Category Archives: College basketball

Born in Romania and raised in Italy, UTSA’s Czumbel thanks his parents for their sacrifices

Posted on by
Erik Czumbel. UTSA beat Lamar 88-66 on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Senior guard Erik Czumbel has scored 438 points in 114 games over the past four years for the UTSA Roadrunners. UTSA will honor Czumbel and another fourth-year player, Jacob Germany, before tipoff tonight at the Convocation Center. The Charlotte 49ers will serve as the opponent in the Roadrunners’ final regular-season game and likely the last at home for Czumbel and Germany. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Erik Czumbel’s parents reside in Europe, and so they won’t be in the UTSA Convocation Center tonight.

Nevertheless, the sacrifices they made in their lives likely will come to mind in a major way for their son, as he prepares to play his last basketball game on the Roadrunners’ homecourt.

“I definitely want to pay ’em back one day,” UTSA’s fourth-year senior guard said in an interview Wednesday afternoon.

Originally from Romania, Gyorgy and Hajnalka Czumbel welcomed twin sons — Erik and Mark — into the world in January 2000. The boys were born in Satu Mare, in northwestern Romania, a country that had been torn for decades by political strife and economic hardship.

With conditions unfavorable to a life that the parents wanted for their sons, the couple anxiously weighed their options. Should they stay close to family and friends and try to make it work in Romania? Or should they try to get out, as so many other countrymen were doing.

“My dad definitely wanted to leave the country,” Czumbel said. “He wanted to go to Germany (at) first. But (the language) was harder to learn. Italian and Romanian are similar languages.”

Initially, Czumbel’s dad tried to flee Romania but couldn’t make it out of the country.

“They caught him (and) he was released, (but) nothing bad happened,” Erik said.

Later, when the twins were infants, Gyorgy tried again and succeeded, settling in Italy to acclimate to his new surroundings and to find a job.

“A lot of people in Romania were skeptical of his decision (to leave),” Erik Czumbel said. “They were like, ‘You’re not going to be lucky. It’s going to be the same there.’ Because it’s hard. You go to another country. You don’t know the language. You have to learn. Find a job. You have to be disciplined.”

Eventually, Gyorgy’s wife and infant sons packed up and left themselves, in a time frame that Erik estimates was late in the year in 2001, or in 2002. Together again, the family made a home in Verona, Italy.

The young boys were basketball players. Erik became one of the nation’s best prospects, competing in club sports and rising up in the national team system. His brother, Mark, played for a time with Virtus Avechi Salerno.

He’s now playing on an amateur level while taking graduate courses in civil engineering. The boys’ parents, meanwhile, are working. Erik’s mother is an assistant director in a manufacturing corporation.

His father? He’s a truck driver, and has been hauling freight in 18-wheelers for 20-something years.

“He’s gone for, like, a week and he comes back home on the weekends,” Czumbel said. “It’s definitely a hard job.”

Czumbel said his dad has always loved basketball and, years ago, played in an “old guy’s league” while following Tim Duncan and the Spurs.

“In the summer, we go and play some ball,” Czumbel said. “He has some skills, you know. He’s a big Tim Duncan fan. The bank shot — he loves that.”

Czumbel said his mother is also into fitness and likes to take long walks on weekends with her husband. But she, too, loves her work.

“She’s a work-aholic,” Czumbel said. “I think she works a little too hard, because she does some extra work where they don’t pay her. But she loves it, and they love her at her firm. (It’s) kind of like me, she has her whole family at her firm. You know, it’s good.”

Czumbel has been part of the UTSA family since 2019. He arrived at the same time as an incoming freshman center named Jacob Germany. Together, UTSA will honor Czumbel and Germany tonight on ‘Senior Day’ ceremonies. Tipoff for the Charlotte at UTSA game is at 7 p.m.

Next week, the Roadrunners will journey to Frisco for the Conference USA tournament.

Czumbel is expected to participate in commencement ceremonies in May and plans to knock out his last two classes for a finance-economics degree this summer. Beyond that, he’s not sure whether he wants to continue playing, perhaps in Europe, or to pursue a job in the United States

“It’s been a beautiful journey here at UTSA,” Czumbel said. “You know, I love San Antonio. It’s … I mean, it’s hard to talk about. I’m definitely going to miss it.

“It’s been an amazing journey, through ups and downs. But I enjoyed every moment. I’m super appreciative of the fans, of the people who supported us, the coaches and my teammates. It’s been a beautiful part of my life.”

As for his parents, he calls them “amazing,” for obvious reasons.

“Just, super grateful for them,” Czumbel said.

A scoring mentality: UTSA’s White adds jump shot accuracy to her overall game

Posted on by

Kyra White. UTSA women's basketball beat Florida International 85-79 for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Former Judson standout Kyra White scored 44 points on 18 of 31 shooting from the field in two home games last week. — Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Kyra White says she isn’t doing anything different, from a technical standpoint, when she shoots her jump shot.

She says her recent hot streak is just a matter of months of practice finally producing results.

That, and a heightened sense of confidence.

“We’re just working on getting to my spots and having the scoring mentality,” she said after practice Tuesday. “I believe that, in the beginning of the season, I was just looking to be a play maker. Making plays for my team. Now that I’m figuring out that my shot is going in, all this extra work is coming to the surface, and I’m just feeling a lot of confidence right now. My teammates trust me to shoot the ball, so I’m going to continue to go out and do that.”

All season, White has been one of the Roadrunners’ best players.

On the ball at point guard or on the wing, the former Judson High School standout has facilitated the offense, averaging 4.5 assists. She’s crashed the boards, averaging 4.3 rebounds. And she’s also supplied offense when needed, producing 7.6 points.

Lately, though, the offense has been eye opening.

In two games at home last week, White scored 44 points — 22 each in victories over the FAU Owls and the FIU Panthers — all while knocking down a combined 18 of 31 from the field.

The 5-foot-9 junior, a transfer from Southern Cal, sparked a UTSA comeback by taking five jumpers and making all of them in the third quarter of UTSA’s 85-79 victory over FIU on Saturday afternoon.

