Category Archives: College basketball

UTSA women set to face North Texas, another upper-tier AAC contender

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Winners of an eye-opening 18 games on the season and chasing a conference championship, the UTSA women will face their third title contender in seven days tonight when they host forward Tommisha Lampkin and the North Texas Mean Green at the Convocation Center. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m.

In the past week, the first-place Roadrunners’ have had only mixed results against a couple of teams grouped in the upper tier of contenders in the American Athletic Conference race. Last week, for instance, they traveled to Tampa, Fla., and had their 10-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the South Florida Bulls.

The Bulls pulled away late and won 75-63.

Sitting out the game was injured UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins, the leading scorer in the the AAC, as well as the scoring and rebounding leader for the Roadrunners. Last weekend, the Roadrunners returned home to play the Temple Owls and surged late to win, 70-61.

But it wasn’t easy. With Jenkins returning to the court against the Owls, she turned it on in the second half and rallied the Roadrunners, who also were buoyed by big performances from Nina De Leon Negron, Idara Udo and Cheyenne Rowe.

UTSA trailed by 14 early in the third quarter and by 11 early in the fourth before making the final push in front of a vocal crowd, improving to 11-1 in their last 12 games. Now they’re preparing to face the Mean Green, who lost at South Florida last weekend despite Lampkin’s second strong performance in a row.

Following a 16-point, 10-rebound showing in a close win at home against Temple, the 6-foot-2 senior forward from Mansfield exploded for 19 points and 15 boards against the Bulls. With her recent play, Lampkin has joined Jenkins as a player to watch in the AAC’s player of the year race.

Lampkin averages 16.7 points and 9.7 rebounds, and she leads the conference in shooting 57 percent from the field. Jenkins, a 6-foot senior from Washington, is the leading scorer in the AAC at 18.8 points. She’s also averaging 7.2 rebounds.

Records

North Texas 16-6, 8-2
UTSA 18-3, 9-1

Coming up

North Texas at UTSA, tonight, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Wichita State, Saturday, 2 p.m.

AAC leaders

UTSA 9-1, 18-3
North Texas 8-2, 16-6
South Florida 8-2, 15-8
Tulane 7-3, 14-7
Temple 6-4, 12-7
UAB 5-5, 14-8
Rice 5-5, 12-10
Tulsa 5-5, 11-11
Memphis 3-6, 5-15
East Carolina 3-7, 11-11
Charlotte 2-7, 7-13
FAU 2-8, 4-13
Wichita State 1-9, 7-16

Celebrating a milestone: UTSA’s Claunch enjoys the ride home from Denton

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Austin Claunch. UTSA beat North Dakota 80-76 in non-conference men's basketball on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Austin Claunch picked up his 100th career victory Saturday night in Denton against North Texas. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

For first-year UTSA men’s basketball coach Austin Claunch, the bus trip home from Denton after Saturday night’s upset victory over the North Texas Mean Green turned into a special occasion.

And not just because it gave him a chance to savor a package of jerky that he bought at Buc-ee’s. First of all, the ride down Interstate 35 gave everyone a chance to celebrate a team achievement.

After losing by 20 on the road at Florida Atlantic earlier in the week, the Roadrunners rebounded to play their best game of the season, grinding out a 54-50 decision over a team that was tied for first in the American Athletic Conference.

Secondly, for Claunch, it gave him an opportunity to thank his coaching staff for helping him reach a milestone achievement — his 100th victory in NCAA Division I.

“You know, it’s funny,” Claunch said on his Monday morning zoom call with the media. “I sort of forgot. I knew I was getting close and then it took me a couple minutes until after the game, and somebody said something to me. You know, I love coaching, (and the milestone) is truly a program and family deal.

“As I told my staff, it’s not my 100th win. It’s our 100th win.”

One of his assistants, Nick Bowman, has been with him for all 100, including all 90 in five seasons at Nicholls State from 2018-19 through 2022-23. Trevor DeLoach and Joey Brooks also worked for three seasons with him at Nicholls, as well.

His other UTSA assistants include Joseph Jones and Robby Benavides.

“I’ve had a lot of great players and a lot of great support around me,” said Claunch, who turned 35 in November. “It was a lot of fun and it certainly felt good to get it against a really, really good team.”

Turning the corner to the second half of the AAC schedule, Claunch’s Roadrunners (10-11, 4-5) will host the Tulane Green Wave (12-10, 6-3) on Wednesday night and the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday night.

“Feels great to be home, but it’s not going to feel great if we don’t play great,” he said. “We’ve got to really lock in this week and understand what it’s going to take to win these games, and if we do, we’re going to put ourselves into a good position.”

Records

Tulane 12-10, 6-3
UTSA 10-11, 4-5

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
East Carolina at UTSA, Saturday, 7:08 p.m.

