UTSA’s Nick Bowman notched the first win of his college coaching career Saturday against the VMI Keydets. – File photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
As the UTSA men prepare for a challenging West Coast trip and a road game Wednesday night with the Seattle Redhawks, acting coach Nick Bowman thanked the city for its support of the team through the early going of the new season.
The Roadrunners rallied in the last few minutes to claim a 70-68 home win over the VMI Keydets Saturday afternoon.
“We’re obviously really excited to get our first win of the season, especially for that to be a home win,” Bowman said Monday on his weekly press conference. “I thought that was really good for these guys. The crowd was incredible. The band was there.
“After the season we had last year, I don’t know if that was necessarily the expectation, but for San Antonio and our students to come and support this team, it really, really means a lot . . . and they deserved it.
“They fought so hard and played so well. More shots will go in as we get more comfortable … So we’re not super concerned with that. So, we’re really happy to be 1-1.”
Coming up
UTSA at Seattle, Wednesday, 9 p.m.
Texas State at UTSA, Sunday, 7 p.m.
Record
UTSA 1-1
Seattle 1-1
Notable
After Wednesday, the Roadrunners return home to play Sunday night against the I-35 rival Texas State Bobcats.
“This week we have two high-quality opponents, two top 100 (ranked) teams,” the coach said. “Seattle on Wednesday, that’s what we’re really focused on. We’re not really even thinking about Texas State on Sunday right now. We just want to go up in Seattle and play together, play hard and give ourselves a chance to win on the road against a team that’s going to do well in the (West Coast Conference).”
The Roadrunners fell flat in their opener on Nov. 2, allowing nearly 59 percent shooting and losing 95-74 at San Jose State. Then they returned home to beat the Keydets, hitting a couple of clutch 3-pointers in the final 58 seconds to seal it.
Houston Christian transfer Demari Williams, a 6-6 guard, passed for two assists and hit a go-ahead, three-point shot in the last two minutes against VMI. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Even though VMI was one of the lowest-ranked programs in the nation last year, 359th out of 365 in the NET, it was an emotional victory for the Roadrunners, as they notched their first win at home against a Division I opponent since March of 2025.
Before Saturday, UTSA’s last home win against a D-I foe came two seasons ago on March 2, 2025 when it knocked off Rice, 84-56. The Roadrunners recorded their last home win against a team at any level on Nov. 18, 2025 against Southwestern Christian, which is affiliated with the NAIA and the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association.
Which means that the Roadrunners had lost 13 straight at home against D-I competition – one against Memphis in March of 2025, plus all 12 last season. The streak came to a merciful end when the Roadrunners, with almost an entirely new roster, outscored the Keydets 38-29 in the last 16 minutes Saturday afternoon.
Asked what he liked about his team so far, Bowman said, “Well, not much in the first game. We were really out of sorts. I thought we played uncharacteristically (at) San Jose State. Didn’t really show what we thought we had been showing in the preseason.
“We took a few days to coach ’em hard before VMI, before our home opener, and I thought that game … there’s so much to watch in the basketball part of it, but our bench and our coaches, just the spirit and the joy that they were playing with.”
Bowman was appointed acting head coach in the absence of the suspended Austin Claunch on Oct. 28. With Claunch as head coach and Bowman as a lead assistant, the Roadrunners finished 12-19 in 2024-25 before plummeting to a 4-25 record last season. Like the Keydets, they finished near the bottom of the national rankings at No. 342.