Author Archives: Jerry Briggs

New-look UTSA hosts Army tonight at the Convocation Center

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Christian Tucker. UTSA defeated Incarnate Word (UIW) 90-80 in a non-conference men's basketball game at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Christian Tucker leads UTSA in scoring average (13.4) and assists (5.7) going into tonight’s game at home against Army West Point. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA’s last practice before the holiday break showcased a team that maybe doesn’t reflect its record. The Roadrunners are 5-6 as they prepare to host the Black Knights from Army West Point tonight at 7 at the Convocation Center.

Only four of their five victories have come against Division I competition, so, realistically speaking, much work remains to be done before the Roadrunners can assure themselves that they are ready to compete at a high level in the American Athletic Conference.

Massal Diouf. UTSA men's basketball beat Trinity 100-70 in an exhibition game on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Massal Diouf (at right) had 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots Sunday in UTSA’s 66-65 loss at Oregon State. – File photo by Joe Alexander.

In a Wednesday afternoon practice, though, the Roadrunners took a step in the right direction. It was a small step, but they looked fresh. Bouncy. On their toes. They showed off a pace-of-play dimension that wasn’t always evident a month or even a few weeks ago.

The five-on-five session featured guards Christian Tucker, Adante’ Holiman and recently-activated Jordan Ivy-Curry racing through traffic and kicking passes out to the perimeter for threes. Or dumping it off to big men for easy looks.

On one play, Holiman drove into the lane on a burst. Leaning forward and low to the court, the sophomore from Oklahoma lofted a left-handed pass above the rim for an alley-oop slam. In their last outing, the Roadrunners didn’t make enough of those plays to win. On Sunday, they fell in a heart-wrenching 66-65 road loss to the Oregon State Beavers.

The Roadrunners found themselves locked in a slower-paced, low-possession game against a Power 5 opponent in which they came up short by inches. Ivy-Curry couldn’t finish at the rim with five seconds left, and the Beavers walked off with the win despite trailing for three-fourths of the game.

Tucker, who leads the AAC in assists with 5.7 per game, said the Roadrunners are eager to turn the page after the loss.

“After the Oregon State game, obviously we were a little disappointed with the result,” he said. “”Looking back at it, we all know that we played really well. It was probably the most effort we’ve given in a game. But, we still didn’t get the result. (Now) we have a great opportunity to bounce back against Army. We’re all excited for that.”

For the first 10 games of the season, the Roadrunners played without Ivy-Curry, who was sitting out by NCAA rule after transferring twice in his career. Earlier this fall, UTSA appealed in hopes that the NCAA would grant him a waiver. No such luck. Two such appeals were turned down.

Now, thanks to a court case in West Virginia that went against the NCAA, Ivy-Curry and guard Juan Reyna were added to UTSA’s active roster last week. Reyna didn’t get in the game at Oregon State, but Ivy-Curry made an impact, producing 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

As a result, UTSA has hope with three of the quickest guards that they’ve had in recent years.

“We’ve been preaching to play a lot faster this year,” Tucker said. “I think we’re trying to take that into account, to get up and down a lot. Not putting our heads down when the other team scores. Just getting out in transition. It’s really good to have Juice back back. He can be a really good piece for us. He definitely can contribute to that fast-paced offense.”

Over the past week, the Roadrunners have had a few early wake-up calls and have spent quite a bit of time in airports. They traveled to Arkansas for a Dec. 13 game against the Little Rock Trojans and then returned to San Antonio the next day. Then after a few days of practice in San Antonio, they boarded a longer flight for Corvallis.

UTSA coach Steve Henson said players have handled it well.

“Both trips to and from were very long days,” Henson said. “But I thought (Tuesday’s) practice was very good. Maybe not quite as animated, not quite as vocal, but in the heat of the battle I thought it was a pretty good practice. I thought we got a lot done. Today (Wednesday) was better. More vocal. More intensity. A good competitive day. Two good days, actually.”

A subtle change in practice format came on Dec. 13 when Ivy-Curry put on a blue jersey, signifying that he would be running through drills as if he were in the playing rotation for games. A few days later, UTSA officials monitoring the court case were able to get clarity on whether to clear the ineligible players, giving Ivy-Curry and Reyna the opportunity to travel to Corvallis.

Henson said Ivy-Curry’s presence in workouts is noticeable.

“He does get from Point A to Point B very, very quickly,” the coach said. “He’s highly conditioned. In practices we’ve gone real long — intense, long practices — he really starts shining at the end of practices with his conditioning level so high. So, yeah, he gives us a spark in that regard.”

Records

Army 2-9
UTSA 5-6

Coming up

Army at UTSA, today, 7 p.m.
Prairie View A&M at UTSA, Dec. 28, 7 p.m.
UAB at UTSA (American Athletic Conference opener), Jan. 2, 8 p.m.

Notable

After a disappointing home loss to Jacksonville State, Ala. last month, UTSA guard Christian Tucker said he wanted to do more to help the team. He is making good on that vow by improving his three-point shooting. In the past three games, the Arizona native has knocked down nine of 14 shots from beyond the arc, boosting his accuracy rate to .412 percent for the season. He is a .311 shooter from three for his career.

Forward Massal Diouf has played only 97 minutes in 11 games this season, including only two minutes at Little Rock. But the 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward from the Netherlands came alive a few days later at Oregon State with 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. More surprisingly, he hit five of six shots from the floor. Also, his rebounds and blocks were career highs. Henson said he encouraged Diouf to be ready, “and sure enough he got in there and helped us in so many ways.”