Notable

While it’s UTSA’s first meeting of the season against East Carolina, the Tulane game represents a chance for redemption after the Green Wave destroyed the Roadrunners 92-63 on Jan. 4 in both teams’ AAC opener.

Tulane, playing at home, shot 63.5 percent from the field, including 72.7 percent in the second half, and scored 46 points in the paint against the visitors from San Antonio.

The Green Wave will come into San Antonio tied for fourth place. Memphis (8-1) leads the race, followed by North Texas and UAB (both 7-2) and then Temple and Tulane (both 6-3). The middle of the pack consists of FAU (5-4), followed by East Carolina, South Florida, UTSA (all 4-5).

UTSA men come away with a signature victory over North Texas in Denton

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After hanging on to beat the North Texas Mean Green 54-50 on Saturday in Denton, the UTSA Roadrunners handed first-year Coach Austin Claunch his biggest win at the school and the 100th of his career.

New UTSA men's basketball coach Austin Claunch was at the Roadrunners softball game on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at Roadrunner Field to throw out the first pitch. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Austin Claunch hit a milestone with his 100th win as a college head coach. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Center Jo Smith made a clutch defensive stop on North Texas’ last possession, and Raekwon Horton followed by knocking down two free throws with one second remaining to secure the win for the Roadrunners.

Horton finished with a season-high 23 points on eight of 11 shooting in 40 minutes. Primo Spears, battling a sore ankle, finished with 15 points. He hit three of seven from the 3-point arc. Marcus Millender scored 11.

Defensively, Smith finished with three steals and three blocks to lead the Roadrunners, who have posted a 4-3 record in their last seven AAC games.

For North Texas, forward Grant Newell scored a team-leading 14 points on six-for-six shooting. Guard Atin Wright, who scored 22 points against UTSA in the first meeting, was held to 10 on three of 12. Forward Brenan Lorient added 11 points.

Records

UTSA 10-11, 4-5
North Texas 16-5, 7-2

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Milestone

Claunch is in his first season at UTSA, but he is in his sixth overall in NCAA Division I, which includes five at Nicholls State. The coach posted a 90-61 record at Nicholls, a Southland Conference school in Thibodaux, La. He’s now 10-11 with the Roadrunners, which makes him 100-72 in his career after knocking off North Texas.

Notable

For UTSA, the win was significant on several levels. North Texas entered the game on a six-game winning streak, undefeated at home and tied for first in the American Athletic Conference. UTSA, meanwhile, was tied for ninth.

The Mean Green were 46th nationally on the NCAA’s Evaluation Tool, or, the NET, trailing only Memphis at No. 40 among AAC teams. Meaning, that this was UTSA’s highest-rated victory of the season.

Few could see it coming. Down to only eight scholarship players, UTSA had been pounded 94-74 on Wednesday in Boca Raton, Fla., and came in at No. 222 on the NET. The Roadrunners’ ranking was third to the last among AAC teams on the computer.

Moreover, the Mean Green journeyed to San Antonio on Jan. 18 and walloped the Roadrunners, 72-57. So, as expected, Claunch was feeling good about the outcome of the rematch as he talked to UTSA radio voice Andy Everett in the postgame.

The coach’s defensive scheme seemed to flummox the Mean Green. “We decided to go to some switching (on screens),” he said. “We were just saying, ‘Switch and compete.’ All week. You know, and just kind of man on man.

“They’re a hell of a team. You have so much respect for what they’ve built here. This crowd today, I mean, it was a really, really tough environment.”

The Roadrunners essentially won the game in the first half when they held the Mean Green to 13 points on five of 22 shooting from the field, including zero for 11 from three.

Remarkably, it was a half that resembled the game in San Antonio, except that in the first meeting, UTSA was held to 18 points.

UTSA entered the second half up 27-13.

“You’re giving yourself a cushion because you know they’re making a run,” Claunch said. “You know, similar to the game at our place. We were just able to make a couple of tough plays and shots.

“I think they’re as tough as anybody in the league, and I challenged our guys the last couple of days to embrace that. Embrace the pace. Embrace the physicality, and I think we did that.”

UTSA women set school record with their 12th straight victory at home

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Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat Temple 70-61 on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jordyn Jenkins led an extended fourth-quarter rally Saturday as UTSA beat Temple and improved to 18-3, matching on Feb. 1 their victory total from all of last season. The Roadrunners finished 18-15 in 2023-24.- Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA’s homecourt winning streak is still intact.

Trailing by 14 points early in the second half and by 11 early in the fourth quarter, the Roadrunners rallied for their school-record 12th straight victory at home, downing the Temple Owls, 70-61, Saturday at the Convocation Center.

Jordyn Jenkins scored nine of her 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead the push in front of a rowdy home crowd.