UTSA assistant Jamie Carey says there’s no secret to White sizzling at 58 percent in the two home games after shooting just 33 percent for the season.

“It’s gym time,” Carey said. “It’s a perfect example of what hard work does. She’s in the gym every day before practice, every day after practice. When you put in that time, your confidence does grow. I mean, I think (her shot) is coming off her hand cleaner. There’s a lot that she’s doing really well, but you don’t accomplish that if you haven’t been in the gym.”

White arrived at UTSA last fall with some fanfare as one of the key players on Judson’s 2019 state championship team. But in three seasons at Southern Cal to start her collegiate career, she averaged only 1.8 points and 1.6 assists in 18.1 minutes.

Last season, she shot 47.6 percent on 10 of 21 shooting. But her playing time had been reduced from 24.9 minutes in 2020-21, down to 12.2.

This year, back home in the San Antonio area, she has flourished.

“I’m just so blessed to be with an amazing program, with amazing girls and amazing staff,” she said. “We’re in March and I’m playing basketball. You gotta love it.”

Coming up

UTSA at Charlotte, Thursday, 5 p.m.
end of regular season
UTSA at Conference USA tournament, March 8-11, at Frisco

Jenkins sets UTSA season scoring record as Roadrunners win third straight game

Posted on by
Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA women's basketball beat Florida International 85-79 for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jordyn Jenkins scored 33 points against Florida International for a UTSA women’s basketball record of 587 in a single season. Tammy Rogers established the previous record of 583 in 1990-91. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special For The JB Replay

Senior Day for the UTSA women’s basketball team started with a pre-game ceremony honoring Hailey Atwood, Queen Ulabo and Deb Nwakamma, who all were playing for the last time at the Convocation Center.

It ended with even more emotion, with fans standing and cheering, as Jordyn Jenkins set the school record for points in a season en route to the Roadrunners’ third straight victory, an 85-79 win over the FIU Panthers.

Karen Aston. UTSA women's basketball beat Florida International 85-79 for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Karen Aston has led her team to three straight victories and a 6-3 record in the second half of the C-USA schedule, with one to play. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Perhaps more significantly from a big-picture standpoint, UTSA took another small step toward respectability as a program, clinching a winning record in the second half of the Conference USA regular season.

With a 6-3 record in the second half, UTSA can do no worse than 6-4 as the regular-season finale at Charlotte looms on March 2. It’s a notable achievement for a group that looked lost at times in November and December.

“Once they got their wheels rolling (today) they looked as energetic and competitive as they did the day they beat Rice, which seems like eons ago,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said.

In her comments, Aston referenced a Feb. 16 home game in which the Roadrunners muscled past the Rice Owls, one of the better teams in the conference, 66-53.

Perhaps not coincidentally, it was the start of a 4-1 stretch for a UTSA team playing perhaps as well as anyone in the C-USA.

Aston, joined by Atwood and Jenkins in the postgame news conference, talked about how everyone played the way she has always wanted them to play.

“I mean, I’m just super proud of their competitive spirit today,” Aston said. “They kicked in, in the second half, and we had so many players make plays.”

Trailing by nine against the Panthers in the second quarter, the Roadrunners started the comeback. They cut it to four at intermission and then came out strong after the break.

Kyra White. UTSA women's basketball beat Florida International 85-79 for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Guard Kyra White scored 10 of her 22 points in a third-quarter surge for the Roadrunners. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Kyra White scored 10 and Jenkins had eight in the third quarter as UTSA took the lead. Siena Guttadauro nailed a three with three seconds left in the period, igniting the crowd and giving UTSA a 68-61 advantage going into the fourth.

The Roadrunners had allowed quite a few leads to slip away late in games during times of uncertainty in November, December and January, but it was not happening against FIU, as UTSA continued to attack on offense.

Jenkins, in particular, seemed intent on slamming the door on the Panthers.

In doing so, she led the Roadrunners with eight points in the final stanza, not only cementing the victory, but also etching her name in the school record books.

Her game-high 33 points boosted her season total to 587, which moved her past the previous record of 583 by 1980s and ’90s-era star Tammy Rogers.

Rogers, a guard, had held the record since the end of the 1990-91 season. When Aston asked for clarification on what record was broken, she was informed that it was the record for points scored in a season and that it was 32 years old.

“Wow,” Aston said. Looking at Jenkins, who was still in her No. 32 jersey, the coach added, “That’s your number.”

At that, Jenkins smiled. “Pretty cool,” she said.

Apparently, only a few people at press row knew that Jenkins was closing in on the record as the fourth quarter started. Jenkins said she had no idea.

Hailey Atwood. UTSA women's basketball beat Florida International 85-79 for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Honored in the pregame as one of the team’s three outgoing seniors, guard Hailey Atwood scored 13 points in 27 minutes. She said the energy from all her teammates on this day will likely be her favorite memory. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“Whenever they announced it in the huddle (late in the game) and people started cheering and Kyra was, like, ‘yea,’ and everyone was like, ‘yea, Jordan,’ I was like, ‘What?’ But, then they told me a little bit after.”

For Atwood, the game was especially meaningful. In two years at UTSA, she has seen some hard times. An injury that slowed her last season. A losing record last year and a poor start to this year, as well.

She said her favorite memory of her last home game at UTSA probably will be the energy of her teammates.

“There were a lot of things we were playing for,” Atwood said. “Not only was the team playing for the seniors, but we were also playing for our 10th win of the season. That was also very important. Our third win in a row. You know, we got two wins in a row last game against FAU and this is the first time this season that we got three games, back to back (to back).

“So, all three of those things were very important for us today, and I think it was very memorable for us. We were down (to FIU) at first, and we just rallied back together. We wanted to win, so I think that was very memorable.”

Aston acknowledged the significance of turning the corner, from a 2-8 record in the first 10 games of the C-USA schedule, to a 6-3 team heading into Charlotte.