UTSA guard Juan Reyna fell and hit the floor in a drill in Wednesday’s practice, momentarily leaving the court to receive attention from a trainer. He later returned and finished the workout.

Reyna, a newcomer to the UTSA roster this season, said in an interview last week that he was born in San Antonio and attended Hutchins Elementary in the South San School District. Later, he attended Zamora Middle School and St. George Episcopal school before moving on for two years of high school at Antonian College Prep, where he played under coach Rudy Bernal.

Reyna finished high school at Duncanville, completing a prep career in which he won state in both private school basketball at Antonian and for Duncanville, a state-school power. In college, he attended Alabama State as a freshman (in 2021-22) and Campbell, S.C. (2022-23) before transferring in the offseason to UTSA. In high school, Reyna helped lead Antonian to a TAPPS state title in 2019. “So, there’s just a lot of pride playing here (in San Antonio, at UTSA),” he said.

When Reyna gets into a game for the Roadrunners, he will become one of only a handful of players from San Antonio high school boys basketball programs to play at UTSA. Two of them, Devin Brown (from South San West Campus) and Keith Horne (from Sam Houston), rank among the program’s all-time scoring leaders.

Army will arrive at the Convocation Center tonight with a team co-captain in guard Kwabena Davis from Steele High School in Cibolo. Another familiar face will be Army assistant coach Carson Cunningham, previously the head coach at the University of the Incarnate Word.

Army freshman Josh Scovens produced 31 points, seven assists and four steals Sunday in a 78-74 overtime loss at home to Stony Brook.

UTSA women roll into Christmas break with a winning record

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Bouncing back from a tough loss at Oregon, the UTSA Roadrunners’ women played suffocating defense for three quarters and scored a road game season-high for points in a 75-64 victory Tuesday afternoon over the Seattle Redhawks.

The Redhawks, down by 23 after three quarters, rallied to within nine with 1:55 remaining but came up short against the Roadrunners, who improved to 6-5 on the season and to 4-3 on the road. Seattle, playing out of the Western Athletic Conference, fell to 1-9.

UTSA’s post play proved to be too much for the home team to handle. Starting center Elyssa Coleman produced 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Freshman Idara Udo came off the bench to contribute 15 points and nine boards. Udo scored 12 in the second quarter when UTSA broke it open.

Through three quarters, UTSA’s defense kept Seattle from gaining any momentum, holding the Redhawks to 42 points on 32 percent shooting.

“Obviously, the last four or five minutes were pretty ugly, but that’s probably just attention span and just trying to get the game closed off and finishing it,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said on the team’s radio broadcast. “I thought we had some ticky-tack, little fouls toward the end of it, but I thought we kept our composure. Pretty good performance, overall.”

The team’s overall record at this stage of the schedule is significant for a number of reasons.

First of all, UTSA has a winning record without its best player having stepped foot on the court. Rehabilitating a knee injury, forward Jordyn Jenkins hasn’t played at all, and the Roadrunners still had a successful pre-Christmas run.

Second, the Roadrunners have done it with freshmen and sophomores contributing in a major way. Finally, from a historical standpoint, the UTSA women haven’t been above .500 at Christmas in a decade.

“We talked about this before the game,” Aston said, “that it’s been 10 years since UTSA has gone home for the Christmas break with a winning record. That’s a big deal.

“I mean, every time we step on the floor, we’re looking to do things that haven’t been done in awhile, and as we talk about all the time, move the needle for the program.

“Again, it’s been 2013-14 since we had a winning (record) prior to conference play, so that’s a big step for our team.”

Guard Julianna Walker was the hot hand for Seattle. She hit four 3-pointers and scored 17. Mya Moore scored 14 and Makayla Moore had 12.

Notable

After 10 seasons in Conference USA, the UTSA women will open play in the American Athletic Conference on Dec. 29 at Temple University, in Philadelphia.

They’ll be at East Carolina in Greenville, N.C., on Jan. 2 and then will be at home on Jan. 6 against Wichita State …

UTSA is trying to break a string of eight-straight seasons with sub-.500 records. UTSA hasn’t had a winning record since 2015 when they were 16-15 …

Although Power 5 opponents are 4-0 against UTSA this season, they haven’t blown out the Roadrunners in any of those games.

Arizona State of the Pac 12 downed UTSA 70-55 in Tempe on opening night. After that, the Roadrunners have been more than respectable in the next three meetings with teams from elite conferences.

In Lubbock, UTSA lost to Texas Tech of the Big 12 by five.

In a home game against Houston last week, UTSA’s fourth-quarter rally came up short in a 66-64 setback to another team from the Big 12.

And, finally, in Eugene, Ore., on Sunday afternoon, the Roadrunners were within five points with four minutes left before the Pac 12’s Oregon Ducks went on an 8-0 run to win, 61-48.

First half

Udo scored 12 of her 13 first-half points in a dominant second quarter for the Roadrunners, who played a more aggressive, physical style and opened a 39-28 halftime lead.

Udo, a freshman from Plano, hit four of five shots from the field and four of five also at the line in the quarter for perhaps her most explosive sequence of the season.

In less than three minutes through the 5:55 mark, Udo’s aggressive posture had the Redhawks in retreat. She hit a turnaround jumper, drew a foul and tossed in two free throws, scored on a put back and added a turnaround 12-footer for good measure.

