Category Archives: College basketball

Stanley Umude scores 28 points at Allen Fieldhouse

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Former San Antonio prep standout Stanley Umude enjoyed a breakout game Tuesday night for the South Dakota Coyotes.

Umude scored a season-high 28 points against top-ranked Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, a legendary venue in college basketball.

The Jayhawks scored an 89-53 victory, but Umude made a statement, hitting 10 of 17 shots from the field.

Umude, a South Dakota sophomore from Warren High School, also had six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

For the season, Umude is averaging 10.6 points on 53.6 percent shooting from the field.

Duke routs Princeton, 101-50, in warmup for Texas Tech

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Duke sensation Zion Williamson caught an elbow in the mouth in the first half, but that didn’t slow down the Blue Devils, who — figuratively speaking — smacked Princeton around for most of the rest of the night in a 101-50 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Next up for the second-ranked Blue Devils? A trip to New York for a meeting with the undefeated and 12th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. The game is set for Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Records

Duke 10-1
Princeton 5-5

Individuals

Duke — RJ Barrett, 27 points, 6 rebounds. Zion Williamson, 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks. Princeton — Myles Stephens, 19 points, 3 steals.

Notable

The Blue Devils had 14 blocked shots and 12 steals. It was the fifth time Duke has had 10 or more blocks in a game this season. Duke had double digit steals for the fifth straight game, which is tied for the third-longest streak in school history and the longest since a five-game streak in the 2000-01 season.

Quotable

— Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, in comments posted on the school’s website:

“The guys played great defense tonight, especially against an extended dribble. I thought RJ (Barrett) did a great job on (Devin) Cannady, who is an outstanding player. He didn’t leave him. His length and not letting him get the ball, and even when he got it, the length was a key factor in stopping him.

“Tre (Jones’) pressure on (Jaelin) Llewellyn was key, and for the most part we kept them out of the paint. And when they did get in the paint, our big guys came over and blocked a lot of shots. Which is what they are supposed to do and they did it.”

UTSA rolls past Bethany, 101-77

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UTSA's Nick Allen played with a sore foot but recorded 12 points and 8 rebounds in 18 minutes in the Roadrunners' 101-77 victory over Bethany on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Nick Allen played with a sore foot but recorded 12 points and 8 rebounds in 18 minutes in the Roadrunners’ 101-77 victory over Bethany on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center. – photo by Joe Alexander

The UTSA Roadrunners enjoyed the feeling of a 101-77 victory Monday night over the Bethany College Swedes.

A dozen Roadrunners played and 11 of them scored, as they kicked the lead up to as many as 33 points in the last few minutes at the Convocation Center.

In the aftermath, however, UTSA senior Nick Allen said he recalled a different mood in the dressing room at halftime.

It was a foul mood, in some respects.

Players were mad that they led the NAIA program from Lindsborg, Kansas, by only eight points.

Coach Steve Henson was upset about it, as well, and he let the players know it.

“He was just frustrated because I think he sees what the older guys are seeing,” senior forward Nick Allen said. “Man, we can be so good. Why are we not fulfilling our potential for 40 minutes?’ ”

In response, the Roadrunners clamped down on defense early in the second half to take charge on one end of the floor.

On the other end, they ran their offense well, at one time outscoring the Swedes 16-0 to build a 65-42 lead.

Bethany never got closer than 21 the rest of the way.

Notable

Guards Keaton Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson scored 23 points apiece to lead the Roadrunners. The two were aided by Allen, who produced 12 points and eight rebounds and Adokiye Iyaye, who added 11 points off the bench. Byron Frohnen scored 10.

Quotable

“We felt good about the way we came out and started the second half. We had to get after ’em at haltime a little bit, which we didn’t want to do. We just didn’t quite have enough fight there in the first half.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson

Records

UTSA 4-7
Bethany 7-6

Ties that bind

Bethany is led by head coach Dan O’Dowd, a former UTSA assistant coach. Former UTSA center Edrico McGregor is a Bethany assistant. O’Dowd, who worked under the late Brooks Thompson at UTSA, served as the initial recruiting contact for Allen.

In addition, UTSA coach Steve Henson lived in Lindsborg when he was a toddler.

With his father an athlete and a student-teacher at Bethany, Henson recalled that he once wore a “Swede outfit,” complete with a “fake beard, a helmet and a fake sword.”


Jhivvan Jackson passes to Keaton Wallace, who soars for a first-half alley-oop slam.

San Antonio connections

Bethany point guard Isiah Saenz, from St. Anthony, produced 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Forward Lavaris Duncan, from Judson, had 12 points and 6 rebounds.

Photo gallery: Bethany’s San Antonio connections

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Bethany coach Dan O'Dowd (standing) and assistant coach Edrico McGregor (sitting right) both have ties to UTSA. - photo by Joe Alexander

Bethany coach Dan O’Dowd (standing) and assistant coach Edrico McGregor (sitting right) both have ties to UTSA.

Bethany coach Dan O’Dowd, assistant coach Edrico McGregor, sophomore guard Isiah Saenz and sophomore forward Lavaris Duncan all were on familiar ground Monday when the Swedes played UTSA at the Convocation Center.

