Giovanni De Nicolao drives to the bucket against Texas State.
UTSA junior Giovanni De Nicolao confirmed Friday that he is on pace to graduate in the spring and could elect to make the jump to professional basketball next season.
De Nicolao, from Padua, Italy, is a third-year starting point guard for the Roadrunners.
He made his remarks as UTSA (2-6) prepares to host NAIA Mid-America Christian (6-3) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
“I still have open thoughts about everything,” De Nicolao said. “I didn’t make my mind (up), for sure. I’m … talking to people at home, about going back there and playing in Europe or in Italy.
“But, I also have the opportunity (to stay at UTSA). It’s always good to finish your four years eligibility and get a masters (degree).”
UTSA coach Steve Henson said he knew in the summer that this season might be De Nicolao’s third and last as a Roadrunner.
It all depended on whether his playmaker could take a heavier course load in the fall and the spring to earn an undergraduate degree.
De Nicolao said he is set to complete 17 hours this fall — he is currently holding down five ‘A’ grades and one ‘B’ — and another 16 hours in the spring.
He said he also needs to complete an internship next summer to complete his kinesiology degree requirements.
Henson said he is proud of De Nicolao for his work in the classroom, which will yield an earlier-than-anticipated degree, all while opening a door to get a jump start on a pro career — if that’s what he wants.
“It gives him options, which is great,” Henson said. “You never want to restrict someone in a situation like that. He made the decision to come to the (United) States. He came here to get a degree and play college basketball. The plan all along was to go back and hopefully play professionally back home.
“So, the fact that he’s able to do all that in three years is pretty impressive. But we didn’t want him to shut the door on the opportunity to come back (UTSA), you know. If we have a good year and at the end of the year he decides that he wants one more year, one more crack at it, we want that to be an option for him, as well.”
De Nicolao has started and played every game for the Roadrunners (76 in all) since arriving for the 2016-17 season.
He is averaging 7.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists this year.
Notable
UTSA is coming off a 69-68 home loss to Texas State last Saturday. Sophomore guards Keaton Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson are leading UTSA in scoring at 17.6 and 16.8 points per game, respectively. Jackson has played five games since returning from a knee injury.
Quotable
“I like the mindset. We’re defining and refining roles a little bit more this week. I think everybody’s settling in and understanding the significance of that. Hopefully that’ll allow us to be more efficient offensively. That’s the big key right now. We’re playing pretty hard defensively … But offense is where we’ve got to be sharper.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson, on the team’s recent practices.
TCU 54 – SMU 49 | 7:41 2H The Frogs with their biggest lead of the night! TCU has held SMU to 4-of-18 from the field in the second half.#GoFrogs 😈 pic.twitter.com/RvBLzLbsXG
Guard Jaylen Fisher hit five 3-point shots, and the TCU Horned Frogs rallied for a 67-59 road victory Wednesday night against SMU, a longtime rival in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Both Fisher and JD Miller scored 15 points apiece, and Kouat Noi had 12, to lead the Horned Frogs.
SMU controlled the game early, pushing out to a 10-point lead midway throuogh the first half.
The Mustangs led by six at halftime, but the Horned Frogs stormed from behind with Fisher and Miller leading the way.
Fisher hit four of his five threes after intermission. SMU, meanwhile, shot 24 percent from the field in the second half.
“As a coach, you never fault that unless guys were just playing selfish, which I don’t think we did at all. We had some really good shots that didn’t go in,” SMU coach Tim Jankovich told the Associated Press.
Senior guard Jahmal McMurray led the Mustangs with 19 points.
Records
TCU 6-1
SMU 6-4
Notable
Both Fisher and Noi have played four games since returning from knee injuries. Fisher had been out since last January.
Quotable
“I liked how we did it, because we gutted it out, grinded it out. We didn’t make shots early, and got it done with our defense. Just got it done by finding a way,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon told the AP.
Christian Peevy led Incarnate Word with 23 points against Trinity. — Photo by Joe Alexander.
Over the past three games, Christian Peevy has played the best basketball of his career for the Incarnate Word Cardinals.
But in what may come as bad news for opponents on UIW’s schedule this season, the sophomore forward from Chicago still probably hasn’t hit his peak.