“Now we’re playing people for the second time,” she said. “When you take a look back and see … I mean, we look so dramatically different. We look so much more confident and sure, and that’s just part of the process of bringing in eight new (players), and everyone learning a new system. It’s the process of five freshmen growing up.

“It’s process of people accepting roles. I mean, I’m excited. This is one of those kind of situations where you don’t want it to end, because you’re trending upward. (Players) are getting it, just getting it, and you want to play as long as you can play when this starts happening, so I’m excited for the next game.

“I think some light bulbs have really come on for this team, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next.”

Records

UTSA 10-18, 8-11
FIU 12-15, 7-11

Coming up

UTSA at Charlotte, March 2, 5 p.m.

C-USA tournament

March 8-11, at Frisco

Individuals

FIU — Mihaela Lazic, 15 points on five triples. Tanajah Hayes, 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals. Ajae Yoakum, 10 points, eight rebounds. Kaliah Henderson, 10 points.

UTSA — Jordyn Jenkins, 33 points on 14 of 19 shooting from the field. Kyra White, 22 points on 10 of 16 shooting. Also, five rebounds, six assists, three blocked shots. Hailey Atwood, 13 points on five of 12 shooting, including two triples. Also, three rebounds and two assists. Deb Nwakamma, three points, two rebounds. Queen Ulabo, three points, including one triple.

Deborah Nwakamma (left), Queen Ulabo and coach Karen Aston celebrate in the final moments. UTSA women's basketball beat Florida International 85-79 for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

As the fans cheer, seniors Deborah Nwakamma (left) and Queen Ulabo celebrate with coach Karen Aston near the end of a victory over the FIU Panthers. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Surprising UTSA women hope to keep it going against FAU

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

The UTSA women’s basketball team has a dual mission tonight — make amends for a poor performance earlier this season and keep alive its late-season push in the Conference USA standings.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA women's basketball beat No. 21 Middle Tennessee 58-53 on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jordyn Jenkins has scored 528 points, 55 shy of the UTSA school single-season record held by Tammy Rogers, who produced 583 in 1990-91. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Surprising UTSA is 4-3 in its last seven games going into tonight’s home test against the struggling Florida Atlantic University Owls. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

Last month, the Roadrunners traveled to Florida and got swept in a two-game C-USA road series, losing at FAU 81-66 and at Florida International, 51-48. A week later, on Jan. 26, they returned home and dropped another close game to North Texas, 54-51.

After losing to the Mean Green, UTSA dropped to 4-15 and 2-8 in the conference.

Since then, the ball club has caught a tail-wind, winning four out of seven games, including victories over Louisiana Tech (on the road), Middle Tennessee and Rice (both at home) and North Texas (on the road).

As a result, the Roadrunners have improved to 8-18 on the season and 6-11 in the C-USA.

The latest victory may have been the most dramatic. Playing in Denton on Monday night, UTSA squandered a nine-point fourth quarter lead before riding Jordyn Jenkins to a 68-67 decision over North Texas in overtime.

In boosting veteran coach Karen Aston to the 300th victory of her career, Jenkins hit 12 of 20 shots from the field, including three of five from 3-point distance. The 40-point showing not only was her career-high, but with 11 rebounds, she also notched her ninth double-double of the year.

If history is any indication, FAU could be a problem tonight for UTSA despite Jenkins’ talents. The Owls dominated the Roadrunners last month, with guard Aniyah Hubbard lighting it up for 21 points. The 5-8 guard also had four rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Defensively, the Owls were effective, holding the Roadrunners to 31 percent shooting. They also out-rebounded the visitors, 27-21. The margin wasn’t that much, but it was one of the few times during the conference schedule that an opponent out-rebounded UTSA.

Lately, FAU has fallen on hard times, losing four straight, dropping the Owls to 12-13 and 5-11, a half game below the Roadrunners in the C-USA standings. Right now, UTSA is ninth in the standings and FAU 10th.

All 11 C-USA teams qualify for the C-USA tournament next month in Frisco, but, generally the higher a team can finish in the regular season, the easier it is to win games and advance.

It’s likely that UTSA will need to win four games in four days to win the C-USA title and make the 64-team NCAA field.

Records

FAU 12-13, 5-11
UTSA 8-18, 6-11

Coming up

FAU at UTSA, Thursday, 7 p.m.
FIU at UTSA, Saturday, noon

Notable

UTSA hasn’t won as many as nine games in a season and six games on its conference schedule since the 2017-18 season, when the Roadrunners finished 9-21 and 6-10…Jordyn Jenkins, a UTSA newcomer after transferring from Southern Cal, is 55 points shy of the school record held by Tammy Rogers.

UAB rallies to win a ‘rock fight’ against determined UTSA

Posted on by
John Buggs after landing hard on his rear end with 12:16 to play. UTSA lost to UAB 83-78 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard John Buggs III grimaces after landing hard on his rear end with 12:16 to play. Buggs and the Roadrunners lost to the UAB Blazers 83-78 in Conference USA men’s basketball on Saturday in San Antonio. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After claiming a victory Saturday afternoon in a hotly-contested basketball game at the UTSA Convocation Center, UAB’s Andy Kennedy clinched a 20-win season for the 13th time in his 16 years as a coach.

Though he hits that magic number on a nearly annual basis, he always enjoys the moment and never takes it for granted.

UAB's Jordan "Jelly" Walker. UTSA lost to UAB 83-78 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UAB’s Jordan “Jelly” Walker finished with 25 points on eight of 19 shooting from the field. Walker knocked down four triples. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Because he knows he can’t.

“The game tonight proved that to us,” Kennedy said. “You can’t take any game for granted. Every game is a battle, and I give (UTSA coach) Steve (Henson’s) team a lot of credit.

“They’ve obviously had a frustrating year (and) had a huge win Thursday against Rice.

“We knew if we didn’t come out here and impose our will early, it was going to be a rock fight, and they turned it into a rock fight.”

As it turned out, the Blazers had more and bigger rocks in their bag.