Jenkins, the Roadrunners’ top player, had to sit out with an injury on Wednesday at South Florida. She made her return to the court count in crunch time, hitting two of five from the field and five of eight at the line in the final period.

Idara Udo. UTSA beat Temple 70-61 on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Idara Udo scored 15 points, pulled down nine rebounds and blocked a shot against the Temple Owls. – Photo by Joe Alexander.

The senior from Washington also had a couple of key steals down the stretch as the Roadrunners erased a four-point deficit with three minutes remaining.

With the victory, the Roadrunners hiked their record to 18-3 on the season and to 9-1 in the American Athletic Conference. UTSA improved to 11-1 in its last 12 after having a 10-game winning streak snapped at South Florida.

Temple, meanwhile, dropped its third straight, including back-to-back losses at North Texas and UTSA this week. The Owls fell to 12-9 and 6-4. Tiarra East scored 18 points and Tarriyona Gary added 17 for Temple.

The Roadrunners’ supporting cast also flourished. Idara Udo produced 15 points and nine rebounds. Nina De Leon Negron had 14 points, eight assists and five boards. Both, after being saddled with foul trouble in the first half.

Reserve forward Cheyenne Rowe, who came off the bench for 12 points and six rebounds, enjoyed a highlight moment late in the game with a step-back, three — heavily contested — to tie the score.

Three days after getting out-rebounded by the South Florida Bulls, the Roadrunners won the battle of the boards against the Owls, 47-34.

Records

Temple 12-9, 6-4
UTSA 18-3, 9-1

Coming up

North Texas at UTSA, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Wichita State, Saturday, Feb. 8, 1 p.m.

Notable

UTSA coach Karen Aston applauded her players for securing a school record for consecutive homecourt wins when the alternative could have been a two-game losing streak.

Quotable

“That’s a pretty good statement to start off with, a record-breaking win for our players,” Aston said. “Putting it in perspective, and we talked about this in the locker room yesterday, we had a chance to reach the total number of wins we had last year on Feb. 1. That’s pretty remarkable (that we did it).”

Sidney Love, Nina De Leon Negron. UTSA beat Temple 70-61 on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sidney Love (left) and Nina De Leon Negron sank consecutive threes early in the fourth quarter to cap an 11-0 UTSA run. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners finished 18-15 last season.

“Super proud of everyone that’s involved in the program,” Aston said. “I think this is a really big win. A really, really big win. Because you come off of a loss and invariably, in all my years of coaching, it’s hard sometimes to not let one turn into two. And, we fought through it today.

“Bottom line, it wasn’t the prettiest game we’ve ever played. But, a very, very gutty performance.”

AAC race

UTSA stands alone in first place in the standings at 9-1, while South Florida and North Texas are 8-2. Tulane is in fourth at 7-3 and Temple fifth at 6-4. In other games involving the leaders Saturday, South Florida won at home, downing North Texas 65-58. Tulane, playing at home, defeated UAB, 72-55.

First half

Attacking at every opportunity, Gary scored 13 points and hit three for three from 3-point distance as the Owls raced to a 36-24 halftime lead.

East also held the hot hand for the Owls, scoring nine points on three for three shooting. The Roadrunners, meanwhile, failed to get into a rhythm against a bigger and more athletic opponent.

Midway through the second quarter, UTSA starters Udo, De Leon Negron and Sidney Love all went to the bench with two fouls. In the meantime, the substitutions didn’t mesh well with the veterans on the floor, and the Roadrunners kept turning the ball over.

UTSA committed 13 turnovers in the half, including seven in the second quarter. When the Roadrunners weren’t throwing the ball away, they were misfiring on their shots, making only eight of 18 from the field for 28.6 percent.

Cheyenne Rowe. UTSA beat Temple 70-61 on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Cheyenne Rowe had 12 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Roadrunners. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Jenkins, injured when she took a fall on the floor at home on Jan. 22 against Tulsa, started and played 10 minutes in the opening quarters. Surrounded by defenders in the paint, she produced two points and four rebounds. Jenkins was one of four from the field.

Third quarter

Early on, East hit a jumper and pushed Temple to a 38-24 lead. She continued to shoot it well, sinking four of six from the field and scoring nine points in the quarter, as the Owls held on to a 51-42 lead going into the fourth. Jenkins scored five points in five minutes for the Roadrunners.

Records

Temple 12-9, 6-4
UTSA 18-3, 9-1

Coming up

North Texas at UTSA, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Wichita State, Saturday, Feb. 8, 1 p.m.

What they said

Nina De Leon Negron, on if she expected this kind of success after transferring into the program over the summer, said: “I’m being honest, no. But, once we start practicing, I’m like, this team is special. Like, this team can do a lot of things. Once we saw how mature most of the young players are, I just knew that we could do great things.”