First-year Cardinals coach Carson Cunningham said he’s trying to figure out how best to get Peevy in position to score.
“He’s a potent weapon,” Cunningham said, after Peevy produced 23 points and 11 rebounds in an 82-57 victory over Trinity. “He does a few things particularly well, and he’s developing an all-around game from that.
“We just got to try to keep trying to find spots and wrinkles where he can excel, because he’s a dynamic player.”
Peevy sank 8 of 13 from the field and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line to boost UIW past Division III Trinity.
He has now scored 81 points in his last three games.
“It’s really all my teammates,” Peevy said. “They trust me with the ball, and I’m just so happy to convert. I just want to keep this roll going.”
The Tigers took leads of 3-0 and 6-5 on a couple of three-point baskets but couldn’t keep up with the bigger and more athletic Cardinals, who play in the NCAA Division I Southland Conference.
UIW built a 14-point halftime lead and then boosted it to as many as 27 in the final minute.
For the game, the Cardinals shot 54 percent from the field and blew away the Tigers with a 20-2 edge in fast break points.
Early on, it wasn’t pretty, as Trinity used a zone to flummox UIW’s dribble-drive attack.
“They did a good job of jumping some passing lanes,” Cunningham said. “Then I thought we started pass faking better. They have a nice motion offense, good cutting action.
“They run a good operation at Trinity. Coach (Pat) Cunningham has been doing it for a long time, and doing a great job.”
Records
Incarnate Word (5-5)
Trinity (0-7)
(Note: The game was an exhibition for Trinity, and it did not count on the Tigers’ win-loss record.)
UIW guard Augustine Ene makes the most of a broken play when he grabs a loose ball and soars for a resounding dunk.
Coming up
The Cardinals play the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge on Sunday at 1 p.m. They also play at Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 17 and at DePaul on Dec. 19 before taking an extended break. UIW opens Southland Conferene play Jan. 2 at home against McNeese State.
Notable
Coming into Tuesday night, UIW led 351 Division I teams with 82.1 percent free throw shooting. The Cardinals had made 156 of 190 from the line, and against Trinity, they hit 15 of 18.
In the opening month of the season, UIW struggled against Division I competition. UIW was 1-5 against Division I programs. It is now 4-0 against Division III.
Last month, the Cardinals’ defense yielded 83.1 points in six games against D-I teams. In its four games against Division III, counting the Trinity game, UIW has given up an average of 54.8 points.
Sophomore guard Keaton Hervey, a starter for most of last season, is expected to take a redshirt this season after knee surgery.
UIW forward Christian Peevy fakes out a defender on the perimeter and gets to the basket for two of his game-high 23 points.
Individuals
UIW — Forward Charles Brown III, 12 points and 6 rebounds. Guard Augustine Ene, 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Off the bench, guard Jorden Kite, 11 points on 3 of 6 from the three-point arc; also, forward Antoine Smith Jr., 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting, including 2 of 5 from three.
Trinity — Tyler Peavy, 11 points on 4 of 9 shooting, including 3 o 7 from three. A.J. Clark, Stephen Molina and Matthew Colliflower, 7 points each. Clark, a freshman from Johnson, also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.
The UIW Cardinals move the ball from side to side on a possession in the secocnd half before finding guard Jorden Kite, a junior from Clark, who buries a three-pointer.
Texas Tech has moved up seven places to No. 13 in the latest installment of the Associated Press Top 25 in men’s basketball, according to the poll released Monday.
The Red Raiders (7-0) remained undefeated with a 78-67 victory over the Memphis Tigers Saturday night in Miami.
Center Tariq Owens led the comeback victory with six blocked shots in the last nine minutes as the Red Raiders put together a 33-10 run.
For the game, Owens finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks.
Texas Tech is the third school for Owens, from Odenton, Maryland. He played one season at Tennessee and two at St. John’s.
In his first year with the Red Raiders, the 6-foot-11 graduate transfer is averaging 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 blocks.
Big 12 notebook
Ranked 17th last week, the Texas Longhorns dropped out of the Top 25 after losing at home last Friday night to the Radford Highlanders … Big 12 teams in the poll this week include No. 2 Kansas, No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 16 Kansas State.
