Category Archives: College basketball

Young stars on the rise for the surging UTSA women

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Damara Allen. 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

Freshman guard Damara Allen scored seven points, all in the fourth quarter, on three for three shooting to help rally the Roadrunners past the Rice Owls Wednesday night. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Whatever ultimately happens in UTSA’s quest for a championship season in women’s basketball, Jordyn Jenkins, Sidney Love and Nina De Leon Negron will fuel the charge. They are the headliners on a team that has shown NCAA tournament potential through their first 15 games.

But as the twice-beaten Roadrunners prepare to host the Wichita State Shockers Saturday at the Convocation Center, two freshmen have started to emerge as players who could become important components in the team’s effort to make history.

Guard Damara Allen and power forward Taylor Ross both delivered significant production Wednesday night in UTSA’s 67-58 victory over the Rice Owls.

Taylor Ross. 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

Freshman forward Taylor Ross, from San Antonio’s Brennan High School, had six points and four rebounds in six minutes against Rice, the defending tournament champion in the American Athletic Conference. – Photo by Jerry Briggs

With Love unavailable because of an illness, Allen started and produced seven points and four rebounds. Ross, from San Antonio Brennan High School, had six points and four boards in only six minutes. Both were in the game at the same time for a couple of minutes in the fourth quarter when the Roadrunners rallied to win.

Allen started the fourth period, and then Ross took the floor 15 seconds later when Idara Udo picked up her fourth foul. Just about that time, good things started to happen for UTSA. When De Leon Negron missed a driving layup, Ross muscled inside to grab the offensive rebound and scored.

After Rice scored on the other end, Allen responded, sneaking inside to take an inbounds pass from De Leon Negron and hitting an easy layup. Next offensive possession for the Roadrunners, Allen scored again, this time driving to the hoop on the right side, stopping and spinning back to her left for another layup – good for six straight points combined for the two first-year players.

Finally, as the Roadrunners were trying to seal the deal in the last minute of the game, Allen popped out behind a screen set by Udo, executed a step-back move behind the arc and did the honors, knocking down a three from the top of the circle.

UTSA coach Karen Aston liked what she saw from her two freshman.

“Taylor’s going to learn,” Aston said after the game. “I mean, this was a great learning experience for her. She had a couple of really huge plays and, you know, a couple of freshmen plays.

“But that’s about the only way you can get through to a freshman sometimes, it’s for them to experience it in a game. So, I think today will make Taylor so much better and more engaged. And then Damara came in, and, the thing I think I’ll go back and look at on film, that probably will please me the most, is that they knew what they were supposed to do.

“And that’s a big step. You can’t just run around out there. Like, there’s details to what you’re doing on the defensive end. I thought there were some moments when (the Owls) were running stuff that maybe could have suckered our young kids, and I could tell they knew where they were supposed to be. I mean, that’s a big step for us.”

While Ross has played sparingly to this point in only 10 games, Allen, from Aurora, Colo., has been on the floor quite a bit, appearing in 14 games and earning three starts. Allen, in fact, is one of the fastest-improving talents on the team. Averaging 13 minutes for the season, she is playing 17 per game in conference.

A wing player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard, she’s almost doubled her scoring average in AAC games to 5.8, and her shooting percentages have also risen. After suffering some shooting woes in November and early December, Allen is hitting 42.8 percent on field goals and 38.4 percent from three in conference.

“We’re all comfortable with her shooting shots and making them,” Jenkins said. “She just has to be comfortable (herself). As long as she’s comfortable, then, we’re deadly.”

Allen said she is enjoying herself, playing on a contending team and contributing.

“I feel like it’s extremely fun,” she said. “As a freshman, to experience the culture, it’s definitely exciting. Everybody is excited to be here. My teammates are super fun. And the coaching staff. I really love them, too. They make it fun.”

Allen admitted that the work-load can be a grind, but it all pays off on game nights, particularly with the exhilarating finish to the Rice game.

“I know we came out slow,” she said. “But, we just had our composure the whole game, and going on a run in the quarter, it was definitely exciting. You can, like, feel the energy in the Convo.”

Rice won the American Athletic Conference postseason title and played in the NCAA tournament last year, so, hitting the three-point shot to close out the Owls was a special feeling for Allen.