Temple coach Diane Richardson. UTSA beat Temple 70-61 on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Diane Richardson’s Temple Owls beat the Roadrunners twice last season en route to a 13-5 record in the AAC and a tie for the championship. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Idara Udo, on the support from the fans, “I think that it’s everything for me and I think for our team, as well. Just hearing the crowd and hearing the encouragement we get, and not just hearing it but seeing how many people come out and support us and want us to be successful, I think that means a lot to us and motivates us more.”

Last loss at home

On Feb. 22, 2024, Temple beat UTSA 56-48 at the Convocation Center. It was the last time that an opposing team has beaten the Roadrunners in their home arena.

Jordyn Jenkins remains ‘day to day’ as the UTSA women host Temple

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

Forward Idara Udo had 16 points and eight rebounds in UTSA’s last home game, Jan. 22, when the Roadrunners beat the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 64-53 for their 11th straight victory at the Convocation Center. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Trying to rebound after a loss for the first time since mid-December, UTSA coach Karen Aston pronounced her team ready to play for Saturday’s home game against the Temple Owls.

Asked about the mood in Friday’s practice, Aston said, “You know, you want to get right back on it. You got to look at it. You know, you can’t ignore it. You got to look and see where you went wrong and how to get better.

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

Jordyn Jenkins is listed as day to day for the Roadrunners. – File photo by Joe Alexander

“You sure don’t want to let one loss turn into two or whatever. You got to turn the page pretty quickly. I think we did that. We worked on some things we need to do better. Had a chance to look at film, and, yeah, ready to go.”

Tipoff in the American Athletic Conference contest between the Roadrunners (17-3, 8-1) and the Owls (12-8, 6-3) is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center.

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins, the AAC’s leading scorer, is regarded as day to day leading into the Temple game.

Injured after she fell to the court on Jan. 22 at home against Tulsa, Jenkins sat out for the first time this season on Wednesday night in Tampa, Fla., where the Bulls won 75-63 to snap the Roadrunners’ 10-game winning streak.

Aston said Jenkins participated in a Friday afternoon workout. “She went through some stuff,” the coach said. “She’s been going through some stuff. She’s just day to day. We’re taking this as slow as we can, to make sure she’s good.”

If Jenkins can’t play, the Roadrunners will need to adjust. Not only is she the team’s leading scorer (18.9), she’s also its leading rebounder (7.3) and one of its best defenders.

Aston said her players responded well to the adversity, for the most part, against South Florida.

“When you look at the game the other night, we were in the game, the whole game,” she said. “I just thought we didn’t rebound great. When you ask people to step into different roles, some of that is doing some of the little things that they haven’t had to do.

“We just have to be better in some areas. We got to box out. We got to try to get some extra possessions ourselves and play some people that maybe we didn’t have an opportunity to play as many minutes … You know, it’s next man up.

“You got to be ready. It’s always an opportunity for someone else to step in and do their job. I mean, that’s why they’re here. That’s why they practice. That’s why they do what they do, is for opportunity.”

Records

Temple (12-8, 6-3)
UTSA (17-3, 8-1)

Coming up

Temple at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.
North Texas at UTSA, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

UTSA is 8-0 at the Convocation Center this season and is on an 11-game homecourt winning streak, tied for the longest in school history.

“I think we take a lot of pride in playing at home and winning at home,” Aston said. “But it’s getting to be nitty-gritty time now. Everybody’s digging for position and wanting to stay in the hunt. You just have to grit your teeth and get after it now.”

Previously, UTSA had an 11-game home winning streak that spanned two seasons, from Jan. 9, 2002 to Nov. 28, 2003.

Last season, the Owls won 20 games and forged a 13-5 record in the AAC to tie for the regular-season championship. They beat the Roadrunners twice last season, once in Philadelphia and once in San Antonio.

Temple, in fact, was the last team to beat UTSA in the Convo. The Owls did it on Feb. 22, 2004, when they won 56-48.

Aston said this year’s Temple team is “very similar” to last year.

“Almost a mirror image of the one we played last year, to be honest with you,” the coach said. “They defend really well. They turn you over. You can’t have a bunch of live ball turnovers against them. They rebound well.

“The point guard on their team last year (Aleah Nelson) was really, really good. Very experienced,” Aston said. “But the other guys have stepped into that role and filled it pretty well. I mean, they’re a good basketball team. Really solid team.”

South Florida women snap UTSA’s 10-game winning streak with a 75-63 victory

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Six-foot-three guard Romy Levy came off the bench to score 21 points Wednesday night as the South Florida Bulls defeated UTSA, 75-63, to snap the Roadrunners’ 10-game winning streak.

In the game contested on the Bulls’ home floor in Tampa, Fla., UTSA played without Jordyn Jenkins, a player of the year candidate in the American Athletic Conference.