Surprise teams
Three surprise teams in the Top 25 are the Nevada Wolf Pack, the Buffalo Bulls and the Furman Paladins.
It’s not so surprising that Nevada is in the poll, but it is that they have zoomed up to No. 6. Last year, the Eric Musselman-coached Pack started to make waves with victories over 10th-seeded Texas and No. 2 seed Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament. They were ousted in the Sweet 16 by Loyola-Chicago. This year, they’re 8-0, with their latest victory a 73-61 decision over Southern Cal.
Meanwhile, in New York, the Nate Oats-coached Bulls are 7-0, including road wins at West Virginnia and Southern Illinois. They also notched recent victories over Milwaukee and previously undefeated San Francisco in Belfast, Ireland. Last year, Buffalo knocked off fourth-seeded Arizona in the NCAA round of 64.
The Paladins, under coach Bob Richey, made the poll for the first time this week at No. 25. Furman is also 8-0 with victories over two of last year’s Final Four teams, the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers and the defending champion Villanova Wildcats.
1. Gonzaga 8-0 West Coast
2. Kansas 6-0 Big 12
3. Duke 7-1 ACC
4. Virginia 7-0 ACC
5. Michigan 8-0 Big Ten
6. Nevada 8-0 Mountain West
7. Tennessee 6-1 SEC
8. Auburn 6-1 SEC
9. Kentucky 7-1 SEC
10. Michigan State 6-2 Big Ten
11. Florida State 6-1 ACC
12. Wisconsin 7-1 Big Ten
13. Texas Tech 7-0 Big 12
14. North Carolina 6-2 ACC
15. Virginia Tech 6-1 ACC
16. Kansas State 6-1 Big 12
17. Buffalo 7-0 Mid-American
18. Iowa 6-1 Big Ten
19. Ohio State 7-1 Big Ten
20. Arizona State 7-0 Pac 12
21. Villanova 6-2 Big East
22. Mississippi State 6-1 SEC
23. Maryland 7-1 ACC
24. Nebraska 7-1 Big Ten
25. Furman 8-0 Southern
Texas State players and fans celebrate a 69-68 victory Saturday afternoon at the UTSA Convocation Center.
An impromptu party materialized behind the visitors’ bench at the UTSA Convocation Center late Saturday afternoon.
For fans of the Texas State Bobcats, the celebration likely carried on late into the night following a pulsating 69-68 victory over the Roadrunners.
As for Texas State coach Danny Kaspar, he had other plans.
“I’ll sleep better tonight,” he said.
At one juncture near the end of the game, Kaspar’s team seemed to be coming unglued.
It committed a turnover in front of the Texas State bench, and with 24 seconds remaining, UTSA’s Jhivvan Jackson sank two free throws to give the Roadrunners a 68-65 lead.
Not to be denied, the Bobcats answered with 13 seconds left on a clutch, game-tying, three-point shot from the top of the arc by guard Nijal Pearson.
UTSA, in response, rushed it upcourt with its own star on the dribble.
Jackson, on the right wing, created separation from a defender with a cross-over dribble, but his three-point jumper for the lead rimmed out.
“A shot I take hundreds of times every day,” Jackson lamented.
As for the rebound, UTSA’s Byron Frohnen appeared to get his hands on it, but he lost control, and it caromed off to the side, in front of the Roadrunners’ bench.
From there, Texas State’s Jaylen Shead secured it and started his dribble upcourt.
Suddenly, UTSA’s Keaton Wallace confronted Shead, grabbing at the ball, as a referee whistled him for a foul in front of the UTSA bench.
After a clock re-set, Shead hit the first free throw for the final point of the game with 0.9 seconds left.
Remembering the moment when he heard victory cheers from the Texas State fans, Kaspar admitted that it felt good. He also said he felt fortunate to win, under the circumstances.
In discussing the final, frantic seconds, the coach said, “We got to hit a three to win the game, probably. We hit it. They’re going to have a shot to win the game. They don’t (make it), and we get a foul out of it.
“So, I got to go to church tomorrow and say thank you.”
