OLLU’s Jordan Embry (1) contests a shot by UTSA’s Eric Parrish (20) on Sunday at the Convocation Center.
Jhivvan Jackson led UTSA with 27 points. Jordan Embry, Ruben Monzon and Ethan White led OLLU with 14 points each.
Phoenix Ford (12) made his first start of the season for UTSA on Friday night.
UTSA tipped off its 2020-21 men’s basketball season on Friday at the Convocation Center.
Five players made their UTSA debut including freshmen Jaja Sanni, Lachlan Bofinger and Jordan Ivy-Curry. Two new players were in the starting lineup: redshirt juniors Cedrick Alley Jr. and Eric Parrish.
RIP Coach🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/1ozyiojoz0
— OBCA (@OBCA_) May 24, 2020
Eddie Sutton, a Hall of Fame coach who led four different teams to the NCAA basketball tournament and lifted the game to new heights in the Southwest at Arkansas, died Saturday night. He was 84.
The family released a statement to the Tulsa World.
“Our beloved Dad and Papa coach Eddie Sutton passed away peacefully of natural causes the evening of May 23rd at his home in south Tulsa,” the family said. “He was surrounded by his 3 sons and their families, which include his nine adoring grandchildren. He is reunited with his No. 1 assistant — his bride Patsy Sutton — who passed away in January 2013 after 54 years of marriage.”
Sutton won everywhere he worked, notching 806 victories overall and guiding Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State to the NCAA tournament. He led both Arkansas and Oklahoma State to the Final Four.
Even in San Antonio, Sutton made his mark.
After gaining national notoriety in guiding the Razorbacks to the Final Four in 1978, he brought his teams to Southwest Conference tournaments twice downtown in the Alamo City at the old HemisFair Arena. In 1981, UTSA played its inaugural game at the arena against a powerhouse Arkansas squad coached by Sutton.
Later, Sutton would make headlines again in San Antonio when he led the Oklahoma State Cowboys to the 2004 Final Four at the Alamodome.
“Dad and Mom treated their players like family and always shared the belief that his teachings went beyond the basketball court,” the family said in a statement. “He cherished the time he spent at every school and appreciated the support from their loyal fans. He believed they deserved so much credit in the success of his programs.
“He felt his recent Hall of Fame [induction] was an honor and a tribute to the great players he coached and outstanding assistant coaches that worked for him.”
Sutton’s national star began to rise when he recruited Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer and Marvin Delph to Arkansas.
Together, ‘The Triplets’ sparked a 1978 Arkansas team that posted a 32-4 record. The Hogs lost to Kentucky in the NCAA semifinals and then finished third in the tournament after a two-point victory over Notre Dame.
He also achieved a high level of success at his alma mater, Oklahoma State, pacing the Cowboys to 13 NCAA tournament appearances in 16 seasons, including Final Fours in 1995 and 2004. Both years, the Cowboys lost in the semifinals.
In ’95, they made it to Seattle behind Bryant ‘Big Country’ Reeves. But they were denied a shot at the championship when they fell to eventual champion UCLA, 74-61.
In 2004, Sutton’s Cowboys roared into the Final Four at the Alamodome behind Tony Allen, John Lucas Jr., Joey Graham and Ivan McFarlin.
They lost 67-65 to Georgia Tech in the semifinals.
His death comes seven weeks after his election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Sutton’s selection was announced on April 3. He was 806-328 in 37 seasons, with his teams reaching 25 NCAA tournaments.
Ken Burmeister won 311 games in a 21-year career with head coaching jobs at UTSA, Chicago (Loyola), Trinity and the University of the Incarnate Word.
Friends and basketball coaching colleagues on Tuesday paid tribute to the late Ken Burmeister, a fiery head coach who led programs at UTSA, Trinity and the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
The passing of Burmeister, 72, was reported first in a tweet from former UIW assistant coach John Smith.
Burmeister, who won 311 games in a 21-year head coaching career, is best known for leading the UTSA Roadrunners to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1988.
He posted two 20-win seasons in four years with the Roadrunners through 1990.
Most recently, Burmeister worked a dozen seasons at UIW.
Hired by former UIW president Dr. Louis Agnese in 2006, Burmeister posted three 20-win seasons with the Cardinals.
In 2013-14, UIW opened a four-year transition into the NCAA Division I Southland Conference.
Under Burmeister, the Cardinals posted road eye-opening victories at St. John’s and at Nebraska in their transition.
He was fired after a 7-21 season in 2017-18.
His combined record has been calculated at 311-281 based on an online examination of his tenure at UTSA, Loyola-Chicago, Trinity and UIW.
Rest In Heaven Coach Burmeister 🕊. San Antonio, and ALL of college basketball family and friends has lost a pillar. My boss who believed in me and changed THOUSANDS of lives from Iowa to Arizona to Chicago to Texas- there will never be another beautiful soul like Coach Ken 💔🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/A4qTaOG8BJ
— Coach John A. Smith (@CoachJohnASmith) May 19, 2020
Burmeister, a graduate of St. Mary’s, first made a name for himself as an assistant on Lute Olson’s staffs at Iowa and Arizona.
So sorry to about the passing of Ken Burmeister, one of college basketball’s best characters. Excellent head coach & Hall of Fame recruiter for Lute Olson, @IowaHoops & @APlayersProgram, also. RIP, Kenny B. pic.twitter.com/pYN9aV5LFp
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) May 19, 2020
Burmeister’s tenure at UIW was highlighted by upset victories on the road at Princeton and Nebraska in 2014-15 and at St. John’s in 2015-16.
Guard Denzel Livingston led the Cardinals’ high-powered offensive attack and later earned an invitation to the Houston Rockets’ training camp.
R.I.P Coach Burm. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to continue my basketball career. I’m truly glad we made some good history together 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 Coach in peace ❤️ pic.twitter.com/x2cixIwHCA
— Denzel Livingston (@denzel_trey10) May 19, 2020
Burmeister is survived by his wife, Brenda, and two children, Amanda and Sam. A student-athlete at UIW, Sam Burmeister played in 100 games and made 56 starts for his father between 2013 and 2018.
Ken Burmeister
Year by Year
1986-1987 UTSA, 13-15
1987-1988 UTSA, 22-9 NCAA tournament
1988-1989 UTSA, 15-13
1989-1990 UTSA, 22-7
1994-1995 Loyola (Chicago), 5-22
1995-1996 Loyola (Chicago), 8-19
1996-1997 Loyola (Chicago), 12-15
1997-1998 Loyola (Chicago), 15-15
1998-1999 Trinity University, 16-9
x2006-2007 UIW, 1-28 (18-11)
2007-2008 UIW, 17-11
2008-2009 UIW, 23-7
2009-2010 UIW, 23-7
2010-2011 UIW, 16-10
2011-2012 UIW, 16-11
x2012-2013 UIW, 12-16 (14-14)
2013-2014 UIW, 21-6
2014-2015 UIW, 18-11
2015-16 UIW, 17-12
2016-17 UIW, 12-17
2017-18 UIW, 7-21
Total: 311-281
Note – Burmeister coached Division III Trinity in 1998-99. Incarnate Word played in Division II from his arrival in 2006 through the 2012-13 season. Burmeister led UIW into a four-year Division I transition starting in 2013.
x – Indicates record adjustments because of NCAA violations in both 2006-07 and 2012-13. Actual records are in parentheses.
Highlights from UTSA’s matchup with UAB on Wednesday. #BirdsUp 🤙 | #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/VSEH7khS2c
— UTSA Basketball (@UTSAMBB) March 12, 2020
Clinging to a one-point lead in the last minute, the UAB Blazers knocked down six straight free throws down the stretch to hold off the UTSA Roadrunners 74-69 Wednesday night in the first round of the Conference USA tournament.
With the loss, UTSA’s season has come to an end. The Roadrunners finished 13-19. The Blazers will move on to play Western Kentucky Thursday night in the tournament, which is being played at Frisco.
The game was played against the frightening national back-drop of a threat from COVID-19, otherwise known as the Coronavirus.
During the day, the NCAA Tournament took a hit when it was announced that fans would not be allowed to attend the games.
Several conferences, including Conference USA, also announced that they were closing their tournaments to all except for players, players’ families, coaches, staff and credentialed media.
In addition, the most shocking development came when the NBA announced it had suspended its season “until further notice” after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, the 10th-seeded Roadrunners were playing to extend what had been a disappointing season, finally coming up short to the No. 7 Blazers.
Keaton Wallace scored 28 points to lead the Roadrunners. Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA’s all-time leading scorer and the No. 1 scorer in the C-USA, was held to 12 points on 4 of 17 shooting.
Records
UTSA 13-19
UAB 19-13
Notable
It was a tough day for Jackson, who had enjoyed the best individual, single-season scoring effort in school history. He never found a rhythm, tying for his second-lowest point total in 32 games.
UTSA coach Steve Henson, interviewed on the team’s post-game radio show, expressed some frustration at how the team was able to get Wallace on a hot streak, while Jackson struggled.
Quotable
“Jhivvan’s been so good here, and Keaton’s been struggling as of late,” Henson told Andy Everett on KTKR radio, The Ticket. “So we just talked to ’em real briefly. We didn’t have a ton of practice time. We just talked about sliding Keaton off the ball, just maybe trigger that thought.
“Knew it really wouldn’t play itself out that much, in terms of how often Jhivvan was the point (guard) and Keaton was off. I still think that’s a little bit overrated. But, maybe that clicked for Keaton.
“He didn’t have to initiate the offense for the first two or three minutes. We got some screens for him and got his first few shots to go down. That part was terrific. Downside was Jhivvan never got going.”
UTSA’s Jhivvan Jackson broke the Roadrunners’ all-time season and career scoring records during his junior year.
The junior from Puerto Rico led the conference in scoring and finished the regular season No. 2 in the NCAA with 27.2 points per game.
UTSA junior Jhivvan Jackson has been named All-Conference USA first team for the second straight year. Jackson led the C-USA in scoring at 27.2 points per game. https://t.co/hyCDEtJ4sq pic.twitter.com/cDsATFKD2N
— Jerry Briggs (@JerryBriggs) March 10, 2020
Conference USA released its all-conference teams Monday. Predictably, both Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace of UTSA were honored. Jackson made first team and Wallace was on the second team.
The Roadrunners open the C-USA tournament on Wednesday night in Frisco. UTSA, the 10th seed in a 12-team event, will tip off against the No. 7 UAB Blazers at 8:30 p.m. The Roadrunners and Blazers split a pair of games in San Antonio this season.
UTSA guard Keaton Wallace has been named to the All-Conference USA second-team. Wallace averaged 18.5 points and 4.6 rebounds. https://t.co/hyCDEtJ4sq pic.twitter.com/C1fGBAHOuJ
— Jerry Briggs (@JerryBriggs) March 10, 2020
Jhivvan Jackson, the nation’s second leading scorer, averages 27.2 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Roadrunners.
The UTSA Roadrunners will play the UAB Blazers on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in Frisco in the first round of the Conference USA men’s basketball tournament, officials said.
The tournament is being played at The Star in Frisco.
UTSA will need to win four games in four days to earn the C-USA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Roadrunners earned the 10th seed in the C-USA tournament and a date with the No. 7 Blazers. The teams split two games this season, both of them in San Antonio.
If UTSA wins the opener, it would advance to the quarterfinals Thursday against No. 2 seed Western Kentucky.
UTSA’s Jhivvan Jackson scored 37 points and sparked a late rally, but Marshall held on for an 82-77 victory Saturday afternoon. – Photo by Joe Alexander
After an excruciatingly painful setback Saturday afternoon to close a disappointing regular season, UTSA coach Steve Henson talked about starting over next week at the Conference USA Tournament.
About pulling together to try to salvage the year.
Keaton Wallace had a tough day, scoring 13 points on 4 of 18 shooting. – Photo by Joe Alexander.
It was a tough day for Henson, no doubt, as his team played a dynamic 10-minute stretch at the end, only to suffer the misfortune of seeing the Marshall Thundering Herd hold on to win 82-77 at the Convocation Center.
So, what’s next?
Needing four wins in four days to reach the NCAA Tournament, the Roadrunners open the C-USA postseason on Wednesday in Frisco.
“New season,” Henson said. “I know it’s a cliche’. But it’s where we’re at right now, you know, and the fact that this group has stayed together — we haven’t had any chemistry issues. We haven’t had any locker room issues. We don’t worry about that at this point.
“If we were going to have that … if guys were going to pull apart out of frustration, that would have happened already. You know, this group had high expectations. We wanted to compete for the regular-season Conference USA title.
“We fell short of that, and our guys did not pull apart. So, they’re not going to pull apart now. We’re healthy. Keaton (Wallace) looked a little bit tired (today). We’d been riding him so hard, so long, all year. He needs a good day and a half off now.
“Got to get him going, obviously. We need to have some other guys step up. But, I don’t worry about our resiliency. I don’t worry about our chemistry. Our guys will come in ready to go on Monday.”
Scheduled to open the C-USA tournament as the 10th seed, UTSA has lost two straight games and four of its last five. The Roadrunners, picked to finish second in the C-USA preseason poll, have also dropped nine of their last 14.
Records
Marshall 16-15, 10-8
UTSA 13-18, 7-11
Jhivvan Jackson accelerates and glides in for a layup. He later knocks down a three. Marshall leads UTSA by seven with 2:00 left. https://t.co/hyCDEtJ4sq pic.twitter.com/62BGEmyxyS
— Jerry Briggs (@JerryBriggs) March 7, 2020
By the numbers
Marshall — Forward Mikel Beyers scored 20 points off the bench to spark the Herd. He was one of five Marshall players in double figures, a group that also included Jarrod West (15), Andrew Taylor (12) and Jannison Williams and Taevion Kinsey (10 each).
UTSA — Jhivvan Jackson, a Conference USA Player of the Year candidate, finished with a double-double of 37 points and 11 rebounds. He scored 15 points in a row down the stretch for the Roadrunners. After Jackson, there was little help, with Wallace held to 13 points. Freshman center Jacob Germany finished with 10.
At the end
Trailing by 19 against the Herd with 10:26 remaining, the Roadrunners finally found a spark that had been missing all day. They outscored the visitors 30-14 over the next 10 minutes to pull within three points.
At the end, in the final seconds, a turnover by West opened the door for UTSA to tie the game. But with the Roadrunners trailing 80-77, the Roadrunners gave it right back, as Jackson fumbled an inbounds pass out of bounds.
Forced to foul, UTSA sent West, a junior guard, to the line on the other end. He promptly knocked down two free throws with eight seconds left for the final points of the game.
Jackson, who played 37 minutes, declined to blame fatigue for his error at the end.
“No sir,” he said. “When I’m on the court, I don’t get tired. It just slipped out of my hand. If I would have caught it, it would have been a basket. It just happened. I’m going to catch the next one, for sure.”
UTSA forward Byron Frohnen drives for the left-handed finish to close the first half. The Marshall Thundering Herd lead 52-40 at intermission. https://t.co/hyCDEtJ4sq pic.twitter.com/aD6IdxCYyY
— Jerry Briggs (@JerryBriggs) March 7, 2020
First half
West scored 11 points in the first half as hot-shooting Marshall moved out to a 52-40 lead at intermission. Marshall shot 50 percent from the field and knocked down seven three-pointers in the half against the struggling Roadrunners. Jackson had scored 19 for the Roadrunners. UTSA shot only 40 percent and got out-rebounded 24-18.
Second-half
A poor shooting performance by the Roadrunners in the first eight minutes — 1 for 14 — allowed the Herd to take control of the game. Jackson was 1 for 6 during the stretch and Wallace 0 for 4. As a result, the Herd built the first of two 19-point leads. In the last nine minutes of the game, UTSA warmed up by hitting 9 of 18, but it was too late.
Senior Day
UTSA honored Byron Frohnen and Atem Bior on Senior Day. Frohnen holds the school record for career rebounds with 901. He also has records for games played and started with 131.
Byron Frohnen holds school records for career rebounds (901), starts (131) and also games played (131).
In Frohnen’s last game at home, he had five points, five rebounds and four assists. He hit two of three from the field. Bior, a two-year player for UTSA, had four points, six rebounds and three steals.
Frohnen said “it sucks” to lose on what likely is his last appearance at the Convocation Center. He said he wanted to go out with a win.
“I had great memories here,” he said. “I definitely won’t forget anything. I had a great time here.”
It’s also possible that it could have been the last home game for Jackson and Wallace, too, as Henson has said that both are scheduled to participate in an NBA Draft evaluation process after the season.
The process, as explained by Henson in January, will allow the high-scoring duo to get an evaluation of their market value, with an option to return to play another year for the Roadrunners.
Jackson, asked if he had considered whether the Marshall game might have been his last at home, shrugged off the question. “No, I haven’t thought about that yet,” he said.
Jhivvan Jackson weaves his way into an open space for a one-handed floater. https://t.co/hyCDEtJ4sq pic.twitter.com/jV0RfbjtY5
— Jerry Briggs (@JerryBriggs) March 7, 2020