“I felt on top of the world,” she said. “I know it sealed the deal, but having my teammates celebrate, and everybody just being there, it was super fun.” A little chaotic, but fun. “Yeah, I was getting pushed around a little bit,” she said, smiling.

After growing up in Aurora, Colo., Allen moved to Texas last summer, which was a significant change for her in a lot of respects

“It’s been a lot,” she said. “I know the first time I came here, it seemed like it was super hot, because I’m from Colorado. But the change of pace and the grind that we put in here, is so much different than high school. In high school, it’s not as serious as it is here.”

Allen said she embraces the grind because she knows she is improving.

“I’m in the gym every day,” she said. “I have, like, two-a-days before practice and after practice. Getting in the film room is also part of the grind. Like, I love it.”

Allen and Ross aren’t the only freshman making contributions to the program. Coaches are also high on guard Mia Hammonds, from San Antonio-area Steele High School, and center Emilia Dannebauer from Germany, though those two haven’t played as much.

“Since we came here in the summer, we’ve all been pretty close,” Allen said. “Like, Taylor, Mia and Emilia, they’re my best friends. I feel like I can talk to them and tell them anything. Like, off the court, too. We hang out all the time.”

And now, at least for one big game recently, Allen and Ross celebrated their roles in a victory, which also may have served as a preview of even better days ahead — this season, and beyond. “I think it means a lot for us because we’re so young,” Allen said. “But we just want to help the team for the overall goal.”

UTSA women’s report

Records: Wichita State 7-10, 1-3; UTSA 13-2, 4-0

Coming up: Wichita State at UTSA, Saturday, noon. UTSA at Memphis, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Notable

The UTSA men will play Wichita State at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Roadrunners (6-8, 0-2) and the Shockers (10-5, 0-2) are still looking for their first victory in AAC play.

UTSA women’s team guard Sidney Love practiced Friday and is expected to play after sitting out the Rice game. Forward Nyayongah Gony has been on crutches this week, so it’s doubtful that she will be available.

Wichita State has lost four of its last five. In conference, the Shockers lost at home to North Texas and on the road at Memphis. They won on the road at UAB and then got walloped 72-46 at home by South Florida Wednesday night. Forward Jayla Murray (12.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) leads Wichita State.

UTSA improves to 13-2 after rallying to beat Rice, 67-58

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Nina De Leon Negron. 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

Nina De Leon Negron, wearing the gold ‘Cash In’ chain, shouts her approval after the Roadrunners ascended from a six-point deficit in the final eight minutes to beat the Rice Owls by nine. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The victories just keep on coming for the UTSA women, even without one of their best players on the floor.

On a night when Sidney Love sat out with an illness, Jordyn Jenkins produced 21 points and 14 rebounds, leading the UTSA Roadrunners to their sixth straight victory, a 67-58 decision over the Rice Owls Wednesday at the Convocation Center.

In winning their ninth in a row at home dating back to last season, UTSA improved to a school-record 13-2 and to 4-0 in the American Athletic Conference.

Led by a couple of strong and mobile post players, the Owls led by as many as nine points in the second quarter and by five at intermission.

Jordyn Jenkins and Hailey Adams. 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

Jordyn Jenkins scored seven of her team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as UTSA rallied to defeat the defending American Athletic Conference tournament champions. – Photo by Joe Alexander

They were up by six after three periods and by six with 7:54 remaining, but they couldn’t hold on as the Roadrunners exploded past them, 24-9, in the fourth.

“The best thing I can say about this game is that we showed some resilience,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “It wasn’t by any means our best performance. I think we’ll take some things from this game. We had a lot of young guys in the game. (Now) we actually have film to show them and have some teaching moments.”

Fourth quarter magic

For the second straight time in a game at home for the Roadrunners, they fell behind in the fourth quarter and rallied to win.

They did it on New Year’s night in a 67-56 victory over the UAB Blazers. Against UAB, UTSA trailed by one twice early in the fourth and then rumbled to the win behind Jenkins, who scored nine points in the period on four of five shooting.

Things looked a little more dire for the Roadrunners against the Owls when Sussy Ngulefac muscled inside for a basket and a 53-47 Rice lead with 7:54 remaining. From there, UTSA outscored Rice 20-5 the rest of the way.