Jenkins sat out the final quarter of UTSA’s last game, which was last Wednesday in San Antonio. The leading scorer in the American fell late in the third quarter against Tulsa and didn’t return.

The 6-foot senior dressed out and was on the bench at South Florida but didn’t get into the game.

A UTSA spokesman confirmed after the game that Jenkins was “banged up” in the Tulsa game. He said she sat out against South Florida for “precautionary reasons.”

The Roadrunners return home to play the Temple Owls Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Convocation Center. The spokesman said Jenkins is day to day.

Even without their leading scorer and rebounder, the Roadrunners stayed close to the Bulls for most of the night. Led offensively by Cheyenne Rowe and Sidney Love, they were within three at halftime and within seven at the end of three quarters.

After a three pointer by Nina De Leon Negron with 7:01 remaining, it was a four-point game, as South Florida looked a little rattled with only a 56-52 advantage.

From there, the Levy and the Bulls took over.

Levy scored nine points down the stretch as the home team pulled away. Sammie Puisis scored 16 and Carla Brito had 14 for the Bulls, who exacted a measure of revenge after the Roadrunners ended their season last March in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament.

Mama Dembele, a point guard, had a successful night with eight points and 11 assists for South Florida.

Not only did she run an offense that shot 58 percent from the field against the Roadrunners, she was the primary defender on De Leon Negron and played well. De Leon Negron finished with nine points on two for 10 shooting.

For the Roadrunners, Rowe started for Jenkins on the front line and scored 15 points on six of 11 shooting. Love added 14 points on a seven-for-11 night. De Leon Negron, one of UTSA’s leaders all season, had nine points, six rebounds and three assists.

Notable

The 10-game streak was tied for the second longest in UTSA program history, with the team’s last loss coming on Dec. 16 at Stanford.

Quotable

“They were better than us tonight,” UTSA coach Karen Aston told the team’s radio broadcast. “Sometimes you just don’t match the moment. And, they were just better than we were. They’ve played like this some. Obviously I watched a lot of film on them, and there were games when they looked like this and there were games that they didn’t. This is just one of those games they played really well. Kudos to them. They played better than we did.”

Records

UTSA 17-3, 8-1
South Florida 14-8, 7-2

Coming up

Temple at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Notable

North Texas won at home Wednesday night, edging Temple 70-67. As a result, UTSA and North Texas are tied for first in the AAC at 8-1. South Florida is 7-2, followed by Temple and Tulane, both 6-3. Tulane also won at home Wednesday, knocking off FAU, 68-52.

First half

With Jenkins watching from the bench, the Roadrunners played two quarters of solid defense. But the Bulls also did well on the defensive end and took a 28-25 lead into the break at intermission.

Puisis, who sat out with an injury in two losses to UTSA last season, led all scorers with nine points on three of seven shooting from the field. She hit one of two from three.

Love led the Roadrunners with eight points on four of five shooting. Without Jenkins on the floor, the Roadrunners shot 40 percent from the field.

FAU men rout the UTSA Roadrunners, 94-74, in Boca Raton

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The FAU Owls bolted to a 15-point halftime lead, built it to as many as 29 in the second half and then cruised to an easy 94-74 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners Wednesday in men’s college basketball.

In an American Athletic Conference game played at Boca Raton, Fla., guard KyKy Tandy scored 26 points to lead five FAU players in double figures.

The Owls shot 65 percent from the field in the second half and 54 percent for the game against the short-handed Roadrunners, who once again played with only eight scholarship players.

Tandy took the lead role in the offensive binge, hitting nine of 11 shots from the field and eight of 10 from the 3-point arc.

For the Roadrunners, six-foot-six guard Damari Monsanto continued his hot shooting, scoring 21 points on seven 3-point baskets. The Wake Forest transfer finished seven-for-nine from beyond the arc.

Another hot hand for UTSA, Houston area native Marcus Millender, scored 19. But the Owls did a decent job on the South Alabama transfer, who was held to six of 17 from the floor. FAU also did a decent job with Primo Spears, who finished with 16 points on six of 16.

A turning point came late in the first half. After Monsanto buried his fourth three of the game on the fast break to pull the Roadrunners to within one point, the Owls took off on an 18-4 run to the buzzer.

FAU put an exclamation mark on the run when it inbounded from the baseline to Baba Miller, who delivered from the post for a 47-32 lead with 32 seconds remaining.

The Owls won the rebounding battle 28-9 in the opening half and 43-28 for the game against the Roadrunners, who are playing without two big men that they had in their original recruiting class last summer.

After his rebound and basket to end the half, the Owls had firm control of the proceedings. In the first minute of the second half, Millender knocked down a three to bring UTSA to within 12.

Just like that, the Owls struck back, going off on a 15-3 streak to make it a 24-point game. Consecutive triples by Tandy, a transfer from Jacksonville State, made it 62-38 with 16 minutes left.