O’Dowd is a former assistant coach at UTSA. McGregor played at UTSA. Saenz played high school basketball in San Antonio at St. Anthony’s. Duncan is from Converse Judson.

Photo gallery: UTSA vs. Bethany men’s basketball

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Adokiye Iyaye came off the bench to score 11 points for the Roadrunners in a 101-77 victory over Bethany on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Adokiye Iyaye came off the bench to score 11 points for the Roadrunners.

UTSA overpowered Bethany 101-77 on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Houston beats Saint Louis, 68-64, to remain undefeated

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Guard Corey Davis hit a go-ahead three pointer with 20 seconds remaining, lifting the 24th-ranked Houston Cougars to a 68-64 victory over Saint Louis Sunday afternoon.

Houston, one of nine undefeated teams in NCAA Division I, played before an announced home crowd of 6,131 at the Fertitta Center and improved to 10-0 on the season.

The Cougars trailed 63-60 with 1:37 remaining but rallied down the stretch for their 23rd straight victory at home.

Davis, a senior from Lafayette, Louisiana, finished with a team-high 17 points for Houston. Armoni Brooks and Galen Robinson, Jr., had 13 each.

The Cougars won the game on the defensive end as they limited the visitors to 36.7 percent shooting from the field.

Javon Bess led the Billikens with 17 points. Bess snared an offensive rebound in the final seconds but missed on a jumper that would have tied the game.

Davis hit two free throws at the end to seal it for Houston, dropping Saint Louis to 7-3 on the season.

Records

Houston 10-0
Saint Louis 7-3

Notable

Saint Louis was the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic 10. The Billikens had posted victories over Butler and Oregon State. Houston was picked third in the American Athletic Conference poll, behind UCF and Cincinnati.

Still undefeated

Kansas (9-0), Virginia (9-0), Michigan (11-0), Nevada (11-0), Texas Tech (10-0), Houston (10-0), Buffalo (10-0), Furman (12-0), St. John’s (10-0).

Duke-fueled hype on the horizon for 10-0 Texas Tech

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The 11th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders are taking a clear-eyed view of their 10-0 record leading into a Thursday night game in New York against the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils.

Asked late Saturday night how he will “coach emotion” in preparation for Mike Krzyzewski’s perennial ACC powerhouse, Red Raiders coach Chris Beard said it won’t be a problem.

“It’s kind of a non-issue with us because we got these seniors,” Beard said. “These four seniors, they know that 10-0 doesn’t mean much.

“We’d much rather win our last 10 games. That means you’re going to win the Big 12 tournament and the national championship.”

The Big 12 regular-season schedule starts in January, and Tech is expected to be a contender in the conference race.

But until then, the Duke game promises to be a topic of discussion locally, as well as in the biggest media market in the nation.

Conversations on the game could very well spin off into issues, such as:

1) Whether the Red Raiders are as good as advertised. After all, they lost a lot of talent from last year’s Elite Eight team, and their best victories this year, thus far, have come against Southern Cal, Nebraska and Memphis.

2) Whether they can guard Blue Devils freshmen RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson, already considered as NBA lottery prospects.

3) Whether they can deal with the hype of a game played in the biggest media market in the nation.

As a coach, Beard seems much more concerned about how he will deal with the Blue Devils’ talent, and not so much the intangibles.

Tech seniors such as Brandone Francis, Matt Mooney, Norense Odiase and Tariq Owens seem to instill confidence in the coach.

So does sophomore Jarrett Culver, who scored 30 points Saturday night in an 82-48 victory over Abilene Christian.

No doubt, Beard has some swagger about him.

“With some younger teams, I’d worry about things like (a big-game atmosphere),” Beard said. “But with these four seniors leading this team, and (with) Jarrett Culver being a best-player type guy …

“You know I got a lot to worry about, with the next game on the schedule (against) a Hall of Fame coach, and NBA (caiber) players. I don’t worry much about our guys not being focused,” he said.

UTSA’s Henson ‘really proud’ after Arkansas wins, 79-67

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Guard Isaiah Joe hit six free throws in the final 29 seconds and scored a game-high 21 points Saturday night as Arkansas turned back an upset bid by the UTSA Roadrunners, 79-67.

The Roadrunners led the Razorbacks by four points with nine minutes remaining and trailed by two with 2:23 left on the clock, but couldn’t finish off what would have been the program’s biggest victory in years.

In a game played at North Little Rock, Arkansas, Jhivvan Jackson scored 20 and Keaton Wallace 18 for UTSA.

The Roadrunners return home to play on Monday night against the Bethany College Swedes.

“Really proud of our guys, the way we fought and the way we competed, the way we prepared all week,” UTSA coach Steve Henson told the team’s radio broadcast. “That was my message to ’em just now. If we had played our best game, we would have won.

“You know, if one of our key guys had gotten really, really hot — Jhivvan and Keaton made some plays — but they didn’t get hot like they can. If someone else had caught fire for a little stretch, we had a chance to win, because of the way we did everything else.”

With the victory, Arkansas extended UTSA’s nine-year streak of losses against power conference competition in men’s basketball.