Highlights of a 20-5 run

# A sequence in which Jenkins hit a jumper on one end, forced a turnover on the other, and then hit a three at 6:40 that gave UTSA its first lead (by one) in the period.
# An offensive rebound in traffic by the 5-foot-6 De Leon Negron, who drew a foul and sank two free throws at 5:41 for another one-point UTSA lead.
# A struggle under the UTSA basket that ended with both Jenkins and Rice’s Hailey Adams hitting the floor — and fouls called on both players.

Damara Allen. 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

Freshman Damara Allen scored seven points, all in the fourth quarter, on three for three shooting to help rally the Roadrunners. – Photo by Joe Alexander


# Moments later, consecutive buckets by De Leon Negron, the second of which came on a drive through traffic to put UTSA up by four at 2:06.
# And, finally, a blocked shot by Idara Udo that led to a three-point basket by freshman Damara Allen for the final points of the game at 0:28.3.

A crowd of fewer than 1,000 fans roared for Allen and the Roadrunners, who continue to inspire championship hopes with the best start after 15 games in the program’s 44-year history.

As usual, Jenkins was at the center of it all. She keyed the late rally by scoring seven of her 21 points in the final eight minutes. In that time, she hit three of four from the field, grabbed four rebounds and had a steal.

Afterward, she praised Allen, who also had seven points in the rally. Jenkins said she isn’t surprised that the freshman is playing well, noting that she started making noise in practices as far back as last summer.

Jenkins smiled when asked about her fall to the floor and the double foul call down the stretch. She said of the Owls, “They’re trying to take me out of the game. But I love the physicality. Bring it on.”

Records

Rice 8-7, 1-2
UTSA 13-2, 4-0

Coming up

Wichita State at UTSA, Saturday, noon

Individuals

Rice – Forward Sussy Ngulefac hit seven of 11 shots and scored 16 points to lead the Owls. Forward Malia Fisher, one of the Rice veterans who played a major role in last year’s run to the NCAA tournament, had 14 points and six boards. Guard Dominique Ennis, another returning starter from Rice’s AAC tournament title team, scored 11.

Hailey Adams. 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

Rice sophomore Hailey Adams, from San Antonio’s Clark High School, had seven rebounds, five points and three assists in front of an enthusiastic cheering section at the Convocation Center. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA – Jenkins, who scored 30 in a victory at Tulsa on Saturday, shot seven of 18 from the field and came up big in the fourth quarter with seven points and four rebounds. De Leon Negron had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Freshman Damara Allen, who started at shooting guard in place of Love, scored all seven of her points in the final quarter, hitting three for three from the field.

Notable

Playing without Love, the Roadrunners started slowly. The Owls held the Roadrunners to 13 points in the first quarter en route to a 36-31 lead at halftime.

Ngulefac led the Owls with 10 points in the half, while De Leon Negron had 11 to pace the Roadrunners.

A spokesman said Love didn’t play because she was ‘feeling under the weather.’ Coach Karen Aston said she didn’t know if Love would play Saturday against Wichita State. The junior from Steele sat on the bench in a sweat suit.

Another key player, reserve forward Nyayongah Gony, also did not play. Gony wasn’t on the bench during the game or on the floor for warmups. The team’s spokesman said he didn’t know why she didn’t play.

As for Saturday’s opponent, the Wichita State Shockers fell to 7-10 on the season and 1-3 in conference after getting blow out at home, 72-46, by the surging South Florida Bulls.

South Florida is 11-6 and tied for first in the AAC with UTSA at 4-0.

Idara Udo. 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

Foul-plagued UTSA sophomore Idara Udo had five blocked shots in 19 minutes against the Rice Owls. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA might be missing a couple of players tonight against Rice

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Editor’s note: UTSA might be without two players against the Rice Owls tonight. Starting guard Sidney Love came out of the dressing room in a sweat suit. Reserve forward Nyayongah Gony is also not on the floor.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After playing their first 14 games at a high level and receiving attention from media outlets around the city, does the UTSA women’s basketball team need to guard against a mental letdown? Roadrunners coach Karen Aston isn’t worried about it.

Damara Allen. UTSA women's basketball at the Convocation Center on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. - photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Damara Allen is one of the team’s young players vying for an expanded role. Allen scored 11 points off the bench in UTSA’s last home game. – File photo by Joe Alexander

“I don’t feel like we’ll have a letdown just, from a sense of, I mean, our team is pretty locked in right now,” Aston said on a zoom call with reporters Monday.