As a result, the Roadrunners kept applying pressure and kicked the lead up to 16 points at one point. Sidney Love’s spinning layup made it 37-21 with 2:17 remaining.

Mya Moore kept the Redhawks in the game early, scoring eight of her nine first-half points in the opening period. Seattle trailed 16-15 as Moore grabbed the ball under the bucket following UTSA turnover and banked it in at the buzzer.

Oregon State escapes a spirited UTSA upset bid, 66-65

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for the JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners were hoping to hear a referee’s whistle blow when guard Jordan Ivy-Curry drove to the basket with under 10 seconds left in Sunday’s game in Corvallis, Ore.

In the end, there was no foul called. Ivy-Curry’s layup attempt didn’t go in the bucket, and the Oregon State Beavers escaped with a 66-65 victory over the Roadrunners.

OSU’s Jordan Pope knocked down two free throws with 13 seconds left for what would be the last points of the ball game.

UTSA didn’t call time out, pushed the ball up the court and tried to make something happen. It didn’t work out, leaving the Roadrunners a field goal shy of what would have been their first win over a Power 5 opponent in 14 years.

“We had a couple of good opportunities there (at the end),” UTSA coach Steve Henson told radio voice Andy Everett. “We had a floater on the second-to-last possession that didn’t fall. Then with the game on the line, we came down (and) they kind of ran and jumped on Tuck (Christian Tucker).

“He passed it to Juice (Ivy-Curry). Juice had a strong attack. Did exactly what you’re supposed to do in that situation. (Tried to) attack the rim and draw a foul, and … would have loved to have seen him step to the free-throw line and win the ball game … but it didn’t happen.”

As a result, the Roadrunners lost for the 27th straight time against an opponent from one of the five major revenue-producing conferences.

They haven’t won a game against teams from the Pac-12, the Big 12, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten or the SEC since 2009, in the 2009-10 season opener, when they beat the Big Ten’s Iowa Hawkeyes 62-50 in Iowa City.

It was Ivy-Curry’s first game of the season for UTSA after being announced as eligible on Saturday. He led the Roadrunners with 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Massal Diouf and Carlton Linguard Jr. had 10 points apiece. Diouf enjoyed a breakout performance with career bests of eight rebounds and four blocks.

Guard Jordan Pope paced the Beavers with 19 points. He knocked down three of four from three-point distance and was two for two — the last two of the game — at the line.

Records

UTSA 5-6
Oregon State 7-3

Coming up

Army West Point at UTSA, Thursday, 7 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners led the Beavers for 28 minutes and 40 seconds of the 40-minute game. They were up by as many as nine points when they took a 31-22 lead with 2:23 left in the first half. After that, the game tightened. There were seven ties and 13 lead changes.

Both Ivy-Curry and Juan Reyna for UTSA were eligible to play for the first time this season after sitting out the first 10 games on an NCAA transfer rule. Ivy-Curry played well with 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists in 25 minutes off the bench. He shot 5 for 11 from the field. Reyna did not play.

UTSA announced Ivy-Curry and Reyna as eligible on Saturday morning in the wake of a court challenge to an NCAA rule that mandates athletes in all sports sit out a year in residence if they transfer two or more times during their careers.

A former high school star at La Marque High School in the Houston area, Ivy-Curry played two years at UTSA, transferred and played one season at the University of the Pacific in 2022-23 and then transferred back to UTSA last summer. In his last season with the Roadrunners, in 2021-22, he averaged 13.9 points.

Sophomore guard Adante’ Holiman returned to game action after sitting out the last two with concussion symptoms. He was scoreless in 14 minutes on 0 for 1 shooting.

Oregon State improved to 7-0 at home this season and to 4-0 against UTSA all time.

Who is Jordan Pope? He is a 6-2 sophomore from Oakley, Calif. He has scored in double figures in all 10 of OSU’s games this season. His 19 points against the Roadrunners were his most since back-to-back games of 25 against Appalachian State and Nebraska last month. Pope was slumping recently, hitting only nine of 32 from the field in his last two games.

Oregon Ducks women pull away late and down UTSA, 61-48

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

The Oregon Ducks held UTSA scoreless for the last four minutes on Sunday and came away with a 61-48 victory in women’s college basketball over the UTSA Roadrunners.

With the game played at Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore., the Ducks outscored the Roadrunners 8-0 down the stretch, improving to 8-3 on the season.

The Roadrunners shot a season-low 26 percent from the field and lost for the second straight game, both against Power 5 competition. With the setback, they fell to 5-5 going into another road game set for Tuesday afternoon at Seattle.

Guard Chance Gray led the Ducks with 14 points. Priscilla Williams had 13 and Grace VanSlooten 10. The threesome offset the Roadrunners on the boards, which they dominated, 57-36.

For the UTSA, freshman guard Aysia Proctor from San Antonio-area Clemens High School notched a double double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. UTSA hit only 20 of 77 shots from the field.

A momentum-turning sequence for Oregon came when the Ducks, leading by six points early in the fourth quarter, turned it over on consecutive possessions.

The Roadrunners came up empty on both chances, once on a missed three by Siena Guttadauro and the other on a Proctor turnover.

Oregon’s Sofia Bell responded by knocking down a three-point bucket, boosting the Ducks into a 51-42 lead with 7:16 remaining.

Undeterred, the Roadrunners kept attacking, scoring four straight points.