The Roadrunners have lost 20 in a row since 2009 against teams from the major revenue-producing conferences.

UTSA’s last victory against a power program came in 2009, when the Roadrunners downed the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten, 62-50, in Iowa City.

Records

UTSA 3-7
Arkansas 7-2

Notable

Three UTSA starters fouled out. Nick Allen, Jackson and Giovanni De Nicolao all picked up their fifth fouls down the stretch. Allen was on the bench for much of the second half with four.

Quotable

“It was a good team (we played) and we didn’t quite get done what we were trying to accomplish.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson

Turning the tide

Jackson hit a three-pointer with 2:23 remaining to pull UTSA with two of the Razorbacks, who promptly outscored the visitors 15-5 down the stretch to clinch the victory.

In it until the end

UTSA still had a chance in the final minute, with Wallace missing a couple of threes on one possession that would have cut the lead to two again. Arkansas expanded the lead when UTSA was forced to foul.

Top-ranked Kansas holds off Villanova, 74-71

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Guard Lagerald Vick scored 29 points and forward Dedric Lawson had 28 and 12 rebounds on Saturday, as the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks held off defending NCAA champion Villanova, 74-71.

An announced crowd of 16,300 at Allen Fieldhouse watched as freshman guard Devon Dotson scored six points in the final 2:25 for the Jayhawks.

For 17th-ranked Villanova, Phil Booth scored 29 and Eric Paschall produced 17.

The game was a rematch of sorts of the 2018 NCAA semifinals, in which the Wildcats routed the Jayhakws 95-79 at the Alamodome on the way to their second national title in three years.

Records

Kansas 9-0
Villanova 8-4

Notable

Kansas has notched victories this season against four teams in this week’s AP Top 25, including No. 3 Tennessee, (9) Michigan State, (17) Villanova and (21) Marquette.

Dedric Lawson, a transfer from Memphis, is on fire. He has posted six straight games of 20 or more points. Also, he has produced six games this season of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

UTSA’s Steve Henson shows confidence in Adokiye Iyaye

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Adokiye Iyaye. UTSA beat Mid-American Christian 104-74 on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman Adokiye Iyaye has averaged 6.1 points in 19.1 minutes through nine games.

Two years ago, UTSA coach Steve Henson identified Giovanni De Nicolao and Byron Frohnen as two freshmen he could trust.

As a result, the two have started every game of their college careers thus far.

Last season, Henson unleashed two more freshmen — Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace — and they not only showed maturity beyond their years, but they also led the Roadrunners to a 20-win season.

This year, freshman Adokiye Iyaye has emerged as the latest example of Henson’s ability to find and sign players in high school who can produce immediately in college.

Unlike De Nicolao and Frohnen, Iyaye hasn’t started a game. Also, he hasn’t shown the explosive offensive skills of a Jackson or a Wallace.

Not yet, anyway.

But the 6-3 guard from Oklahoma City has won enough confidence from coaches to remain solidly in the playing rotation leading into a Saturday afternoon test in Little Rock against Arkansas.

Posssessing excellent defensive skills, Iyaye has played in all nine games, averaging 6.1 points in 19.1 minutes.

“We threw him right into the fire,” Henson said. “When Jhivvan was out (injured), certainly there were a lot of minutes available. We threw him in there, and he was pretty comfortable from the start (of the season).

“His IQ is very good. His feel for the game is very, very good.”

As a result, Iyaye has been either the first or second guard off the bench.

His shooting has been spotty — 2 of 22 on 3-pointers — but coaches are sticking with him, perhaps because of what they saw of him in high school.

“We watched him a lot in the summer,” Henson said. “There were AAU games when his team would be dominating … and you’d hardly notice Doke. (But) if there’s a close game and they needed a bucket, he’d take over.

Steve Henson, UTSA beat Mid-American Christian 104-74 on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Third-year UTSA coach Steve Henson.

“Same thing in high school. He played with another really good guard, and at times he deferred to the other kid. But when the game was on the line, he could step up and make the plays that needed to be made.”

For instance, Iyaye averaged 18 points and led Oklahoma City’s Putnam High School to the Class 6A state title last season.

In the title game, he was clutch, scoring the last six points to clinch the title.

Of course, UTSA’s fans have yet to see anything like that so far this season, with Iyaye shooting 36.5 percent from the field and .091 percent from three.

“It’s a little tougher here (compared to high school),” he said. “But that’s what I like. You just got to get in the gym and shoot all the time. In practice, you (have got to) get yourself really tired and then just shoot the ball, so, it can be like it is in the game.”

Henson recently had a heart-to-heart with Iyaye. Considering his shooting woes, he was encouraged to drive more to the basket, to try to create for himself and others.

Iyaye responded with a 4-for-6 shooting effort and 12 points last week against Mid-America Christian.

“(Coach) really helped me out on that,” Iyaye said. “Like, he came up to me and told me, ‘Your shots are going to fall. You’ll be a great 3-point shooter.

“‘Keep working on the shot. You’ll be fine. But, also attack and make plays.’

“(With) him coming up to me like that, (it) really helped. (It) really helped me feel better.”