The Roadrunners would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.

Just like the Roadrunners, the Owls have retooled their program with a new coach, John Jakus, who led his team to a victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys earlier in the season. Backing up Tandy, Kaleb Glenn produced 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Guard Ken Evans Jr. and 7-foot center Matas Vokietaitis scored 12 points each.

The 6-foot-11 Miller was a wonder on the floor, with multiple skills, as he finished with 10 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.

Records

UTSA 9-11, 3-5
FAU 11-10, 4-4

Coming up

UTSA at North Texas, Saturday, 5 p.m.

UTSA women take a 10-game winning streak into South Florida

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The stakes keep rising for the UTSA women as they ride a 10-game winning streak into an American Athletic Conference road game against the South Florida Bulls.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA women's basketball beat Rice 67-58 in American Athletic Conference action at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Jordyn Jenkins averages 18.9 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Roadrunners, who beat the Bulls twice last season, including once in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament. – File photo by Joe Alexander

The first-place Roadrunners (17-2, 8-0) lead the Bulls (13-8, 6-2) by two games in the standings with 10 to play in the regular season. Last fall, the Bulls were installed as the preseason favorites to win the AAC, and they battled through a rugged non-conference schedule, including seven games against Power 4 competition.

Playing at home on Dec. 21, they knocked off the top-10 Duke Blue Devils, which has allowed them to leap over the Roadrunners in the NCAA Evaluation Tool ratings. Even with six more losses, South Florida is the top AAC team in the NET at No. 67, five spots ahead of No. 72 UTSA, leading into tonight’s game in Tampa.

With the NET used to calculate teams’ strengths as they’re considered for the NCAA tournament, the ratings are not too much on anyone’s radar right now. But it surely would be a good thing for the Roadrunners to beat the Bulls for ratings points that could come in handy going into March.

If the Roadrunners are feeling any “big game” vibes, they didn’t really show it in a week of preparation since Jan. 22, their last game, when they beat Tulsa at home.

“I was curious if they would feel that way,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “To be honest, they didn’t look a whole lot different, which is, I think, a good sign.”

Consistent preparation has been a hallmark for a Roadrunners team off to its best start after 19 games in school history.

“Their habits are who they are,” Aston said. “I’m not sure that they’re approaching this game much differently than they have any of the other ones that we’ve played. I think they’re all big. You clearly can see anybody can beat anybody on a given night. I think it would be a mistake to treat one game bigger than the other.”

Records

UTSA 17-2, 10-0
South Florida 13-8, 6-2

Coming up

UTSA at South Florida, tonight, 6 p.m.
Temple at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.
North Texas at UTSA, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Wichita State, Saturday, Feb. 8, 1 p.m.

Notable

Aston said the break in the schedule, without having to play a game last weekend, came at a good time. “We had some kids dinged up a little bit,” she said. “Fatigue was starting to set in just from the length of the schedule, travel, all of that, school starting again. So it was a good time for us to push a re-set button.

“The kids got acclimated a little bit in going back to school. It’s always kind of a learning curve when they all start back to school again, especially for the freshmen that have never really experienced the Christmas break and then back into classes again. So I think we’ve settled in. Just a time to take a deep breath and have an extra day off.”

UTSA beat South Florida twice last year, once by a 65-42 score in San Antonio and again by a 58-56 count in Fort Worth at the AAC tournament in Fort Worth.

Tonight will be the first time UTSA will face 6-foot-1 South Florida sharpshooter Sammie Puisis, who had to sit out most of last season with a knee injury. Puisis, who averages 14.7 points, shoots 43.2 percent from the three-point line. The Bulls are No. 1 in the conference at 36.2 in three-point accuracy.

Short-handed UTSA men are showing spark leading into a road test at FAU

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Marcus Millender. UTSA beat Temple 88-79 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore guard Marcus Millender is averaging 12.3 points, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals for the UTSA Roadrunners, who will play at Florida Atlantic on Wednesday after winning three of their last five in the American Athletic Conference. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA men’s basketball team isn’t blessed with a vast reservoir of talent. But the talented players they do have are capable of tapping into deep reserves of fortitude, which allows them to rebound from tough situations and compete at surprisingly high levels.

It’s a trait I noticed early in the season during the Roadrunners’ 1-3 start. During that stretch I remember asking guard Primo Spears about his level of optimism for the team in the wake of lopsided losses to Bradley and Little Rock.

Spears said he wasn’t worried because, as he said, his teammates’ talents would come to light soon enough.

Sure enough, the Roadrunners rebounded from their early struggles and started playing better, nearly knocking off the Saint Mary’s Gaels on the road in Moraga, Calif. They continued with two wins against North Dakota, a bizarre home-and-away played over a course of three days.