Sidney Love did the honors with a follow-up off an offensive rebound and two free throws, pulling UTSA to within 51-46. From there, the teams traded baskets, with Idara Udo hitting a shot shot with four minutes left to make it 53-48.

Records

UTSA 5-5
Oregon 8-3

Coming up

UTSA at Seattle, Tuesday, 2 p.m.

Third quarter

Six-foot-eight Phillipina Kyei converted on a three-point play with eight seconds left, boosting Oregon into a 45-37 lead.

UTSA’s Aysia Proctor scored six and grabbed four rebounds in the quarter to keep the Roadrunners in the game.

At one point, she was knocked down while making a shot and had to be helped off. Sidney Love entered to shoot the free throw for her. Later, Proctor returned and hit a bucket with 55 seconds left.

First half

Utilizing superior size, the Ducks limited the Roadrunners to eight points for the first 13 minutes of the game and then held off a surge to lead 26-20 at halftime.

Priscillia Williams scored six points and Grace VanSlooten had five in the half for Oregon.

Meanwhile, freshman Aysia Proctor came off the bench to produce 12 points and five rebounds as the Roadrunners stayed in contention.

Proctor sparked a 12-5 run down the stretch at the end of the second period.

In the first half, UTSA outrebounded Oregon 30-19 but failed to generate much on the offensive end, shooting 21.6 percent from the field.

After whirlwind of a week, Roadrunners are set to play Sunday at Oregon State

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Jordan Ivy-Curry. Florida Atlantic beat UTSA 73-64 on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Hard-charging guard Jordan Ivy-Curry is expected to play for the first time this season today at Oregon State. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

What a week it was. The UTSA Roadrunners will arrive on Sunday at Oregon State University as a team that is deeper and more talented, by quite a bit, than it was only a few days ago.

Guards Jordan Ivy-Curry and Juan Reyna have been cleared to play for the first time this season after sitting out the first 10 games under NCAA transfer rules.

After a hectic week when a court case in West Virginia yielded a result that led to the addition of Ivy-Curry and Reyna to the travel squad, coach Steve Henson acknowledged the upgrade on his roster.

UTSA coach Steve Henson. UTSA defeated Incarnate Word (UIW) 90-80 in a non-conference men's basketball game at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Steve Henson on Saturday announced the addition of two players — Jordan Ivy-Curry and Juan Reyna — who will be eligible for the remainder of the season. Both had sat out the first 10 games of the season under transfer rules. – File photo by Joe Alexander

“To add a player (in Ivy-Curry) who was a good player (for us) at the Conference USA level, it’s a big shot in the arm,” the coach said.

Additionally, Adante’ Holiman is expected to return after sitting out the past two games with concussion symptoms.

Naturally, the two players making their season debuts are eager to see what they can do to help the Roadrunners (5-5) win a game against the Beavers (6-3) of the Pac-12 Conference.

“I know our team has been missing, like, a little energy,” Ivy-Curry said Saturday morning in San Antonio. “I feel like, with me and Juan, we’re energy guys … I feel like we can do a great job of bringing more defense to our team and more offense.

“I feel like we’re going to have a great year,” he added. “We want to pick this thing up, and get this thing moving.”

Reyna couldn’t hide his excitement during an interview after practice.

Asked how it felt to be a few hours away from boarding a commercial flight to Oregon, en route to the locale where he will play his first game for the Roadrunners, the San Antonio native and former standout at Antonian College Prep unleashed an ear-to-ear smile.

“It feels great,” Reyna said. “I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to play this year. It just feels great to have an opportunity to help contribute. You know, to help this team win.”

UTSA released the news on Ivy-Curry and Reyna just after the start of a 9 a.m. practice on the team’s home court.

Afterward, Roadrunners Henson said newcomer Justin Thomas also had an opportunity to start playing in games, as well, and he declined.

Thomas, one of the most talented players on the squad, instead will sit out the remainder of the season. He will have two years of eligibility remaining, starting in 2024-25.

Ivy-Curry and Reyna are eligible for the rest of this season and for all of ’24-25, the coach added.

How did this all happen? Weren’t Ivy-Curry and Reyna expected to sit out the year? They were. So, what give? Here’s a brief explainer:

Out of the blue

From a federal courthouse in West Virginia, the news came rumbling out of the hills. Or, as Henson said, “out of the blue.”

Basketball coaches around NCAA Division I could hear the sound, metaphorically speaking, because it stood to make so much of a difference in the quality of their teams.

For Henson, he had more on the line than most.

The eighth-year coach of the Roadrunners had three talented players sitting out as multiple-time transfers who might be able to start suiting up in games depending on the outcome of the proceedings in an antitrust lawsuit.

Initially, on Wednesday, the news was good for Henson. Lawyers for the plaintiffs representing a coalition of seven states argued, essentially, that the transfer rule represented a restraint of trade. The judge agreed, and so he issued a temporary restraining order.

What did it mean? It meant that Henson and others in his profession might be able to start to playing players who otherwise might never have seen the floor this season.

The Roadrunners suddenly started to feel optimistic, like they might be able to start playing games with Ivy-Curry, Thomas and Reyna, all of them considered as two-time transfers.

But as so often happens in court proceedings, more drama and uncertainty ensued. The judge said previously ineligible players could only participate in games over a 14-day period.

Then came Thursday and more concerning news.

Word out of the NCAA was that players who played in games during the TRO might face consequences. News flashed that if the court reversed itself, then those players could be finished for the season after playing in only a few games.