Locked in, is right. The Roadrunners (12-2, 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference) are having the best start to a season in school history. Riding a five-game winning streak, they’ll host the defending AAC tournament champion Rice Owls (8-6, 1-1) tonight at the Convocation Center.

Aston said maturity is a hallmark of this year’s team.

“It’s an evolution for players,” she said. “You know, what I’ve really enjoyed about this group is having four players that have been here with me almost the whole time, just about. Now they’re juniors and they really understand the process of everything, and I think it develops maturity when you have players who stick around. They understand what you want of them.

“They don’t take things (personally) because they probably at this point have a really good relationship with you. They stuck around and they understand what they’re trying to get accomplished. It’s not necessarily that we have a different mindset (from last year). I think we wanted to win last year really bad. And I think we overachieved. But this team is just a little bit more mature.”

Records

Rice 8-6, 1-1
UTSA 12-2, 3-0

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, tonight, 6:30
Wichita State at UTSA, Saturday, noon

Notable

The Owls made a name for themselves under coach Lindsay Edmonds last March. After losing five in a row to end the regular season, including a loss to UTSA in San Antonio on the last day, they responded by winning four games in four days in Fort Worth to claim the AAC postseason title, securing the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

As a No. 14 seed in the NCAA first round, they lost 70-60 to third-seeded LSU.

This season, the Owls have turned the page with the graduation of veteran point guard Destiny Jackson. But they have most of their personnel back, including standouts Malia Fisher, a 6-2 forward, and guards Dominique Ennis and Hailey Adams.

Fisher sat out the first eight games with a wrist injury, but she has returned to lead the team, averaging 12.5 points and 6.2 rebounds. In Rice’s last game, a 72-64 victory at Tulane last weekend, Fisher had 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Ennis averages 11.6 points and Adams, a sophomore from San Antonio Clark High School, contributes 8.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Adams is also a shot blocker, averaging 1.1 per game.

“I think they look really similar (to last year),” Aston said. “They look like a team that understands what it takes to win. They’re always super competitive, well coached. They look very similar. They do what they do and they do it well.”

NET rankings

Here are the top-rated teams in AAC women’s basketball, according to the NCAA’s NET rankings: UTSA (59), South Florida (64), Tulane (94), Temple (102), Rice (128).

UTSA’s Spears scores 40, but it’s not enough, as Tulsa rallies from down 16 to win, 82-77

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Primo Spears. UTSA men's basketball lost to Tulsa 82-77 in American Athletic Conference action on Monday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Primo Spears poured in a career-high 40 points against Tulsa on 13 of 23 shooting from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Guard Tyshawn Archie scored seven points in the final minute of the game, and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane rallied from down 16 in the second half to knock off the Primo Spears-led UTSA Roadrunners, 82-77, Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.

Tulsa pulled out the victory despite a career-high 40-point performance from Spears, the UTSA guard whose scoring binge tied for the ninth best in school history. It was the first 40-point game for the Roadrunners since 2020 when Jhivvan Jackson scored 45 at Old Dominion.

After the final buzzer, UTSA remained winless after two games in the American Athletic Conference. In the postgame, Roadrunners coach Austin Claunch called it an improvement from the team’s showing at Tulane on Saturday, when they lost 92-63.

Jonnivius Smith. UTSA men's basketball lost to Tulsa 82-77 in American Athletic Conference action on Monday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Jonnivius Smith contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA held Tulsa to 29 points in the first half, but gave up 53 in the second, including eight 3-pointers. “We just weren’t able to get that big stop,” said Claunch, who attended the postgame media session with Spears and forward Jonnivius Smith.

“Now we’re 0-2 (in the American) with another home game coming up,” the coach continued, “and we just got to keep playing. Listen, that was a great improvement. It’s disappointing to not ultimately get a win when the two guys sitting next to me played their hearts out.”

Smith produced a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes.

Spears, playing 38 minutes, hit 13 of 23 shots from the field. Included in his masterpiece were five 3-point buckets, in addition to an array of mid-range jumpers and quick-step drives to the bucket.

Speaking with the media, the 6-foot-3 senior, who has played previously at Duquesne, Georgetown and Florida State, downplayed his individual success and looked ahead to an AAC home game Saturday against Wichita State.

“I’m about winning,” Spears said. “The 40 doesn’t matter unless you come up with the W. It’s a hard loss, but we got a bounce back game, another one at home, so we just got to get that one.”