UTSA’s uptick in good fortune, as it turned out, seemed to stall out a bit as players returned from the Christmas break. In the Roadrunners’ last non-conference game, they stumbled. With a chance for a road victory and a four-game winning streak, they lost to the Army Black Knights, 77-74.

Then they were routed in the American Athletic Conference opener, losing 92-63 to the Tulane Green Wave. Another loss followed when they returned home. Seemingly on their way to a victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, their defense faltered late, and they lost 82-77.

For the most part, the Roadrunners have played well since then. Waging the good fight with a couple of their big men unavailable and now with guard Tai’Reon Joseph also sitting out, UTSA has won three of its last five in AAC play.

They capped the five-game stretch with a quality win at home Saturday, defeating the Temple Owls, 88-79. With the win, they again displayed promising stretches of disruptive defense and explosive offense, improving to 9-10 overall and to 3-4 in the American.

On the eve of road games this week against FAU and North Texas, I talked to Coach Austin Claunch this morning, telling him about my previous conversation with Spears and then asking him to help explain the source of his team’s resilience.

“I think we have an older team. We have a mature team,” Claunch said. “Obviously Primo is a guy who’s played a lot of college basketball and has been a part of a lot of our wins. You know, it’s a long season. You’re going to have ups and downs. You’re probably not going to go undefeated.

“There’s going to be moments of adversity that you have to overcome,” the coach continued. “I thought early in the year, (with a) brand new team, we were still working through some rotations and things we wanted to do schematically.”

Now, their offense looks good on most nights, with crisp ball movement and unselfish play. But at the same time, their defense is vulnerable with opponents shooting 46 percent from the field and 35 percent from three.

Also, broader questions loom. Such as, how long can they continue to win when they’re missing five scholarship players, with three of the absences left largely unexplained and two out with injuries?

“This is the time of year that everyone is banged up a little bit,” Claunch said. “You have bruises here and there. You know, Primo was actually questionable for the Temple game. He got banged up in practice the day before and gutted it out.”

Injured Roadrunners include center Mo Njie and reserve guard Paul Lewis, both with foot ailments. Lewis has been ruled out for the season, and Njie’s return is uncertain. Players whose status can only be described as not available at the moment are Tai’Reon Joseph, Jaquan Scott and Skylar Wicks.

Joseph was on the bench for the Temple game, though he wasn’t dressed out to play, as he missed his second straight game after a 19-point outburst against North Texas. Claunch said he hopes to know more in coming days on Joseph’s status. For the time being, the coach said he is questionable for FAU.

I have no updated information on Scott, a Mississippi State transfer, or Wicks, who came over from Incarnate Word. Scott, who had 14 rebounds at Saint Mary’s, has played in only six games. He hasn’t played in 10 of the last 11. Wicks has played in only 10 games and hasn’t seen action since Dec. 29 at Army.

In the meantime, UTSA will soldier forward in conference play, led by a smallish lineup comprised of Spears, Marcus Millender, Damari Monsanto, Raekwon Horton and Jo Smith.

David Hermes has been starting at center, with Smith coming in off the bench. Six-foot-five freshman Baboucarr Njie, Mo’s younger brother, also has been playing off the bench. Naz Mahmoud is getting spot duty, too, as the eighth man.

Not a great team, at the moment, but certainly a fun team worth watching.

Records

UTSA 9-10, 3-4
FAU 10-10, 3-4

Coming up

UTSA at FAU, Wednesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at North Texas, Saturday, 5 p.m.
Tulane at UTSA, Feb. 5, 7 p.m.
East Carolina at UTSA, Feb. 8, 7 p.m.

UTSA men surge in the last minute to down Temple, 88-79

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Primo Spears. UTSA beat Temple 88-79 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Guard Primo Spears scored six of his 20 points in the final minute and 20 seconds to solidify UTSA’s 88-79 victory over the Temple Owls. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners showed both resilience and resolve in the last one minute and 20 seconds, forcing two key turnovers and holding the Temple Owls to two free throws in claiming an 88-79 victory Saturday at the Convocation Center.

Holding on precariously to a one-point lead, UTSA outscored Temple 10-2 down the stretch for perhaps its biggest win in American Athletic Conference play this season.

Austin Claunch. UTSA beat Temple 88-79 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Austin Claunch praised his team’s ‘grit’ in delivering the first victory in school history over the Temple Owls, who rank sixth all time in NCAA Division I with 2,005 wins. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Highlighting the 80-second surge were Primo Spears, who hit a jumper and sank four free throws, and also Damari Monsanto and Jo Smith, who came up with deflections to blunt two Temple possessions.