By Friday, the cloudy skies cleared, so to speak. Representatives of the seven states filing the lawsuit huddled with officials from the NCAA.

Even though UTSA had nothing to do with the case, the Roadrunners benefited immensely from the meeting of the minds, which yielded an agreement.

The two sides would request from the judge an injunction that would allow athletes affected by the transfer rule to play in games through the end of the season without concern that they might be ruled ineligible.

The request for an injunction from both sides of the lawsuit apparently is expected to be granted by the court.

It’s a sweeping change that will affect dozens of players nationally.

“All these multi-year transfers (around the nation) are eligible,” Henson said. “You know, this thing changed three times during the week. And a couple of our kids, their decisions went back and forth.”

Henson recalled a moment in time on Wednesday when the team was in Little Rock, and he and his staff tried to figure out how to defend the Little Rock Trojans.

“They had a two-time transfer,” Henson said. “We thought he was going to play. Our guys (Ivy-Curry, Thomas and Reyna) weren’t on the trip with us. We literally joked about getting them a flight and getting them there by that night.”

Guard Juan Reyna works in a defensive drill during a Saturday morning practice at the UTSA Convocation Center. The San Antonio native and former standout player for Coach Rudy Bernal at Antonian College Prep has been cleared to play for the rest of the season.

UTSA announces that Ivy-Curry and Reyna are eligible to play

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA basketball players Jordan Ivy-Curry and Juan Reyna are eligible to play for the remainder of the 2023-24 season, starting with a road game set for Sunday at Oregon State University, according to an athletic department news release.

“Based on the latest guidance from the NCAA and the preliminary injunction regarding the residency requirement for multi-time transfers, UTSA men’s basketball athletes Jordan Ivy-Curry and Juan Reyna are now eligible to compete for the remainder of the 2023-24 season,” the release said. “They will be available for competition beginning with Sunday’s game at Oregon State.”

Furthermore, UTSA coach Steve Henson said in the release, “We are very happy for our kids. These young men really wanted to be Roadrunners. Now they have the opportunity to suit up and help our program, immediately. They have both been practicing extremely well and they are very excited to compete.”

After a court case played out this week in West Virginia, all multiple-time transfers in NCAA sports became eligible through the spring. The three multi-time transfers for UTSA men’s basketball were Ivy-Curry, Reyna and Justin Thomas.

While Ivy-Curry and Reyna wanted to take the chance to play immediately, Thomas elected to sit out the remainder of the season, Henson said.

Making such a decision will allow the 6-foot-7 forward to have two years of eligibility with the Roadrunners — in the 2024-25 season and ’25-26.

Henson said that the Ivy-Curry and Reyna will have the remainder of this season and all of ’24-25 to complete their UTSA eligibility.

Court action could clear pathway for UTSA’s Jordan Ivy-Curry and Justin Thomas to play

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Jordan Ivy-Curry. A&M-Corpus Christi beat UTSA 77-58 on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Developments in a West Virginia court case could crack open an opportunity for guard Jordan Ivy-Curry and forward for Justin Thomas both to play this season for the UTSA Roadrunners. As it is, both are sitting out under NCAA transfer rules, which are now being contested legally. Ivy-Curry is shown here in a photo from 2021-22. – File Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
News analysis for The JB Replay

Will UTSA basketball players Jordan Ivy-Curry and Justin Thomas be allowed to play this year? Will they perhaps make the road trip to play at Oregon State on Sunday afternoon? An athletics department spokesman says in a text that he can’t confirm the members of the traveling party.

Meanwhile, UTSA coach Steve Henson could not immediately be reached for comment.

Justin Thomas. UTSA men's basketball practice on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Justin Thomas averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds last season for a 22-win team at Milwaukee, of the Horizon League. – Photo by Joe Alexander

But after a motion in a West Virginia-based court case was filed Friday to request an injunction allowing for multi-time transfers to compete in games through the end of the season, I suspect that the wheels might be in motion for the Roadrunners to suit up both athletes.

If it’s not this weekend, then it might not be long afterward.

Over the past few years, NCAA rules on transfers have changed. First-time transfers were given the chance to play immediately. But it was announced this summer that athletes transferring for a second time or more had to sit out a year in residence. In response, seven states including West Virginia have challenged the multiple-time rule.

The initial decision by Judge John Preston Bailey on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order allowing multi-time transfers to play within a 14-day window. In the past few days, the states and the NCAA agreed to pursue an injunction that would extend the protections for athletes hoping to play while the case was being decided.

The NCAA said in a statement issued to ESPN and other media outlets Friday saying that, “given the unprecedented decision by the courts earlier this week, the NCAA has reached an agreement with the states to convert the temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction through the remainder of the 2023-24 NCAA championship season.”

Apparently, the judge has not signed off on the request yet. But if it indeed happens, it could be a huge development for the Roadrunners. UTSA (5-5) is scheduled to play at Oregon State (6-3) on Sunday and at home against Army and Prairie View A&M by the end of the calendar year.

The program’s first season in the American Athletic Conference begins Jan. 2 at home against the UAB Blazers.

Ivy-Curry, who played at UTSA for two seasons from 2020-22 before transferring to the University of the Pacific last season, is a 6-foot-3 guard from La Marque. He’s an offensive firebrand who can hit the three and can slash to the bucket. He averaged double figures in scoring each of his last two seasons, one at UTSA and then another at Pacific in California.

The 6-foot-7 Thomas is a versatile player who averaged 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists last season for a 22-win team at Milwaukee, in the Horizon League. The Baton Rouge, La., native hit 42.9 percent from three. He looks like he could play shooting guard, but he is apparently being viewed as a small forward or power forward at UTSA.

Multi-time transfers for the Roadrunners include Ivy-Curry (who has played at UTSA, Pacific, and UTSA again), Thomas (Division II Queens University, N.C., Milwaukee, Wis., and UTSA) and guard Juan Reyna (Alabama State, Campbell, S.C., and UTSA).

I do not think that Reyna, formerly of Antonian High School, will play at UTSA this season. He apparently enrolled with a plan to redshirt in 2023-24 to further some long-range academic goals, so he apparently will continue to practice with the team as a walk on, with a plan to start his Roadrunners playing career in 2024-25.

As for Ivy-Curry and Thomas, they both probably would have been on the floor this season had it not been for the NCAA rule that is now being contested. But when both arrived at UTSA this summer, they knew the only way they could get into games right away would be if they received a waiver.

Ivy-Curry applied for one but reportedly had it rejected by the NCAA a few weeks ago. Now, because of the lawsuit filed by seven states on behalf of some other college athletes, Ivy-Curry and Thomas now both could be in a position to resume their careers soon if everything falls just right.

The story broke on Wednesday afternoon that Bailey had granted a restraining order. UTSA coaches and players were already in Little Rock, Ark., when the news stories started to be published on social media.

That night, the Roadrunners built a 14-point lead in the first half and then faded, eventually losing to the Trojans, 93-84.

Naturally, since Ivy-Curry and Thomas weren’t eligible when the team left town, they weren’t on the trip. In addition, guard Adante’ Holiman wasn’t there, either. He stayed home because of concussion symptoms.

But the fact remains that the Roadrunners, who had won three straight, simply ran out of steam and lost a game they could have won.

Another unsettling issue as they returned home on Thursday centered on the restraining order and what it would all mean. Coaches and players around the nation were all left wondering.

Initially, there was both confusion and trepidation about what would happen if teams played athletes affected by the ruling. For instance, Little Rock apparently had one player who had been sitting out like Ivy-Curry and Thomas, and he was on site. But the Trojans, only hours after the judge issued the restraining order, did not use him.

Adante' Holiman. UTSA beat McMurry 125-84 in a men's basketball exhibition game on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore guard Adante’ Holiman has been out the last two games because of concussion symptoms. His status for Sunday’s game at Oregon State is uncertain. But he did work out on his own late Thursday night. – Photo by Joe Alexander

It might have had something to do with rumblings from the NCAA that athletes who played games during the 14-day period might face a loss of a year’s eligibility if the decision was reversed. The thought was that the court might reverse itself in a hearing that had been set for Dec. 27.

Now, with the request for the injunction, athletes approved to play nationally will have 20 games or so to compete, plus postseason tournament games It’s apparently uncertain whether the Dec. 27 hearing will even be held.

“This action provides clarity for student-athletes and member schools for the remainder of the academic year — any multiple-time transfer student-athlete who competes this season will be subject to the same eligibility and use of a season of competition rules as all other student-athletes,” the NCAA said in its statement published in Metro News of West Virginia.

The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels were among the first schools to take advantage of the reprieve.

UNLV played forward Keylan Boone, a multi-time transfer, in his first game of the season on Wednesday night shortly after the TRO was issued. Boone, whose twin brother is also on the squad, produced 10 points and six rebounds in the Rebels’ 79-64 victory over the eighth-ranked Creighton Blue Jays.

In the past few days, more teams including West Virginia have announced that previously ineligible players would become eligible to suit up for games.

As for UTSA, it’s not entirely clear what is going on in the Roadrunners’ camp. Apparently the call on Ivy-Curry and Thomas will be made collectively, decided by administrators, by the coaches and by the players and their families.

For Ivy-Curry and Thomas, the decision also needs to come fairly quickly. Because if conference play starts and a few weeks pass and their situations remain unsettled, then the two of them could be better off just waiting and starting over with a full slate of games in 2024-25.

I hope to learn more after a Saturday morning team practice.

Houston races to a 22-point lead and then holds off UTSA, 66-64

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The Houston Cougars edged past the UTSA Roadrunners and freshman guard Aysia Proctor, who scored seven of her team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter. – Photo by Tony Morano, courtesy of UTSA athletics

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Other than playing an error-filled first half, the UTSA Roadrunners did just about everything that a team needed to do to win a basketball game. They showed hustle. They grappled on the floor with the Houston Cougars for loose balls.

They decisively won the battle under the back boards against a Power 5 opponent.

UTSA center Elyssa Coleman (left) battles Houston’s Djessira Diawara for possession. Coleman snared eight rebounds as the Roadrunners won the battle of the boards, 47-33. – Photo by Tony Morano, courtesy of UTSA athletics

On the offensive end, the Roadrunners knocked down clutch shots in the third and fourth quarters. In the end, though, it wasn’t quite enough as the Cougars built a 22-point lead in the first half and then somehow escaped with a 66-64 road victory at the Convocation Center.

“The obvious elephant in the room is that we got off to a tough start and just (made) too many turnovers … ,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “We talked about it at halftime. You know, our defense was fairly solid. I think we gave them some timely offensive rebounds and a couple of threes. But … they had 19 points in the half off turnovers.”

More specifically, Houston forced 16 first-half turnovers and outscored UTSA by a resounding 19-0 margin off the errors over the first two quarters. As a result, the Cougars juiced the lead to as many as 22 points three times. At intermission, it was a 20-point game.

Not to worry. In the second half, a Roadrunners team that has erased deficits of 11 and 15 points to win this year made a spirited run to get back in the game. At the end, they were looking at an eight-point deficit with 3:44 remaining — and still nearly pulled it out.

First, freshman guard Aysia Proctor and junior forward Elyssa Coleman made baskets to get the fans up on their feet. Kyra White’s elbow jumper with 50 seconds left turned the volume another notch higher.

UTSA guard Kyra White (right) faced intense defensive pressure and still produced 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. – Photo by Tony Morano, courtesy of UTSA athletics

Then, finally, Sidney Love splashed a three with 18 seconds left for one of the best moments in memory in the Convocation Center, with people standing, cheering and throwing their arms in the air. UTSA was down by just two. The program’s first victory over a P5 opponent in 13 years seemed within reach.

“I just felt like we were in the game,” said Proctor, who led the Roadrunners with 19 points on nine of 11 shooting from the field. “I just felt like we could win it. Our team was hyped. We were locked in.”

For the Roadrunners, it wasn’t meant to be.

On Houston’s next possession, three UTSA players were trapping and had a Cougars player cornered on the boundary and the halfcourt stripe. Cougars coach Ronald Hughey called time out, just in time, because it appeared that the Coogs’ ball handler was about to be whistled for traveling.

Ultimately, Houston inbounded again with seven seconds left, made a few passes and then ran out the clock. UTSA could have fouled at least the last Cougars player with the ball but didn’t, for some reason.

Sidney Love (right, with the ball) takes it to the rim with the left hand. She finished with 13 points. – Photo by Tony Morano, courtesy UTSA athletics

In trying to recall the moments that stood out for her at the end, Aston pinpointed a missed shot from close range by the Roadrunners and then a play on the other end when her team failed to box out, allowing the Cougars to snare an offensive rebound that led to a couple of Laila Blair free throws.

“We have players that understand that block outs are important,” Aston said. “I don’t have to go back and say you should have blocked out. But I do think that not fouling there at the very end…like, we didn’t have a grasp that we had to foul. We need to be better at that, for sure.”

Once-beaten Houston, ranked 69th in the nation in the NET computer rankings, is due a large amount of credit for hanging on when the game seemed to be slipping away. Particularly, the two free throws by Blair were momentous for Houston’s cause. Both Blair and N’Yah Boyd finished with 14 points apiece.

UTSA players also deserve credit for showing fortitude after such a poor first-half. Proctor’s nine for 11 shooting was one individual highlight. Another was the overall hustle and grit of White, who finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Love was another player in double figures with 13 points.

The Roadrunners entered the game 138th in the nation in the NET. Despite the loss, they might have helped their cause in the rankings because they held the Cougars to 20 points below their average. They also dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Coogs, 47-33.

Notable

A school spokesman said that if UTSA had won the game, it would have been the largest comeback in program history. On another historical note, UTSA hasn’t won a game against a Power 5 team since 2010 in a victory over Kansas State. The Roadrunners have lost 22 in a row in that span against teams from the five major revenue-producing conferences. The Cougars became a P5 program just this season when they started play in the Big 12.

First half

Pressing at every opportunity and forcing 16 turnovers, the Houston Cougars dominated the first half. They led by 10 points at the quarter and by 20 at intermission.

N’Yah Boyd scored all of her 11 first-half points in the second quarter as the Cougars opened a wide lead on the Roadrunners.

When UTSA pulled to within 11 at one juncture in the period, the Cougars sprinted away on a 12-1 run to open the first of three 22-point leads. Boyd capped the run with a driving layup and a three-point bucket.

Records

Houston 8-1
UTSA 5-4

Coming up

UTSA at Oregon, Sunday, 2 p.m.

JB’s video replay

Kyra White passes to Sidney Love, who hits a three with 12 seconds left to pull UTSA within two. Houston hung on to win 66-64 after leading by as many as 22 points in the first half.

After taking a cross-court pass from Sidney Love, freshman Aysia Proctor dribbles into the paint and sinks a 12 footer.

Kyra White finds open space and hits a three-pointer during first-half action against Houston.

Freshman Idara Udo takes it to the basket and scores for UTSA late in the second quarter.

UTSA’s McGuire applauds Houston’s toughness, says she expects a ‘battle on the boards’

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Kyleigh Aguirre. UTSA beat UTEP 90-66 in women's basketball at the Convocation Center on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Kyleigh Aguirre didn’t give up on UTSA even when the program was down. She made the transition to the current coaching staff, and now is thoroughly enjoying the feeling of playing for a winning program and playing in games that matter, like tonight’s home contest against the Big 12’s Houston Cougars. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Women’s basketball practice at UTSA on Wednesday was not unlike many other sessions from the summer or from early in the fall, when the prospect of playing in actual games seemed not like months away, but years. Conditioning drills on warm and muggy mornings outside. Weight-room sessions. On-court scrimmaging.

When would it all end? Are we there yet? Take, for instance, one sequence in the Roadrunners’ last on-court workout in advance of tonight’s home game against the Houston Cougars. Coach Karen Aston had the players running up and down at top speed. Non stop. Back and forth. A few of the male practice players became particularly assertive.