Braeden Carrington scored 20 to lead the Golden Hurricane, who won their first game in the American with a sizzling offensive attack in the second half, when they shot 66.7 percent from the field.

Guards Tyshawn Archie and Keaston Willis each scored 19 for Tulsa. Willis, who once played in San Antonio at the University of the Incarnate Word, poured in all of his points in the second half.

The Roadrunners seemed to have the game well in hand, leading 52-36, after Spears hit a three with 16:42 remaining. From there, the Golden Hurricane went to work, scoring the next eight points to force a timeout.

At that point, UTSA settled down and ran some offensive sets, which led to a Raekwon Horton dunk and a three from Spears. Down 13 at that point, Tulsa just would not go away. The Golden Hurricane promptly hit the Roadrunners with a 19-5 run.

Willis finished it with a three that gave the visitors a 63-62 lead with 6:57 remaining. It was their first lead since the nine-minute mark in the first half.

Tulsa coach Eric Konkol. UTSA men's basketball lost to Tulsa 82-77 in American Athletic Conference action on Monday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Tulsa coach Eric Konkol watched as his team caught fire in the second half, hitting 18 of 27 from the field for 66.7 percent. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Challenged with adversity, Spears responded by scoring 10 points in a little more than two minutes. His move on a three-point play left the home fans aghast, as he spun on a drive, got fouled and made a free throw for a 72-68 UTSA lead with 4:19 remaining.

After another Golden Hurricane surge, Spears did it again, driving to his right and scooping a shot high off the glass. Fouled on the play, he connected, lifting the Roadrunners into a 75-74 advantage with 39.8 seconds remaining.

It would be their last lead of the game, as Archie scored five points, including a three from the corner, and Tulsa held UTSA without a field goal down the stretch.

Trailing by three in the closing seconds, UTSA brought the ball up, with Spears on the dribble. Spears lost the handle and turned it over, leading to a breakaway dunk by Archie with one second left for the final points.

The Roadrunners played without two of their primary big men, Mo Njie and Jaquan Scott. Njie sat out his third game in a row with a foot injury, while Scott was not in attendance, dealing with a personal matter.

First half

Smith sparked an 8-0 run in the final two minutes as the UTSA Roadrunners opened a 38-29 lead on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Smith had a steal that led to a basket and later converted a three-point play, rebounding his own miss to score the last bucket before intermission.

Fouled on the play, he knocked down a free throw to give UTSA the nine-point lead.

Damari Monsanto. UTSA men's basketball lost to Tulsa 82-77 in American Athletic Conference action on Monday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Damari Monsanto, playing off the bench, produced six points and three rebounds . He hit two of seven from the 3-point arc. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Smith, a 6-9 forward, finished the half with 10 points and seven rebounds and a steal. Three of his rebounds came off the offensive glass on a night when the Roadrunners needed him.

The absence of the two left UTSA with only two big men, Smith and David Hermes. Tulsa was also playing short-handed without injured forward Isaiah Barnes.

Carrington led the Golden Hurricane in the half, pouring in 17 points on four of four shooting from the three-point line.

UTSA ratcheted up the defense from the start, holding Tulsa to two of 11 shooting and racing to a 17-7 lead in the first 10 minutes. Tai’Reon Joseph hit two shots off the bench to score five points in the burst.

Records

Tulsa 7-9, 1-2
UTSA 6-8, 0-2

Coming up

Wichita State at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Jan. 14, 7 p.m.

Notable

The Wichita State Shockers have forged a 10-5 record, including a couple of wins against Power 4 teams this season, but they have started the season 0-2 in the American Athletic Conference. The Shockers lost at home Tuesday night, falling to the South Florida Bulls, 91-72. Earlier, Wichita State registered victories against Minnesota of the Big Ten and Kansas State of the Big 12.

Tulsa holds a 8-1 record against UTSA in the all-time series, including 7-0 at home and 1-1 in San Antonio. Last year, the Golden Hurricane hit 16 3-point baskets and beat the Roadrunners 107-78 in Tulsa. That game was played in January, and freshman PJ Haggerty led the Hurricane with 25 points. In the rematch on Feb. 28 at the Convo, UTSA won 89-73 behind Christian Tucker’s 12 points and 14 assists, a conference record.

Haggerty is playing for Memphis this season and Tucker for Cal.