Records
Texas State 7-1
UTSA 2-6
The I-35 rivalry
San Marcos-based Texas State, from the Sun Belt Conference, broke a two-game losing streak in the series to UTSA. The Bobcats earned a measure of redemption after blowing a late nine-point lead in a one-point loss last year at home. UTSA, from Conference USA, still leads the overall series, 35-25.
Individuals
Texas State — Nijal Pearson, 26 points on 10 of 21 shooting, including 5 threes. Also seven rebounds, a block and a steal. Alex Peacock, 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting. Alonzo Sule, eight points off the bench, on 3 of 6 from the field.
UTSA — Jackson, 22 points on 6 of 18 shooting. He hit 5 of 11 from three. Keaton Wallace, 19 points. Giovanni De Nicolao, 13.
Texas State’s Nijal Pearson steps back and drills a three to tie the game with 13 seconds left.
Pearson’s surge
Pearson, a 6-foot-5 junior from Beaumont Central, continues to play at a high level. He has scored 33, 25 and 26 points in his last three games, respectively.
In torching the Roadrunners, he scored in a variety of ways. On a few of his three-pointers, Pearson stepped back and swished long balls with a hand in his face.
One of his buckets in the first half came on a sweet Euro-step move, when he twisted through defenders and sank a layup (see video below).
Establishing an identity
UTSA had plenty of chances to take charge of the game but shot poorly from the field, hitting only 36.4 percent for the game, including 9 of 25 in the first half and 11 of 30 in the second half.
“We’re taking some baby steps,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “But we got a lot of work to do if we’re going to be a really, really good team. I think we’ve got the pieces to do that.
“We’ve still got to figure out what our identity is going to be. We’re not playing real, real fast. We’re not defending at a real high level. We’re kind of average in a lot of areas right now.
“If we’re going to be a really good team, we need to establish an identity.”
UTSA point guard Giovanni De Nicolao hits a wild runner in the opening minute Saturday against Texas State.
Lamenting the late miss
UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson, on his three-point shot that rimmed out: “It’s a shot I take hundreds of times every day. I thought it was a great shot, too, and the team wanted me to take it. I took it. It just didn’t fall.”
The foul
Henson seemed to think that Wallace was overly aggressive on the play the resulted in the late whistle, even though calls like that are often times not called at all.
“He went and grabbed the ball with two hands,” Henson said. “There was clearly contact there. It was right in front of me. I didn’t get a great look at it.
“It’s the kind of play, you have to let it go. As much as he wanted to go get the basketball, kinda had to let that one go.”
UTSA’s Atem Bior goes in for a shot against Texas State.
Texas State beat UTSA 69-68 on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center.
Nijal Pearson
Byron Frohnen
Jhivvan Jackson
Keaton Wallace
Keaton Wallace
Giovanni De Nicolao
Giovanni De Nicolao drives to the bucket against Texas State.
Nick Allen
Former UTSA star Jhivvan Jackson fights for possession against Texas State on Dec. 1, 2018 in San Antonio. The Bobcats won the game 69-68. It was the last win for Texas State against UTSA in the I-35 rivalry. – File photo by Joe Alexander
Texas State guard Nijal Pearson drives around Rice’s Chris Mullins Wednesday night in San Marcos. — Courtesy photo by Brooke Adams
SAN MARCOS — Deep down inside, Texas State shooting guard Nijal Pearson always knew he could play at a high level in NCAA Division I basketball.
“I always figured it would come in due time,” the 6-foot-5 junior said Friday afternoon.
Even though Pearson didn’t have the total skill package at Beaumont Central High School, Texas State coach Danny Kaspar said he could see the potential.
“He’s like some of my players at Stephen F. Austin,” the coach said. “They weren’t recruited very hard, and the knock on them was, they were not great shooters.”
On the other hand, Kaspar said he always sees intangibles in some young men, particularly those who excel both in academics and athletics.
He said he tells them honestly that they will need to work on their offense.
“You just knew (Pearson) would do it,” Kaspar said. “He was in, I want to say, the top ten (academically) in his (high school graduating) class. He’s one of our best students here. So, he just competes in every way, shape or form. In the classroom. On the court.
“(He) is very much a competitor. You challenge him about getting in the gym and putting up 400 and 500 shots a day, and he responds.”