UAB, a team that represented C-USA in the NCAA tournament last year, rallied from slow starts in both halves and rode 70.4 percent shooting after intermission to an 83-78 victory.

With the win, third-place UAB (20-8, 11-6) improved to 8-1 in its last nine games and kept pace with other C-USA contenders in the chase for first-round byes in the postseason tournament.

Japhet Medor. UTSA lost to UAB 83-78 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Guard Japhet Medor led the Roadrunners with 22 points, four assists and two steals. Medor has 56 points, 13 assists and 10 steals in his last three games. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Blazers did it the hard way, falling into an 11-point hole early in the second half and then charging back to deal the last-place Roadrunners (8-20, 2-15) a heart-breaking blow in their quest to gain both momentum and respectability.

“Proud of the whole thing,” said Henson, whose team snapped an 11-game losing streak Thursday night at Rice. “Proud of our focus, our preparation, our rebounding, our toughness. Disappointed, you know. The game’s on the line, and they made plays, and we didn’t.”

Jordan “Jelly” Walker, the fourth-leading scorer in the nation, scored a game-high 25 points. After sitting out much of the second half in foul trouble, the 5-foot-11 guard from Long Island, N.Y., produced 10 points in the final two minutes.

Despite the outburst from Walker, UTSA had a chance at the end to spring an upset victory.

The Roadrunners trailed by three with less than 18 seconds remaining when a three-point attempt by John Buggs III missed, glancing off the front of the rim. Walker hit two free throws with five seconds left for the final points of the game.

Japhet Medor led UTSA with 22 points, four rebounds and four assists. Struggling with a back issue during the game, Buggs finished with 14 points, as did freshman guard DJ Richards, who also had a team-high eight rebounds.

Jacob Germany came off the bench for 11 points and six boards.

UAB's Trey Jemison. UTSA lost to UAB 83-78 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UAB center Trey Jemison is a big man, 6-foot-11 and 260 pounds. He contributed eight points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots – Photo by Joe Alexander

With two games in Florida next week and then a regular-season finale at home against Charlotte on March 2, the Roadrunners are playing better basketball.

They beat Rice, a solid team, by five points on the road Thursday night and then led for much of the afternoon Saturday against UAB.

But they have precious little time to gain the type of momentum teams can only get by stringing together victories.

“Super proud of our effort early in the game, our fight, our rebounding,” Henson said. “It was unbelievable. They’re a good rebounding team. They’re athletic. You know there’s not a ton of nights when we line up and think we might get overpowered.

But this was one of the teams that could do it if we didn’t have the right mindset.”

In that regard, young players for UTSA like Richards, Massal Diouf and Lamin Sabally competed at a high level. Even though the 6-foot-5 Richards wasn’t on as a shooter, his work on the glass was impressive.

Diouf (five points, six rebounds) and Sabally six points, six boards) battled against UAB’s Trey Jemison and KJ Buffen, respectively. Even though the Roadrunners lost the game, they could see the potential for both young players, who were matched against some of the conference’s best.

Steve Henson and DJ Richards. UTSA lost to UAB 83-78 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Steve Henson confers with freshman guard DJ Richards, who produced 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Henson said it was Sabally’s best game.

“Massal was fantastic early in the game,” Henson said. “Lamin was very good. Loved the way we started it.”

It was the finish that felled the Roadrunners. In the second half, they coughed up the ball on turnovers too much, leading to transition baskets for the Blazers, who hit 19 of 27 shots from the field in the second half..

Buffen and Ty Brewer, in particular, had some big moments after Walker had to go to the bench with four fouls.

Brewer had 13 of his 16 points and Brewer had eight of his 12 in the second half. With Walker on the bench, UAB erased much of what had been an 11-point deficit.

When Walker returned, he took over, scoring 10 points in the last two minutes for the Blazers.

Records

UAB 20-8, 11-6
UTSA 8-20, 2-15

Coming up

UTSA at Florida Atlantic, Feb. 23, 6 p.m.
UTSA at FIU, Feb. 25, 6 p.m.
Charlotte at UTSA, March 2, 7 p.m.

C-USA tournament

March 8-11, at Frisco. All 11 teams are invited. Six teams play on the first day. Five get byes into the second round.

Lamin Sabally. UTSA lost to UAB 83-78 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore Lamin Sabally had perhaps his best game of the season with six points and six rebounds. He was three for four from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

First half

UTSA fans stood and cheered at halftime for the Roadrunners, who showed significant passion, effort and execution in bolting to a 41-35 lead on the UAB Blazers.

Medor, leading the way on offense, used his speed and moxy to score 13 points. Richards also got into the act with nine.

Defensively, the Roadrunners held the Blazers to 12 of 37 shooting from the field. UAB’s shooting percentage of 32.4 wasn’t all because of UTSA’s defensive effort. Some of it had to do with the Blazers’ lackluster mindset at the start of the game.

But in the end, UTSA played hard and did a good job against one of the most explosive teams in NCAA Division I. Walker was quiet early but warmed up to the occasion soon enough, scoring 13 in the half. He hit three from 3-point distance.

With UAB playing at a casual pace early, UTSA jumped out to a 14-2 lead. UAB cranked up the intensity later, putting together a 13-0 run at one point. UTSA, to its credit, didn’t fold. UAB held its largest lead at 21-18.

Massal Diouf, Japhet Medor and John Buggs III. UTSA lost to UAB 83-78 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Japhet Medor (center) has a word with Massal Diouf (left) and John Buggs III. – Photo by Joe Alexander

A cookie, an allergic reaction and a hospital visit couldn’t stop UTSA guard Japhet Medor

Posted on by
Japhet Medor. UTSA men's basketball lost to UTEP 77-66 on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Battling through injuries and a recent bout with a chocolate cookie, UTSA point guard Japhet Medor says he thinks the Roadrunners are ready to play in a home game today against high-scoring Jordan “Jelly” Walker and the powerful UAB Blazers. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Sidetracked by a health scare and an unexpected trip to a Houston hospital Wednesday night, Japhet Medor returned to his hotel room and did what you’d expect from any college student.