Austin Claunch. UTSA men's basketball lost to Tulsa 82-77 in American Athletic Conference action on Monday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Austin Claunch’s Roadrunners fell to 6-8 on the season and to 0-2 in American Athletic Conference play. UTSA hosts Wichita State on Saturday at 3 p.m. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Stung in New Orleans, Claunch’s Roadrunners return home to face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Routed by 29 points a few days ago in New Orleans, Austin Claunch’s UTSA Roadrunners return home looking for redemption as they prepare to take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.

Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Raekwon Horton. The UTSA men's basketball team beat Houston Christian 78-71 on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Raekwon Horton is averaging 10.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals this season. He had 15 points and nine rebounds at Tulane last weekend. – File photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners have won four out of five at home this season, including three in a row, but UTSA’s first-year coach is still haunted by a 92-63 loss at Tulane in their American Athletic Conference opener.

In that game, they gave up 63 percent shooting from the field and 46 points in the paint. But with Tulsa, a ball club that is also struggling, the Roadrunners will play the first of two home games this week and three of the next four overall.

It’s a chance to turn the page on the team’s most lopsided loss of the season.

“Yeah, I’m excited, our first conference game at home,” Claunch told reporters Monday on a zoom call. “But we got to come out and play better. We got to play better than we did the other night in New Orleans, or, it doesn’t matter if we’re playing here, on the road, outside, (on a) different planet. We got to prepare today to step out and beat a good Tulsa team.”

Tulsa basketball has a proud tradition with a list of distinguished coaches having elevated the program over the years. Nolan Richardson in the 1980s, followed by J.D. Barnett, Tubby Smith, Steve Robinson and Bill Self, all made regular appearances in the NCAA tournament through the turn of the century.

It’s been awhile since the Golden Hurricane have made those kind of headlines, however, with the program’s last NCAA trip coming in 2016. Third-year coach Eric Konkol, who had a long and successful run at Louisiana Tech, is in his third season at Tulsa with mixed results.

Last year, the Golden Hurricane started to make progress with freshman guard PJ Haggerty leading them to a 16-15 record. But Haggerty is now at Memphis and is one of the top players for the highest-rated team in the AAC. Meanwhile, Tulsa is 6-9, having lost its first two in AAC play — by six at home to the Rice Owls and by 32 on the road to UAB on Saturday.

“They’ll be ready to go when they come in here on Tuesday,” Claunch said. “They really guard. They really compete defensively. They’re not quite as big as some of the teams in our league, sort of like us. But they really fly around and compete.”

Tulsa mens basketball coach Eric Konkol. UTSA beat Tulsa in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Third-year Tulsa coach Eric Konkol leads his team into the Convocation Center tonight. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Both UTSA and Tulsa feature strong guard play, with the Roadrunners relying on Primo Spears, Marcus Millender and Tai’Reon Joseph and the Golden Hurricane countering with Keaston Willis, Dwon Odom and Tyshawn Archie.

Speaking on the UTSA basketball radio show Monday night, Spears described the Hurricane as “a great team” that relies on strong guard play. “So we just have to be the better three backcourt guys, to be able to take over the game and lead our team to victory,” he said.

Both teams are also limited at the moment with injury concerns. For Tulsa, forward Isaiah Barnes has been out with a fractured hand since Dec. 7. UTSA center Mo Njie has sat out the last two games with a foot injury. His return timeline is uncertain as Claunch describes it as “a couple of weeks” to a month.

Records

Tulsa 6-9, 0-2
UTSA 6-7, 0-1

Coming up

Tulsa at UTSA, today, 7 p.m.
Wichita State at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.

Coach touts Maya Linton as ‘the difference’ for UTSA against Tulsa

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Maya Linton. UTSA beat South Florida 65-42 in American Athletic Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Maya Linton and others held the leading scorer in the American Athletic Conference to 10 points in Saturday’s 60-53 road victory at Tulsa. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA coach Karen Aston on Monday praised junior forward Maya Linton for her effort on the defensive end in a 60-53 victory Saturday at Tulsa.

Linton held Golden Hurricane star Delanie Crawford to 10 points as Roadrunners won their fifth in a row and improved to a school-record 12-2 record, including 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference. Crawford, the AAC’s leading scorer at the time, was held to 3 of 13 shooting from the field.

“Really proud of our team’s resiliency at Tulsa,” Aston said. “I thought that was a hard-fought game. Both teams played really hard. I just thought that we showed some toughness and resilience in that game, for sure.”

Aston said that Linton, a 5-foot-11 junior from Duncanville, was “the difference in the game.”

“No question about it,” the coach said on her weekly zoom call with the media. “Delanie Crawford is a wonderfully-gifted offensive basketball player. I just thought Maya committed to being unconcerned about other things … and just made it difficult for her to get shots off.”

The coach said “a lot of different people” guarded Crawford but she said Linton sets the tone for the team defensively.

Coming up

As play in the American continues, the UTSA men (6-7, 0-1) will host Tulsa (6-9, 0-2) on Tuesday at 7 in the Convocation Center, and the women will host the defending AAC tournament champion Rice Owls (8-6, 1-1) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Notable

Despite 17 points and nine rebounds from UTSA forward Raekwon Horton, the short-handed Roadrunners men suffered a 92-63 loss at Tulane on Saturday afternoon. Tulane manufactured a 15-0 run early in the game to take charge. The Green Wave led 47-23 at intermission and by as many as 35 points in the second half.

UTSA played without 6-foot-11 center Mo Njie for the second game in a row. Coach Austin Claunch said that Njie has a foot injury and might be out for between “a couple of weeks” and a month. “Obviously we really, really miss his size,” the coach said. “That’s a tough break. More than that, just the spirit he plays with. He’s (rehabilitating) every day and when we get to that point in February, maybe he can get back in and help us.”

UTSA women improve to a school-record 12-2 after beating Tulsa, 60-53

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women’s basketball team set a school record with a 12-2 start to the season after claiming a 60-53 victory Saturday over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

Jordyn Jenkins produced 30 points and seven rebounds for the Roadrunners, who won their fifth game in a row and improved to 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference.

In addition, UTSA forward Maya Linton highlighted the defensive effort, holding Tulsa star Delanie Crawford to 10 points on three of 13 shooting from the field.

Earlier this week, Crawford scored 36 points in a victory over East Carolina and 22 in a road loss at North Texas.

Notable

The team’s previous best start after 14 games was 11-3 in 1985-86, in the program’s fifth season of basketball.

Quotable

“Hard-fought game,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said on the team’s radio broadcast. “I thought both teams looked quite fatigued, really as the third and fourth quarter started rolling along.

“It’s just one of those games that, you know, I would have liked to have played a few more kids, because I thought we had some fatigue going on with our players. But we just couldn’t find a combination that was great tonight.”

Continued Aston: “I think (Tulsa) would say the same thing. Third game in six days. First week of conference play and you could really tell. I thought our team was just fourth-quarter tough.”

Aston said Linton “was fantastic” in shadowing Crawford, who was averaging 19 points a game.

“If you want to have a team that has a chance to do something special, you have to have a kid like Maya that is willing to step up and guard somebody’s best player … and not worry about anything else. You know, ‘My shot’s not going in. I turned the ball over, but I’m going to get back and guard the best player,’ and she did that today.

“That’s the reason why we won.”

First half

Jenkins scored 15 points to lead the mistake-prone Roadrunners to a 30-25 lead on the Golden Hurricane at intermission.

UTSA reserve forward Cheyenne Rowe also provided a lift with eight points on four of four shooting.

In an AAC contest played at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, the Roadrunners also played well defensively, holding the explosive Golden Hurricane to 31 percent shooting from the field.

Crawford, the AAC’s leading scorer, hit two for seven shots from the field and was held to six points.

But the Roadrunners, who led by 11 points early, committed eight turnovers. Some were forced by the Tulsa defense but some came on tentative, hesitant execution. The Golden Hurricane scored five points off those miscues.

Kennedi Alexander came off the bench to lead the Golden Hurricane with eight points in the half.

Individuals

UTSA – Jordyn Jenkins hit nine of 15 from the field and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. It was her second 30-point game of the season after scoring 30 at UTEP on Nov. 16. She had four games of 30 or more in her first year at UTSA, in 2022-23.

Tulsa – Sophomore guard Elise Hill led the Golden Hurricane with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists. For Crawford, her 10-point production was her second lowest of the season after she scored eight on the road at Missouri State on Nov. 10.