The work has paid off for Pearson, who leads the Bobcats in scoring at 21 points per game coming into a weekend road test against the UTSA Roadrunners.
Pearson has emerged as the story of the season so far for Texas State (6-1) as it prepares to play UTSA (2-5) on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
Tipoff is at 3 p.m.
The Bobcats have won four straight, including three last week at the Portland Classic in Oregon and again Wednesday night at home against Rice.
Pearson scored a career-high 33 in the finale against the Portland Pilots, and then added 25 for good measure in a 74-60 victory over the Owls.
“We’re just having fun playing together, sharing the ball and playing defense,” he said. “For the most part, we figured we were a pretty good team. We knew in the summer time. So, I wouldn’t say we are really high right now. Basically, we’re doing what we’re expected to do.”
Beating UTSA is important to Pearson, who is 0-2 in his career against the Roadrunners.
“It’s a rivalry game,” he said. “I’m excited about playing in it. I don’t think I’ve made my mark in a UTSA-Texas State game yet, so, I’m excited that I get a chance to do that tomorrow. I’m anxious to play.”
Last year’s loss still stings a bit, because UTSA rallied in the last 70 seconds to erase a nine-point deficit and win, 79-78.
Asked what he remembers about last year, he shrugged and said simply, just that the Bobcats lost.
Because of a lock-down defense yielding only 37 percent shooting per game, Texas State would seem to have a better chance this year against the Roadrunners, who have struggled some offensively.
Pearson’s offense, meanwhile, has been consistently good.
He is shooting 52.9 percent from the field, including 53.2 percent from the three-point line. On top of that, he’s averaging 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals.
Pearson is not the same player that shot 43 percent as a freshman and 39 percent as a sophomore.
“I work hard on my game,” he said. “I just kept working. I knew eventually it was going to happen. I just didn’t know when … But, I’m just staying with it. (I’m trying to) focus, letting the game come to me, having fun out there.”
Guard Jhivvan Jackson said it feels “really good” to be back on the floor, playing in games again for the UTSA Roadrunners.
UTSA’s Jhivvan Jackson shoots around before a Nov. 12 home game against Oklahoma. – photo by Joe Alexander
Likewise, it feels good for the Roadrunners to see their leading scorer from a year ago rounding into form.
“He’s worked so hard,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said Thursday afternoon. “He’s had such a good offseason in so many ways.”
The offseason, for Jackson, was both painful and grueling.
Knocked out at the end of last season with a left knee injury, he underwent anterior cruciate ligament surgery and spent months consumed with strength exercises, combined with basketball workouts.
Jackson sat out the first three games of the new season, but he has since returned to play the last four, averaging 15.5 points in 16.5 minutes off the bench in that span.
It’s hardly a coincidence that UTSA (2-5) has won two straight leading into a Saturday afternoon test at home against the Texas State Bobcats (6-1).
“We were struggling a little bit offensively,” Henson said. “So, it was nice to throw him into the mix. The guys are ready to embrace him in that regard, (and) he’s delivered in a huge way — basically, a point a minute.
“So, it’s pretty amazing to be out that long and step in and do what he’s doing.”
Jackson was cleared medically before UTSA’s three-games in three-days trip to Florida from Nov. 14-16 at the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Originally set to return in the first week of December, he said the doctor told him that he could play in the tournament if he felt he was ready.
Jackson said he had felt ready earlier than that but didn’t want to risk anything.
“I felt great before the first game I played,” he said. “For a couple of practices before that, I felt really great. I told the coach I was ready.”
In the early stages of his return, Jackson has been on a minutes restriction. It was 15 minutes for the three games in Florida and then 20 on Monday in an 86-82 victory at Houston Baptist.
Jackson said he’ll likely be limited to about 20 against Texas State, as well.
Regardless, he has looked good, scoring 21 points each of UTSA’s last two games.
Henson said Jackson’s defense sparked a 12-0 run that erased a six-point deficit late in the game at HBU.
“We got down, and we came out of a timeout, and he was the one that really set the tone defensively,” Henson said. “(He) picked up the ball, got a little ball pressure, ignited our defense.
“He’s a competitor. He’s tough. He’s quick. We count on him for scoring, but he can do other things, as well. Getting him back in there is helping us.”