If one of Aston’s posts tried to make a move to shoot a 6-footer in the paint, one of the biggest and tallest of the male players would swat it away. One or two of the men looked like they were new to the practices. Perhaps they were. Maybe the UTSA women had worn out some of the previous crew, so the newbies seemed fresh on this day.

It probably won’t last, if the UTSA women continue their tried-and-true, blue-collar workouts through the end of this month and into January, February and March. Ah, March. The month will arrive soon enough. Tonight, with Houston (7-1) coming into the Convocation Center with a team that looks and plays a lot like an NCAA tournament team, UTSA (5-3) will need to be ready.

UTSA’s Kyleigh McGuire said on the eve of the game with the Cougars of the Big 12 Conference that UTSA players have been looking forward to this moment for the past week. The Roadrunners haven’t played since Dec. 3. They’ve had a break to complete fall-semester academics. Now that they’ve taken care of that business, it’s on to the fun stuff.

The games. The prospect of a gymnasium full of supportive fans. The opportunity for UTSA to win a game against a Power 5 opponent for the first time since the players were in grade school. It’s here. McGuire and the others can’t wait for the opening tip at 6 tonight.

“We’ve been preparing for them for them for the (past) week, and we’re really excited,” she said.

McGuire forecasts a competitive contest because both teams rebound so well. “It’s going to be a battle on the boards,” she added.

It’ll also be a battle for the history books. The Roadrunners’ women haven’t won a game against a Power 5 opponent since they beat the Big 12’s Kansas State Wildcats in 2010. UTSA has lost 21 in a row to P5s since then. Regardless, the opportunity to make a statement in that way is not the only driving force for the them.

Last year, they had a chance to beat the Cougars in Houston, and after a determined effort to dig themselves out of a 21-point deficit, they let it slip away. In the end, they fell 93-89 in overtime.

“I remember that they were really tough,” McGuire said. “They’re a pretty scrappy team … One thing about them is toughness. They’re going to give you all that they have for 40 minutes. I feel like they’re a really good matchup for us.”

Records

Houston 7-1
UTSA 5-3

Coming up

Houston at UTSA, tonight at 6.

Little Rock rallies to beat UTSA 93-84 with 59 percent shooting in the second half

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

If the Little Rock (Ark.) Trojans were rattled by the UTSA Roadrunners’ 3-point shooting early in the game, they shook it off in due course, coming alive in the second half on their home court to register a 93-84 victory on Wednesday night.

In the end, the Little Rock guard duo of Jamir Chaplin and Bradley Douglas took down UTSA and its three-game winning streak.

Chaplin, a 6-foot-5 transfer from South Florida, led the Trojans with 22 points. The 6-1 Douglas sizzled at the end of the game, scoring 11 of his 20 in the final five minutes.

Guard Christian Tucker led UTSA with 23 points. Adante’ Holiman, Tucker’s backcourt mate, sat out his second straight game as he recovers from concussion symptoms.

Once again, the Roadrunners shot it well from the perimeter. After making a school-record 19 three-point shots at home on Sunday against Division II Arkansas-Fort Smith, the Roadrunners knocked down 14 of 34 from the arc.

UTSA was particularly effective early, making nine triples in the first half. But after surging to a 35-21 lead, the Roadrunners failed to hang on. By late in the half, the Trojans had taken the lead. UTSA got a bucket by Massal Diouf in the final minute to move back ahead by 43-42 at intermission.

In the second half, the Trojans started guarding the shooters better and began to crank their own offense. They hit 16 of 27 from the field for 59.3 percent.

Records

UTSA 5-5
Little Rock 5-6

Coming up

UTSA at Oregon State, 2 p.m.

Notable

Isaiah Wyatt tried to rally UTSA, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. Wyatt also finished with a team-high nine rebounds. Guard PJ Carter and Dre Fuller produced 12 points apiece and Carlton Linguard Jr. had 10. With the loss, UTSA fell to 1-4 on the road.

It’s too early to tell if a federal district judge’s ruling on Wednesday will allow the Roadrunners to play some of their players sitting out as transfers in the next two weeks.

Judge John P. Bailey granted a 14-day temporary restraining order during a hearing in his West Virginia court room, giving college athletes who have transferred more than once in their careers immediate eligibility at least for the next 14 days, according to a story by Ross Dellenger in Yahoo Sports.

“As a result of today’s decision impacting Division I student-athletes, the association will not enforce the year in residency requirement for multiple-time transfers and will begin notifying member schools,” the NCAA said in a statement released to Dellenger.

Multiple-time transfers for UTSA include Jordan Ivy-Curry, Justin Thomas and Juan Reyna. Ivy-Curry and Thomas are scholarship players and Reyna is a walk-on who has been practicing well.

By the letter of the ruling, it appears that the three theoretically could be deemed eligible to play in at least two games — against Oregon State on Sunday and against Army at home on Dec. 21. The judge is expected to address the issue again on Dec. 27.

Quotable

UTSA coach Steve Henson didn’t talk about the judge’s ruling or the statement by the NCAA during his post-game radio comments.

He did say that he felt like the Roadrunners were in “pretty good shape” in the middle of the first half when the Trojans made their big run to intermission.

“Defense in the second half was disappointing,” Henson told Andy Everett, the team’s radio voice. The coach went on to say that the Trojans “just won a lot of individual battles, just kind of went right at us, scored right in our face. Got to compete to get that stop.”