Spears and Raekwon Horton scored 20 points apiece to lead five Roadrunners in double figures. Marcus Millender added 18 and Monsanto contributed 17, hitting five of UTSA’s 14 three-point field goals. Smith had 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

“This is a huge win, not just to kind of keep us in the race, but also, I have a ton of respect for coach (Adam) Fisher and Temple,” UTSA coach Austin Claunch said. “I’m pretty sure I’m right on this but I think they have the seventh most wins in college basketball history, so this is an incredible win for our program and for UTSA.”

According to the school’s pre-game information packet, Temple is now sixth on the victory list. Kentucky leads Division I men’s programs with 2,411, followed by Kansas (2,407), North Carolina (2,383), Duke (2,314), UCLA (2,018) and Temple (2,005).

The Owls came into San Antonio with an AAC victory over Memphis, the league’s preseason favorite, and they were one game out of first place.

“Again, we have a ton of respect for Temple,” Claunch said. “They’ve started off really well this year and they’re going to continue to win a lot of games. For us, this is a really hard stretch for us — two really hard opponents coming into this one where we lost close games.”

Damari Monsanto. UTSA beat Temple 88-79 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Damari Monsanto hit five shots from behind the 3-point arc en route to 17 points and also made a key deflection to force a turnover in the last minute of the game. – Photo by Joe Alexander

A week ago today, the Roadrunners rallied late to within single digits of the North Texas Mean Green, only to fall 72-57 at home. Last Tuesday, they had a shot to tie on the final possession but lost in Birmingham to the UAB Blazers, 81-78.

Claunch said he “loved” how the Roadrunners started against the Owls. They jumped all over the visitors with defensive pressure and three-point shooting, building leads as large as 16 points three times in the first seven minutes.

After Temple rallied in the second half, it looked as if the Owls might overtake the short-handed Roadrunners, who were playing without starting guard Tai’Reon Joseph for the second straight game. Also, they’ve been without two post players for weeks, leaving them thin in the frontcourt.

Still, they found a way. “Just a gritty, tough win,” Claunch said.

Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 10 of his team-high 20 points in the second half. The son of a former NBA star of the same name finished one point off his season scoring average. Forward Steve Settle produced 17 points and Zion Stanford 17. Point guard Quante Berry had 10 points and three assists.

Records

Temple 12-8, 4-3
UTSA 9-10, 3-4

Coming up

UTSA at Florida Atlantic, Wednesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at North Texas, Saturday, Feb. 1, 5 p.m.

Notable

The win was UTSA’s first all time against Temple. In four meeting, the Roadrunners are now 1-3 against the Owls. Together in the same conference for the first time last season, the Owls won all three, including one in Philadelphia, one at the Convo in San Antonio and one at the AAC tournament in Fort Worth.

First half

Propelled by lights-out shooting from Raekwon Horton, Primo Spears and Marcus Millender, the UTSA Roadrunners raced to a 16-point lead in the first seven minutes and then hung on at the end to take a 43-35 advantage into the break.

Marcus Millender. UTSA beat Temple 88-79 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Roadrunners sophomore Marcus Millender knocked down six of nine shots from the field, scored 18 points and passed for six assists against the Owls. – Photo by Joe Alexander

When Spears nailed a three pointer from the right wing with 12:45 left, the Roadrunners had constructed a 28-12 lead. Horton had scored 11 points in the spree.

The UTSA offense was cooking at that point because of a frenetic defensive effort and a fast pace. As the game slowed more to Temple’s preferred pace, the Owls started climbing back in the game.

Temple closed a 21-10 run with a Shane Dezonie jumper, pulling the visitors to within five. UTSA responded with a 5-2 mini-surge in the final minute.

Monsanto buried a three — the Roadrunners’ eighth of the half — and Millender finished with a driving finger roll in traffic at the buzzer.

For the half, Horton had 15 points and Millender 10 for the Roadrunners. Spears, who made three of the team’s 3-pointers, had nine. The Owls were led by Mashburn, who scored 10, including two of two from long distance.

Pre-game

UTSA guard Tai’Reon Joseph did not play for the second straight game. Reserve forward Skylar Wicks also apparently was not in the arena. A spokesman said neither Joseph nor Wicks were available, increasing to five the number of scholarship athletes who didn’t play.

Forwards Mo Njie (foot injury), guard Paul Lewis (foot) and Jaquan Scott (personal reasons) are the other three.

Lewis has been out for most of the season and Scott and Njie most of the last three weeks. On top of all that, Spears suffered an injury in practice on Friday and did not come out for the early phase of pre-game warm ups.

Raekwon Horton. UTSA beat Temple 88-79 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Raekwon Horton set the tone for the Roadrunners, scoring 11 of his 20 points in the first five minutes of the game. – Photo by Joe .Alexander

Jonnivius Smith. UTSA beat Temple 88-79 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Jonnivius Smith got a hand on an inbounds pass and forced a turnover in the last minute to spark a 10-2 UTSA surge. Smith also came up big with 10 points and 10 rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander