. Tulane went on to lead by as many as 35 after intermission.

Raekwon Horton led the Roadrunners with 17 points and nine rebounds. Baton Rouge-native Tai’Reon Joseph added 14. Primo Spears, who entered the game as the nation’s fifth leading scorer, averaging 22, was held to six on three for 14 shooting from the field.

Forward Jaquan Scott, playing his first game since Dec. 16 at Arkansas, finished with eight points and four rebounds.

When UTSA is playing well, it’s a team that thrives on forcing turnovers and scoring points in bunches. That type of game didn’t materialize for the Roadrunners against the Green Wave.

In the first half, the Green Wave ran an efficient offense and held the Roadrunners to 29 percent shooting on the other end. The Roadrunners shot 34 percent for the game.

First half

Banks scored 13 points and guard Rowen Brumbaugh added 12 as the Tulane Green Wave imposed their will, opening a 47-23 lead at intermission.

Attacking the paint, the Green Wave shot 56.7 percent from the field. Not only did they hit four 3-point baskets, but they also outscored the Roadrunners 20-10 on points in the paint.

Leading by seven midway through the half, Tulane stepped on the gas for a 26-9 run over the last 12 minutes.

The Roadrunners couldn’t get anything going, shooting 29 percent from the field. Primo Spears, the fifth-leading scorer in the nation, was held scoreless on zero for five shooting.

Jaquan Scott played for the first time since Dec. 16 after sitting out the last four games for unspecified reasons. The 6-7 forward produced five points and four rebounds.

Records

UTSA 6-7, 0-1
Tulane 8-7, 2-0

Coming up

Tulsa at UTSA, Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Wichita State at UTSA, Saturday, Jan. 11, 3 p.m.

Notable

Six-foot-11 UTSA center Mo Njie, slowed by an ankle injury, sat out his second straight game. Tulane entered ranked 187th in the NCAA’s Evaluation Tool, or, the NET. UTSA came in ranked 237th. Tulsa, ranked 310th, will come into San Antonio on Tuesday with a 6-9 record, including 0-2 in conference. Tulsa was blown out on the road Saturday, falling 83-51 in Birmingham by the UAB Blazers.

Quotable

UTSA coach Austin Claunch was asked on his postgame radio show what went wrong against the Green Wave. He replied, “Better question would be, ‘What went right?’ ”

Continued Claunch, “I’ll be honest, I didn’t see that coming … They jumped us. We got hit in the mouth early. We got to go back and watch (the film). When it comes to games like these where it really got away from us early, I got to go back and watch before I got a definite answer.

“I just thought our turnovers and our shot selection, you know, they run a really tricky zone. It’s the first time I’ve seen it in person and … it just got us stagnant. We didn’t move the ball and then we weren’t able to make shots, even when we did get open.”

Hopefully, the coach said, it was “just one of those nights.” Regardless, he added: “We got to be much, much better and committed to what it’s going to take to win games in this league. Tonight, we did not show that at all.”

Milestone in reach today for the surging UTSA women, who play on the road at Tulsa

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Sidney Love. UTSA women's basketball beat UAB 67-56 in an American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Guard Sidney Love has averaged 16.5 points on 51.9 percent shooting from the field during the Roadrunners’ four-game winning streak. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With another milestone in reach, the UTSA Roadrunners will play an American Athletic Conference game on the road today against Delanie Crawford and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

The Roadrunners (11-2, 2-0) will try for a victory that not only would give them their fifth in a row, but also would result in the fastest start after 14 games in school history.

Tipoff is at 2 p.m. at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, with the game against the Golden Hurricane (7-7, 1-1) set for telecast on ESPN+. UTSA has been busy this week, winning on the road Sunday at Charlotte and on Wednesday at home against UAB.

Taking the floor today, the Roadrunners will also have a score to settle. The Golden Hurricane beat the Roadrunners last year in Tulsa by erasing a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win, 74-70.

The Golden Hurricane went on to win 25 games on the season, including finishing in a three-way tie for first in the American and earning a postseason bid to the Women’s Basketball Invitational.

Crawford, a 5-11 senior, is one of the hottest players in the conference at the moment. After scoring 36 points in a home win against East Carolina on Sunday, she added 22 in Tulsa’s 84-78 loss at North Texas on Wednesday night.

Records

Tulsa 7-7, 1-1
UTSA 11-2, 2-0

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
Wichita State at UTSA, Jan. 11, noon

Notable

Later today, the UTSA men (6-6) will open their conference schedule in New Orleans against the Tulane Green Wave (7-7, 1-0). Roadrunners guard Primo Spears ranks fifth in the nation at 22.2 points per game.

The game, which tips off at 5 p.m. on ESPNU, is a homecoming of sorts for Roadrunners coach Austin Claunch and guard Tai’Reon Joseph.

Claunch once lived in New Orleans for a few years and coached at nearby Nicholls State, where he led the Colonels to a pair of regular-season titles in the Southland Conference.

Joseph grew up in Baton Rouge and played there last season at Southern University.

In the wake of a tragedy, UTSA’s Austin Claunch extends his sympathies to New Orleans

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

For UTSA men’s basketball coach Austin Claunch, who once worked at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, any chance to get back to the bayous and byways of South Louisiana is special because of his ties to the area.

But to coach his first AAC game for the Roadrunners at Tulane University in New Orleans on Saturday afternoon, well, it’s a moment he’s been looking forward to since the schedule was posted.

Given the tragic events in the French Quarter on New Years day, it’s also an opportunity for the 35-year-old Claunch to speak fondly of his former home and to extend his sympathies to people in the region.

“As we travel to New Orleans,” the coach said Thursday morning, “I do want to say my thoughts and prayers are with the city. (As) many of you know, I lived in South Louisiana for seven years. I lived in New Orleans for two years, certainly a place really dear to my heart.”

At least 15 people were killed when a truck plowed through a crowd in the French Quarter in the early morning hours on Wednesday. Dozens more were injured. Federal investigators are calling it an act of terror.

On the coach’s zoom call, he made sure to mention that he was thinking about everyone.

“(I have) a lot of close friends down there,” Claunch continued. “Looking forward to catching up with some friends. And, more importantly, just thinking about everyone that’s been affected by what happened over New Years.”

Claunch has had his ups and downs in his first season with the Roadrunners. They started out 1-3, but they found some traction eventually and started to play well. They had a three-game winning streak going into a game at Army last week, but after a furious second-half rally fell short, they lost 78-75 to the Black Knights.

Against Tulane (7-7, 1-0), UTSA (6-6) will enter conference play knowing that more improvement is mandatory in the long term. In the short term, it would be helpful if the Roadrunners could get a couple of their big men back on the floor.

The coach said that 6-foot-11 center Mo Njie, who sat out the Army game with an ankle injury, is day to day though it looks like he will play against the Green Wave.

Asked about the status of 6-7 forward Jaquan Scott, who has not played in four straight games for unspecified reasons, Claunch left the door open slightly that he could return. If he does, it would be a boost, considering the Mississippi State transfer has averaged 7.2 points and 4.8 rebounds.

Scott hasn’t played since Dec. 7 in a road loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks. The coach said he planned “sit down with him” to have some conversations, but he didn’t want to say much more about it. “I will have more of an update on that in the coming days,” Claunch said.

Coming up

UTSA at Tulane, Saturday, 5 p.m.

Records

UTSA (6-6, 0-0)
Tulane (7-7, 0-1)

Notable

Tulane is in its 11th season in the AAC and in its sixth under Coach Ron Hunter. After three losing seasons, Hunter’s Green Wave broke out in 2022-23 with a 20-11 record, including 10-6 in the AAC. Last year, they finished 14-17, with a 5-13 record in the conference.

Earlier this season, Tulane lost five straight, but the squad has since won two in a row. On New Years Eve, they won on the road, walloping the Charlotte 49ers, 83-68, in their AAC opener. Kalen Banks, Rowan Brumbaugh, Kam Williams and Gregg Glenn III lead the Green Wave. Banks, a 6-8 forward, averages 18.2 points and 8.2 rebounds.

Roadrunners beat the Blazers 67-56, improve to 11-2 on the season

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Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA women's basketball beat UAB 67-56 in an American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jordyn Jenkins connected on four of five shots from the field in the fourth quarter as the UTSA Roadrunners turned back the UAB Blazers on New Year’s night. An announced crowd of 917 attended at the Convocation Center. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Just when it seemed that a visiting team might beat the UTSA women in the Convocation Center for the first time this season, Jordyn Jenkins scored nine of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, lifting the Roadrunners to a 67-56 victory over the UAB Blazers Wednesday night.

With the victory, the Roadrunners improved to 11-2, including 5-0 at home and 2-0 in the American Athletic Conference. Their overall record ties the 1985-86 team for the best 13-game start in school history.

Sidney Love. UTSA women's basketball beat UAB 67-56 in an American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sidney Love. UTSA women’s basketball beat UAB 67-56 in an American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“I thought this was a really good win just from a standpoint of being kind of challenged,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “They took the lead (in the fourth quarter) and sort of tested our maturity. I thought we stepped up to the plate with that.”

Hit with two key losses to the transfer portal in the offseason, the Blazers gave an admirable effort against the AAC’s top-rated team.

On New Year’s night in front of an announced crowd of 917 fans, they rallied from an early 13-point deficit to take the lead, but then they were outplayed late and ultimately fell to 9-5 on the season and to 0-2 in conference.

“I didn’t think this would be an easy game,” Aston said. “I think UAB is really good. They shoot the ball really well. They’re a tough guard, especially since we haven’t played a team like them since we played Stanford.

“We have had three or four games in a row where we haven’t had to guard like we had to guard today. So I was concerned about that. I thought we did a pretty decent job. I thought we adjusted in the fourth quarter to how they were attacking us, which was really in the paint.”

After trailing for most of the game, the Blazers took a couple of one-point leads in the opening minutes of the fourth.

A Molly Moffitt 3-pointer lifted UAB into a 54-53 advantage with 6:40 remaining. From there, the Roadrunners outscored the Blazers 14-2 the rest of the way.

In the final run, Jenkins hit a contested 3-point shot from the wing and added a fast break layup off an alley-oop lob from Nina De Leon Negron. The 6-foot forward, in an athletic maneuver, caught the lob and spun it in off the glass before she hit the floor.

Damara Allen. UTSA women's basketball beat UAB 67-56 in an American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Damara Allen scored a season-high 11 points and claimed the team’s ‘Cash In’ golden chain award. -Photo by Joe Alexander

Sidney Love, whose 19 points led the Roadrunners, hit the last bucket of the game for the Roadrunners with 47 seconds left.

All told, the Roadrunners have built quite a bit of momentum moving into the teeth of the conference schedule. They’re No. 51 in the nation and are the highest-rated team in the AAC, according to the NCAA Evaluation Tool, or, the NET. And now they’ve just won their eighth game of the season by double digits.

Individuals

UAB — Center Rayne Tucker, a graduate transfer from Temple, led UAB with 16 points on eight of 11 shooting. Point guard Journey Armstead produced 13 points and four assists. Hitting 9.8 shots from the 3-point line for the season, UAB was limited to three of 12 shooting behind the arc. Maddie Walsh, a perimeter threat who leads the Blazers with 13.2 points, was held to seven.

UTSA – Love led the Roadrunners in scoring for the second time in four games and for the third time this season. She produced 19 points on eight of 19 shooting. Love, a junior from Steele, also had a team-high seven assists and five rebounds. Jenkins had 16 points on seven of 15 shooting. She was three of 10 afield before the fourth period outburst. Allen came off the bench to score 11 points on four of seven.

Records

UAB 9-5, 0-2
UTSA 11-2, 2-0

Coming up

UTSA at Tulsa, Saturday, 2 p.m.

First half

The Roadrunners tightened up their defense at the end of the second quarter, holding the Blazers to one field goal in the final 6:04, to take a 32-25 lead into the dressing room at intermission.

Love and Damara Allen led the Roadrunners offensively with eight points apiece. Allen, a freshman from Aurora, Colo., scored five in the second period. She hit a jumper with 5:16 remaining to spark a 9-4 run to the buzzer.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA women's basketball beat UAB 67-56 in an American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jordyn Jenkins was honored before the game for scoring 1,000 points in her career at UTSA. – Photo by Joe Alexander

For the Blazers, freshman guard Journey Armstead and graduate transfer center Rayne Tucker did most of the damage.

Armstead scored 11 in the half, knifing through the defense to hit five of nine shots from the field. Tucker, a transfer from Temple, scored all of her eight points in a 12-3 run to open the second period.

UTSA came out firing to start the game, scoring the first nine points en route to a 15-2 lead. Love capped the streak with a 3-point bucket from the left wing with 3:34 remaining in the first quarter. The shot splashed just as the shot clock was winding down under five seconds.

Notable

With wins on the road at Charlotte and at home against UAB, UTSA improved to 2-0 in conference for the first time since the 2009-10 team won its first three games in the Southland Conference.

The Roadrunners also improved their homecourt winning streak to eight — three at the end of last season and now five more — which is tied for third longest in school history.

UTSA announced a crowd of 917 fans, including “a high percentage” of the people in the seats who were seeing a game in the Convocation Center for the first time, one official said. “I would say thanks for coming,” Aston said. “I hope they liked the product and will come back.

“I think that’s the going theme about women’s basketball, is (that) there’s a whole lot of people out there who have not been to a … game here at UTSA, or in general haven’t been to one.

“I’ve said this a million times. This is the hottest sport out there. Our team is playing well and I think this (is) a really good product. I think anybody who steps into the Convo is going to enjoy watching it.”

Aston said it was great to see most of the seats in both lower sections filled, even without the UTSA students on campus.

“I was really concerned,” she said. “Obviously, football is going on, and it’s New Year’s Day. I was pleased with the crowd (considering) school’s not in session. So those are people in the community that came out to see us today.”

The Blazers started the season 9-3 despite the offseason loss of third-team, all-conference guards Denim Deshields and Mia Moore, who transferred to power conference programs. The Roadrunners, for the most part, have been able to keep their key players over the past few years.

Quotable

Jordyn Jenkins, in her third year on campus, said it’s a great feeling to make so much progress as a team in that time. “We, literally in my first year here were like, ‘If we win 10 games, we’re going to go out and get dinner,” she said. “So now that we’re 11 wins in now, it’s just crazy. And it’s fun. Coach says she’s having fun coaching it. It’s really fun on the court.”

Moment of silence

Before player introductions, at the outset of the holiday evening on the Northwest side of San Antonio, UTSA held a moment of silence for the shocking tragedy in New Orleans that left at least 15 people dead.

The incident, described by authorities as an act of terror, happened at about 3 a.m. Wednesday in the French Quarter as a truck plowed through people celebrating the New Year. The driver was killed after a shootout with police.

The incident forced postponement of the Allstate Sugar Bowl game. Originally scheduled for Wednesday night, the College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame has been rescheduled for Thursday at the Caesars Superdome.

What happened to homecourt advantage in AAC women’s basketball openers?

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners women seemingly have everything going their way right now — a 10-2 record, a win on the road in their American Athletic Conference opener. Also, a home game looms Wednesday night, with a chance to get out of the gates at 2-0 in the AAC race.

With all that being said, if the Roadrunners dig into the details of games played on opening weekend in the conference, they might take note of a curious development. Namely, the lack of any noticeable homecourt advantage anywhere.

Five of six visiting teams in The American came away with road victories on Sunday afternoon. Of course, one of the visiting teams was UTSA, which clobbered the Charlotte 49ers with a 17-3 run in the opening minutes and then went on to claim a 64-50 victory.

Also of note, the UAB Blazers emerged as one of the humbled homecourt losers. The Temple Owls rolled past the Blazers, 97-74, in Birmingham. So, what happens Wednesday when the 9-4 Blazers visit San Antonio and the Convocation Center, where the Roadrunners are 4-0 at home this season?

Will the homecourt matter all that much, on New Year’s night, with students still on holiday break? Or, will the Roadrunners need to plan on generating most of the energy on their own after the 6:30 p.m. tipoff, no matter how many fans are in the stands?

Asked about the results of Sunday’s games on a Monday morning zoom call, UTSA coach Karen Aston said they speak to the depth and the quality of talent in the conference.

“Honestly, I don’t think there’s a bad team (in the AAC),” Aston said. “The parity is across the board. I don’t think it’s necessarily going to matter whether you are at home or on the road.

“You’d like to think it does. You’d like to think your crowds give you some momentum, and you get to sleep in your own bed, and all of that.

“But, from a talent perspective, across the board, I don’t think there’s a lot of difference. You’re going to have to bring it every night.”

Trying to stay on an even keel throughout the season will be important, the coach said, noting, “You know, not getting too high or too low, is the good and the bad of it.”

The Blazers are not the same ball club that won 18 games and reached the first round of the WNIT in 2023-24. Their top two players from last season moved on to power conference programs via the transfer portal, Denim Deshields to Mississippi State and Mia Moore to Clemson.

But they do have a talented squad. Forward Jade Weathersby leads the AAC in rebounding. Guard Maddie Walsh and forward Sarah Bershers rank among the AAC’s top 3-point shooters. Point guard Journey Armstead is third in the conference in assists.

In addition, the Roadrunners only had one day to practice for a team that runs a different offense than what they faced Sunday in Charlotte against the 49ers. The Blazers like to shoot from deep, hitting an average of 9.8 from behind the arc.

“They hunt 3-point shots every trip down the floor,” Aston said. “They’re hunting paint touches and threes, which is considerably different than the style that Charlotte played, so we have to switch gears pretty quickly.”

Sunday’s results

South Florida wins at Rice, 74-64
North Texas wins at Wichita State, 62-56
Tulane wins at FAU, 91-71
UTSA wins at Charlotte, 64-50
Temple wins at UAB, 97-74
Tulsa wins at home, beating East Carolina, 93-84

Wednesday’s games

Rice at Tulane, 2 p.m.
East Carolina at Temple, 3 p.m.
Wichita State at Memphis, 3 p.m.
Tulsa at North Texas, 4 p.m.
Charlotte at South Florida, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners are looking for their first 2-0 start in league play since the 2009-10 team won its first three in the Southland Conference. UTSA has won its first four games at home this season and seven in a row overall dating back to last season.

The Roadrunners have the second-best record in school history after 12 games. In 1985-86, the sixth year of the program, they started 11-1 before losing their next two. They finished the season 18-9.

UTSA leads the conference in both scoring defense (54.8) and field goal percentage allowed (36.0). Over the team’s last five games, the Roadrunners have been particularly stingy, holding opponents to an average of 52.6 points on 31.5 percent from the field.

Men’s college basketball: Army holds on to defeat UTSA, 78-75

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Boosted by 27 points from Jalen Rucker, the Army Black Knights held on to win in the final minute Sunday afternoon, snapping the UTSA Roadrunners’ three-game winning streak, 78-75, in non-conference play at West Point, N.Y.

“Give them a ton of credit,” UTSA coach Austin Claunch said on the team’s radio broadcast. “Jalen Rucker’s obviously a heck of a player and played well … Just not our best effort today.”

At the end, the Roadrunners threw a scare into the Black Knights, who led by 15 early in the second half.

For UTSA, Primo Spears scored on a drive off an assist from Raekwon Horton with 36.6 seconds left. The bucket trimmed Army’s lead to four.

Trying to advance the ball, the Black Knights turned it over, but the Roadrunners also committed an error, throwing it away themselves.

From there, the game turned essentially into a tactical battle of free-throw shooters. Ryan Curry hit two for the Black Knights, and then Spears knocked down a pair for the Roadrunners with 14.3 seconds left.

After Curry hit another two, Army had a 78-72 lead with 13 seconds to go. But the game was hardly secure, and UTSA’s Tai’Reon Joseph made it interesting, knocking down a three from the corner.

Up 78-75 at that point, Army inbounded to Curry, its best free-throw shooter. But he missed the front end of a one and one with 4.9 seconds left, giving the Roadrunners another shot.

Marcus Millender advanced the ball full court on the dribble and positioned himself for an open look to tie, only to see his shot glance off the side of the rim.

Records

UTSA 6-6
Army 6-6

Coming up

x-UTSA at Tulane, Jan. 4, 5 p.m.
x-American Athletic Conference opener

Individuals

UTSA – Primo Spears had 22 points and nine rebounds. Tai’Reon Joseph added 16 off the bench. Raekwon Horton contributed 15 and seven boards.

Army – Jalen Rucker scored 16 of his game-high 27 points in the second half. He knocked down five 3-pointers. Ryan Curry had 15 points and AJ Allenspach 12.

Notable

UTSA was missing two big men, with starting center Mo Njie and forward Jaquan Scott not playing. Scott has been away from the team for a few weeks and has missed four games in a row.

Njie has played in 10 games, including UTSA’s two recent wins over the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and one over the non-Division I Southwestern Adventist Knights. The win over Southwestern Adventist came on Dec. 19, the Roadrunners’ last game before the break.