He slept it off.

Japhet Medor. Louisiana Tech beat UTSA 66-55 in Conference USA men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Guard Japhet Medor, UTSA’s leading scorer, confirmed in an interview Friday that he plans to return to play for the Roadrunners next season. It will be the program’s first year in the American Athletic Conference. – File photo by Joe Alexander

An allergic reaction to an apparent peanut butter-like substance in a chocolate cookie would not get the best of him. It would not deter the UTSA point guard from the business at hand.

Medor stated his case emphatically on Thursday night, playing a team-high 36 minutes and making a few clutch plays late in an 84-79 victory for the UTSA Roadrunners over the Rice Owls.

Powered by John Buggs III, Josh Farmer, Jacob Germany and Medor, the Roadrunners snapped a school-record 11-game losing streak and returned home to San Antonio with visions of another upset victory.

They’ll get that opportunity today when they host the UAB Blazers at 3 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

Medor, who has overcome a couple of ankle/foot injuries this season in addition to his bout with the cookie, reflected on it all as the Roadrunners prepared to face one of the best teams in Conference USA.

“It’s been a tough journey,” the Florida native said. “It hasn’t been the season that we all anticipated. It’s been an up and down road for us as a team. Just, being healthy as a team, has been tough. With my foot, when I was out, it just didn’t feel right.”

Medor sprained the foot in practice on Jan. 18, the day before UTSA hosted the nationally-ranked Florida Atlantic University Owls.

It was a crushing blow to the Roadrunners, to lose the engine of their offense at that time.

In the three games that Medor eventually sat out, UTSA fell to FAU and Florida International at home and North Texas on the road.

The Roadrunners weren’t close against the Owls, losing by 19. Against FIU and North Texas, they lost by five and four points, respectively.

Once during the stretch, Medor walked over to press row with the boot on his foot and talked briefly to a reporter, explaining that he could run in straight lines in practice but still had trouble moving from side to side.

Even when he returned to play in his first game on Jan. 28 against Louisiana Tech, he still wasn’t right, physically, and the Roadrunners lost again. Losses to Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee and UTEP followed.

Against UTEP, though, Medor was feeling good again physically. He scored 20 points, which included 10 for 10 shooting at the free throw line, and he made four steals. His confidence was growing.

Then came the road trip to play at Rice. On the bus ride from San Antonio to Houston, he ate a meal, and he felt fine.

But when the team arrived at its hotel destination, he pulled out the cookie and smelled it, knowing that it wasn’t wise for him to ingest anything with peanut butter.

It smelled OK, so he ate it.

“I didn’t know (about the peanut butter),” he said. “(By) the third bite, I felt something was wrong. My lips started tingling. Like I was getting an allergic reaction, and I started throwing up.

“By the time I got upstairs, my face was swelling up. My nose (was congested, and) I couldn’t breathe … Within an hour of the time we got there, I was in the hospital.”

At the hospital, he felt more discomfort. Itchy eyes, the works. Pretty soon, it was under control, Medor said, as he took fluids and “everything got flushed out.”

“Day of the game, I felt perfectly fine,” Medor said.

Against Rice, Buggs led the team with a spirited performance.

Medor’s backcourt running mate scored 23 points. He hit five 3-point shots. Farmer and Germany were solid in their play off the bench, too. Farmer poured in 18 points and grabbed six rebounds. Germany contributed 16 and eight.

Medor, just 24 hours removed from his allergic reaction, produced 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. At the end, he made a critical play. With UTSA clinging to a three-point lead, Rice inbounded the ball and Medor got the steal.

On the other end, he knocked down both free throws with 12 seconds left, boosting the lead to five points. With a second remaining, Medor was at the line again, knocking down two for two.

“It felt good,” Medor said. “There was a lot of good that we’d done as a team (this season). We’d just have these two-minute (stretches) where we’d fall off. So, getting that win was big. It just uplifted everybody in the program.”

Now comes the hard part, trying to win back to back against the Jordan “Jelly” Walker-led Blazers, who average 82 points per game.

“We’re ready for tomorrow’s game,” Medor said. “Coming off the win at Rice, it’s a good feeling. We feel like the coaches got us prepared the right way. We just need to put the ball through the basket and get stops.”

Coming up

UAB Blazers at UTSA Roadrunners, Conference USA men’s basketball, today, 3 p.m.

Records

UAB 19-8, 10-6
UTSA 8-19, 2-14

UTSA women beat Rice, 66-53, as Jenkins scores 25 points

Posted on by
UTSA beat Rice 66-53 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

The UTSA Roadrunners throttled the Rice Owls behind Jordyn Jenkins, who dominated with her eighth double double of the season. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Junior forward Jordyn Jenkins rolled to another dominant performance, producing 25 points, 11 rebounds and four assists Thursday night as the 10th-place UTSA Roadrunners surprised the Rice Owls, 66-53, in Conference USA women’s basketball.

With her showing against the C-USA’s fourth-place team, Jenkins continued to blossom in her first season at UTSA. For the 6-foot Southern Cal transfer, it was her 13th game of 20 or more points and her eighth double double.

Sidney Love. UTSA beat Rice 66-53 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Sidney Love returned to the lineup and led UTSA in scoring off the bench with 13 points. – Photo by Joe Alexander

As a team, fast-improving UTSA showed that it might not belong near the bottom of the C-USA standings, in second-to-last place.

Since Jan. 28, the Roadrunners have notched victories against Louisiana Tech on the road, and at home against both the C-USA-leading Middle Tennessee State Lady Raiders and now against the Owls.

“My first thought is, we just need to play at home, and just skip going on the road,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “It makes a huge difference for our team, for some reason. I mean, I understand their comfort at home, in front of the fans, and just the energy.

“The camaraderie has been really good at home. I mean, I’ve been so proud of how we played.”

Rice entered the game at the UTSA Convocation Center in fourth place in the conference, having won two straight and four of five. Leaving San Antonio, the Owls were shaking their heads, limited to a season-low total in points and to 34.7 percent shooting.

In addition, the Roadrunners also punished the Owls on the glass, winning the rebounding battle, 45-23. UTSA outboarded Rice on the offensive glass, 19-7.

The Roadrunners started fast, playing solid defense and rebounding with aggression. They led 18-1 after the first seven minutes. Rice, one of the highest-scoring teams in the state of Texas, didn’t make a field goal until 2:50 remained in the first quarter on a drive by Destiny Jackson.

Maya Linton. UTSA beat Rice 66-53 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Maya Linton tied a season-high with seven rebounds, including three on the offensive glass. She also contributed six points and two steals. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Early in the second quarter, the Roadrunners hiked the lead to as many as 20 twice, before foul trouble started to limit them offensively and defensively. The Owls kept chipping away and finally put on a charge in the fourth quarter, pulling to within five with seven minutes remaining.

At that juncture, Jenkins scored four points in an 8-0 run that effectively put the game away. Deb Nwakamma and Sidney Love also scored baskets in the streak.

After that, UTSA held a double-figure lead for the final five minutes and ended up celebrating a win over a team that had won 17 games and had been averaging 73.1 points. Rice, in fact, had eclipsed 90 points once and had surpassed 80 five other times.

Their previous scoring low? On Jan. 11, Rice was throttled by nationally-ranked Middle Tennessee, 85-56.

“We beat a very good team tonight,” Aston said. “That team is very good offensively. I thought we executed a lot of the game plan. We probably didn’t plan on playing as much man (defense) as we did tonight. But they played a lot of shooters most of the night. Offensively, we did some things with a lot of poise tonight.”

At least a portion of the Roadrunners’ narrative against the Owls had to do with the return of Love, and how she and another fellow freshman — forward Maya Linton — played so well and with so much poise off the bench.

Karen Aston. UTSA beat Rice 66-53 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Karen Aston notched her 299th career victory as her team held Rice 20 points below its season average. – Photo by Joe Alexander

After sitting out the last three games for undisclosed reasons, Love scored 13 points in 28 minutes. She hit five of 10 shots from the field in her first game action since the victory over LA Tech on Jan. 28

In addition, Linton had six points, seven rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes. Starting guard Kyra White also played well, notching eight points, six rebounds and five assists.

Another topic of discussion centered on Aston, who won her 299th career game. She is 299-186 in 15 seasons. The coach will try to get the milestone 300th on Saturday afternoon in Alabama when the Roadrunners take on the UAB Blazers.

Rice senior forward Ashlee Austin led the Owls with 17 points and three, 3-point baskets. Jackson scored 13 and Katelyn Crosthwait had 12. It was Crosthwait who scored 23 points on seven 3-pointers in a 78-76 victory over UTSA on Jan. 16.

Records

UTSA 7-17, 5-10
Rice 17-7, 8-7

Deborah Nwakamma. UTSA beat Rice 66-53 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Five-foot-eight inch Deborah Nwakamma battled for a season-high seven rebounds as UTSA beat Rice on the boards, 45-23. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Coming up

UTSA at UAB, Saturday, 1 p.m.
UTSA at North Texas, Monday, 6:30 p.m.
Florida Atlantic at UTSA, Feb. 23, 7 p.m.
Florida International at UTSA, Feb. 25, noon
UTSA at Charlotte, March 2, 5 p.m.

First half

Rebounding and defending with a fervor, UTSA played one of its best stretches of the season in the first half, running off to a 17-point lead after the opening quarter and boosting it to as many as 20 early in the second period.

From there, the Owls took advantage of Roadrunners’ foul trouble to climb back into contention. At one point, with UTSA’s Jordyn Jenkins, Elyssa Coleman and Kyra White all on the bench, Rice scored 10 straight points.

UTSA responded to get the last bucket of the half on a Sidney Love drive. As a result, the Roadrunners took a 34-22 lead at intermission. UTSA completely controlled the boards in the opening two quarters with a 28-10 advantage.

Jenkins led UTSA in scoring at the half with 15, while Love had eight and Maya Linton five. In rebounding, Deb Nwakamma had six boards, Linton five and Jenkins four.

Ashlee Austin led the Owls with 11 points. Other Rice shooters were far off the mark, as evidenced by 24 percent shooting from the field as a team.

Notable

UTSA athletics hosted its first Pride Night, which included giveaways to fans and also recognition of various groups, including the San Antonio Pride Committee, the LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Governors of Human Rights Campaign Board and Pride San Antonio.

UTSA celebrates after beating Rice 66-53 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Kyra White (No. 22) celebrates with her teammates after beating Rice 66-53 in Conference USA women’s basketball. With the victory, the Roadrunners avenged a 78-76 loss to the Owls on Jan. 16 in Houston. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA women host Rice tonight to open a busy five-day stretch

Posted on by

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women’s basketball team will open a critical late-season stretch of three games in five days starting Thursday night at home against the Rice Owls.

Karen Aston. UTSA women's basketball beat No. 21 Middle Tennessee 58-53 on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Karen Aston’s UTSA Roadrunners hope to build on the success of their last home game, a five-point victory over Middle Tennessee State, the No. 1 team in Conference USA. – File photo by Joe Alexander

After tonight, the Roadrunners will hit the road for two, one on Saturday in Alabama against the UAB Blazers and another on Monday in Denton against the North Texas Mean Green.

In facing the Owls, the Roadrunners will try to make amends for a game that they let get away from them on Jan. 16 in Houston.

UTSA built an eight-point lead after the first quarter and led by as many as 10 before Rice, now in fourth place in Conference USA, engineered a second-half rally to win, 78-76.

The Roadrunners, sitting in 10th place in the 11-team standings, have been and up-and-down team lately.

Against the Owls, they’ll try to keep alive a sense that they are making steady progress and can present a danger to any team that comes into their home arena at the Convocation Center.

In their last game at home, all C-USA candidate Jordyn Jenkins and the Roadrunners knocked off the first-place Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, 58-53.

Jenkins, a 6-foot junior, had 20 points and 16 rebounds on Feb. 4 as UTSA registered an upset victory over Middle Tennessee — the No. 21-ranked team in the nation at the time.

The Lady Raiders, who are trying to nail down the No. 1 seed in the C-USA tournament with a little more than two weeks remaining on the schedule, became the highest-ranked upset victim by a Roadrunners’ women’s basketball team in 42 years.

UTSA, coming off the signature victory, had a week after the game to prepare for its next outing and couldn’t capitalize.

In a game played at El Paso last Saturday, the Roadrunners stayed close against the UTEP Miners, trailing by three at halftime. Subsequently, UTEP blew it open, outscoring UTSA 29-7 in the third quarter en route to a 79-52 victory.

Given that the Rice game is the first of three in less than a week for UTSA, it’s importance is magnified, in the sense that only six games remain in the regular season.

After the season, all 11 teams — women and men — will gather in Frisco for the C-USA’s annual postseason event, which is set for March 8-11 at The Star. The winners will earn automatic bids to their respective NCAA tournaments.

The top five teams in the C-USA standings will have an advantage in that they will have a first-round bye, meaning that they will only need to win three games in three days to secure the postseason crown and the coveted NCAA berth.

The others, seeded six through 11, will need to win four games in four days. All that is why the game tonight is critical for Rice, currently in fourth place in the C-USA, with a one-game lead on Louisiana Tech and Charlotte.

Though UTSA isn’t out of contention for one of the top five spots, it would likely need win most — if not all — of its final six games to get one.

Records

Rice 17-6, 8-6
UTSA 6-17, 4-10

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, Thursday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at UAB, Saturday, 1 p.m.
UTSA at North Texas, Monday, 6:30 p.m.
Florida Atlantic at UTSA, Feb. 23, 7 p.m.
Florida International at UTSA, Feb. 25, noon
UTSA at Charlotte, March 2, 5 p.m.

Notable

Tonight, UTSA athletics is hosting its first Pride Night, which will include special giveaways to fans and also recognition of various groups, including the San Antonio Pride Committee, the LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Governors of Human Rights Campaign Board and Pride San Antonio.

UTEP wins 77-66, extends UTSA’s losing streak to 11 games

Posted on by
Japhet Medor. UTSA men's basketball lost to UTEP 77-66 on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Japhet Medor scored a team-high 20 points for the Roadrunners, who fell to the UTEP Miners 77-66 for their 11th straight loss. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

With the UTSA Roadrunners moving to the American Athletic Conference next season and the UTEP Miners staying in Conference USA, a possibility loomed that Saturday’s men’s basketball matchup between the in-state rivals might be the last one for awhile.

If it was, the Miners seized bragging rights with a strong second half and a 77-66 C-USA road victory at the Convocation Center. In doing so, UTEP ended one losing streak (its own, of four games) and extended another (UTSA’s, now 11 games.)

UTEP's Ze'Rik Onyema, who played at Jay High School in San Antonio, at the Miners' game against UTSA at the Convocation Center on Feb. 11, 2023. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Center Ze’Rik Onyema returned to San Antonio where he played in high school at John Jay and contributed 10 points and nine rebounds for the UTEP Miners. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Miners took control midway through the second half on the strength of a run powered by reserve forward Jon Dos Anjos.

The 6-foot-8 Brazilian hit two long three-pointers and added a dunk after his own offensive rebound — all in a span of 67 seconds.

After Dos Anjos retrieved a missed free throw and threw down an emphatic jam, the Miners increased their lead to 11 with 9:23 remaining.

The Roadrunners, who haven’t won since Jan. 5, seemed deflated after the play. They never were able to pull any closer than nine the rest of the way.

A check of the record books indicated that UTEP has won five in a row against UTSA and leads the series 16-10, including 2-0 this year.

Will the two teams play on, even after they go their own separate ways in conference affiliation? UTEP coach Joe Golding said he’d “definitely” be open to keeping the rivalry alive.

“We’re disappointed that you guys are leaving,” Golding said. “But I think there are some good rivalries here (in the C-USA). Obviously this is one that’s really important. It’s been played for a long time, so, maybe it’s something (UTSA coach) Steve (Henson) and I could talk about after the year.

Jacob Germany. UTSA men's basketball lost to UTEP 77-66 on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA center Jacob Germany hit six of 10 shots from the field and scored 14 points for the Roadrunners. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“Obviously, it makes sense. It’s easy to get here. It’s an hour and ten minute flight. I think it’d be good to keep it going.”

Curiously, Dos Anjos seemingly has been able to cast a spell over the Roadrunners, and he’s done it twice this year.

On Jan. 11 in El Paso, the transfer from Florida Southwestern College came off the bench to score 10 points in 12 minutes of a 69-57 victory over UTSA. On Saturday afternoon, he scored 12 points in 19 minutes.

“He hasn’t showed up any other time of the year, man,” Golding said. “But he did it at our place (against the Roadrunners) and he did it again tonight.”

Early in the game, UTSA players seemed out of sorts, like they weren’t quite ready for the physical struggle that awaited them.

Throwing some soft passes, the Roadrunners had eight turnovers in the opening minutes. After that, UTEP dominated on the glass and continued the assault for 40 minutes. The Miners finished with a 44-24 edge in rebounds, including 16-2 on the offensive end.

Henson, seated in the UTSA interview room afterward, glanced at a box score and said that taking care of possessions and competing for rebounds were two areas that had been disccussed in practice as keys to winning the game.

Steve Henson. UTSA men's basketball lost to UTEP 77-66 on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Steve Henson (second from left) lamented in postgame interviews his team’s lack of success on the boards. The UTEP Miners outrebounded the Roadrunners, 44-24, including 16-2 on the offensive glass – Photo by Joe Alexander

“The turnovers, disappointed with those, but more so with the rebounding,” Henson said. “That’s just absolutely focus and effort. It just wasn’t good enough. They got way too many offensive rebounds. We didn’t get nearly enough.”

Almost as surprising as UTEP’s wide margin in controlling the boards was its slight edge in three-point shooting.

The Miners, who make about 28 percent of their shots behind the arc, hit eight of 19 threes for 42 percent. On the flip side, it’s mystifying how the Roadrunners can make only six of 22, for 27 percent, on a home court where they practiced four times earlier this week.

Some of UTSA’s deficiency in that area may stem from its own lack of offensive rebounding, which tends to lend itself to quick pitchouts for open shots. Henson credited UTSA’s long-distance shooting woes to UTEP’s defensive style.

“I think part of it is, they just do a good job of chasing guys off the line,” Henson said. “They force your hand a little bit. If you do get some penetration, they’re going to come over and help. They do skip it out and chase you off the three-point line.”

Historically, it’s just been a bad stretch for the Roadrunners.

The losing streak started on Jan. 7 with a 10-point home loss to Western Kentucky. It continued through last week, with a seven-point setback to the same WKU team on Feb. 2 and then a 24-point loss Feb. 4 at Middle Tennessee State.

Isaiah Addo-Ankrah. UTSA men's basketball lost to UTEP 77-66 on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Isaiah Addo-Ankrah scored nine points off the bench for the Roadrunners. He hit three of six on 3-pointers on a night when the team made only six of 22. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Now the streak stands at 11, two more than the previous record nine-game skid that the team suffered near the end of the 2015-16 season.

“We needed this one bad,” Henson said. “Guys have done a pretty good job of hanging in there. It’ll be a tough bounce back here on Monday, and now (we’ll have to) see how our guys respond.

“Losing wears on a team,” the coach continued. “We’ve talked about it a lot (that) this is maybe the group with the most character and leadership that I’ve ever been around. But still, it’s just, like, continuing to get beat down.

“It’s going to be hard to keep this group pumped up without getting that win at some point.”

With the talent on the Roadrunners, it’s apparent nearly four months into the season that room for error is ever-so-slim, and a strong, focused effort is required every night.

“This game spells it out,” Henson said. “It was an effort battle here. Yeah, we didn’t shoot it well. That’s fair. That’s frustrating, when we got our good shooters not shooting it well.

“But we can’t get out-rebounded like that. We can’t turn the ball over like that. It’s just putting yourselves in an impossible situation … giving them so many more shots at the basket, just because they’re rebounding it.”

Christian Tucker. UTSA men's basketball lost to UTEP 77-66 on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Christian Tucker played hard on both ends of the floor and finished with 11 points and three assists. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Records

UTEP 12-13, 5-9
UTSA 7-19, 1-14

Coming up

UTSA at Rice, Feb. 16, 7 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Feb. 18, 3 p.m.

Individuals

UTEP — Tae Hardy, 12 points and five assists. Jon Dos Anjos, 12 points, five rebounds. Malik Zachery, 11 points on four of five shooting. Ze’rik Onyema, 10 points and nine rebounds. On three of five shooting. Otis Frazier III, 10 points. Calvin Solomon, eight points, eight rebounds, three on offensive glass.

UTSA — Japhet Medor, 20 points, four assists. Also, five for seven from the field and 10 for 10 at the free throw line. Jacob Germany, 14 points, seven rebounds. Christian Tucker, 11 points, three assists, two rebounds.

UTEP men's basketball coach Joe Golding at the Miners' game against UTSA at the Convocation Center on Feb. 11, 2023. - Photo by Joe Alexander

With UTSA set to switch to the American Athletic Conference next year, and with UTEP staying in Conference USA, the schools will need to reach an agreement to keep playing. UTEP coach Joe Golding said he’s ‘definitely’ interested in talking about it after the season. — Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Carlton Linguard will have two seasons to play, starting in 2023-24

Posted on by
UTSA men's basketball player Carlton Linguard Jr. at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA center Carlton Linguard, Jr., won’t play for the Roadrunners this season but will have two years of eligibility remaining starting in 2023-24. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Seven-foot center Carlton Linguard Jr. and UTSA have elected to suspend pursuit of an NCAA waiver that would have allowed him to play in the second half of this season.

“It just got to the point that he really wants a full season, two full seasons,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said Friday. “It was just taking too long. It was going to count as a year whether he played 10 games, or 16 games. So we just made a decision to save it.”

Linguard, formerly of San Antonio’s Stevens High School, arrived at UTSA last summer academically ineligible after playing previously at Kansas State. Initially, he was ineligible to be on scholarship.

At the semester break, UTSA was able to give him the scholarship but still didn’t have the OK to play him.

Eventually, UTSA elected to suspend pursuit of the appeal. With the decision, it means that Linguard is expected to have two years of eligibility remaining to play for the Roadrunners, for both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.

“It’s good for the future,” Henson said. “Sure would like to have him (Saturday) at 3 o’clock.”

UTSA hosts the UTEP Miners Saturday at 3 p.m.

Henson said Linguard is feeling good physically after rehabilitating a knee injury last fall and working his way back from a concussion after the New Year.

“It’s good for him,” Henson said. “He doesn’t have any issues with his knee and (hasn’t) in weeks and weeks and weeks. The concussion stuff is behind him now. I told him the other day, ‘Let’s start treating this like the preseason.

“He’s got some good leadership qualities in addition to his presence on the court. Just need to start picturing himself as being a big key to what we’re doing, even though he’s not playing yet.”

Coming up

UTEP at UTSA, Saturday, at 3 p.m.

Records

UTEP 11-12, 4-8
UTSA 7-18, 1-13

Notable

UTSA has lost 10 in a row, the longest losing streak in school history. The Roadrunners lost twice last week, at Western Kentucky and at Middle Tennessee. WKU beat UTSA 81-74. Middle Tennessee won the battle of the boards, forced 21 turnovers, and won, 84-60. Previously, the longest losing streak in program history was nine. UTSA dropped nine straight near the end of the 2015-16 season.