Records

Tulsa 7-8, 1-2
UTSA 12-2, 3-0

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
Wichita State at UTSA, Jan. 11, noon

Notable

UTSA gained a measure of redemption after allowing a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead to slip away in a 74-70 loss at Tulsa last season. The Roadrunners’ 3-0 start in conference is the best since the team started 3-0 in the Southland Conference in 2009-10.

In the AAC preseason poll, Tulsa was picked to finish fourth, with UTSA fifth. Tulsa finished 25-10 a year ago. Temira Poindexter, the AAC Player of the Year last season at Tulsa, is now playing for the 13th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats.

Banks-led Tulane Green Wave roll past UTSA, 92-63

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Six-foot-eight forward Kaleb Banks scored from inside and also from the perimeter, producing 24 points and pacing the Tulane Green Wave to an easy 92-63 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners Saturday in New Orleans.

In the game played at Devlin Fieldhouse, the Green Wave 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.

For first-year UTSA coach Austin Claunch, a former coach at Nicholls State, La., who lived in South Louisiana for seven years, it was a tough day.

By halftime, his team was down 24 in its American Athletic Conference opener. Tulane went on to lead by as many as 35 after intermission.

Raekwon Horton led the Roadrunners with 17 points and nine rebounds. Baton Rouge-native Tai’Reon Joseph added 14. Primo Spears, who entered the game as the nation’s fifth leading scorer, averaging 22, was held to six on three for 14 shooting from the field.

Forward Jaquan Scott, playing his first game since Dec. 16 at Arkansas, finished with eight points and four rebounds.

When UTSA is playing well, it’s a team that thrives on forcing turnovers and scoring points in bunches. That type of game didn’t materialize for the Roadrunners against the Green Wave.

In the first half, the Green Wave ran an efficient offense and held the Roadrunners to 29 percent shooting on the other end. The Roadrunners shot 34 percent for the game.

First half

Banks scored 13 points and guard Rowen Brumbaugh added 12 as the Tulane Green Wave imposed their will, opening a 47-23 lead at intermission.

Attacking the paint, the Green Wave shot 56.7 percent from the field. Not only did they hit four 3-point baskets, but they also outscored the Roadrunners 20-10 on points in the paint.

Leading by seven midway through the half, Tulane stepped on the gas for a 26-9 run over the last 12 minutes.

The Roadrunners couldn’t get anything going, shooting 29 percent from the field. Primo Spears, the fifth-leading scorer in the nation, was held scoreless on zero for five shooting.

Jaquan Scott played for the first time since Dec. 16 after sitting out the last four games for unspecified reasons. The 6-7 forward produced five points and four rebounds.

Records

UTSA 6-7, 0-1
Tulane 8-7, 2-0

Coming up

Tulsa at UTSA, Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Wichita State at UTSA, Saturday, Jan. 11, 3 p.m.

Notable

Six-foot-11 UTSA center Mo Njie, slowed by an ankle injury, sat out his second straight game. Tulane entered ranked 187th in the NCAA’s Evaluation Tool, or, the NET. UTSA came in ranked 237th. Tulsa, ranked 310th, will come into San Antonio on Tuesday with a 6-9 record, including 0-2 in conference. Tulsa was blown out on the road Saturday, falling 83-51 in Birmingham by the UAB Blazers.

Quotable

UTSA coach Austin Claunch was asked on his postgame radio show what went wrong against the Green Wave. He replied, “Better question would be, ‘What went right?’ ”

Continued Claunch, “I’ll be honest, I didn’t see that coming … They jumped us. We got hit in the mouth early. We got to go back and watch (the film). When it comes to games like these where it really got away from us early, I got to go back and watch before I got a definite answer.

“I just thought our turnovers and our shot selection, you know, they run a really tricky zone. It’s the first time I’ve seen it in person and … it just got us stagnant. We didn’t move the ball and then we weren’t able to make shots, even when we did get open.”

Hopefully, the coach said, it was “just one of those nights.” Regardless, he added: “We got to be much, much better and committed to what it’s going to take to win games in this league. Tonight, we did not show that at all.”

Milestone in reach today for the surging UTSA women, who play on the road at Tulsa

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Sidney Love. 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

Guard Sidney Love has averaged 16.5 points on 51.9 percent shooting from the field during the Roadrunners’ four-game winning streak. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With another milestone in reach, the UTSA Roadrunners will play an American Athletic Conference game on the road today against Delanie Crawford and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

The Roadrunners (11-2, 2-0) will try for a victory that not only would give them their fifth in a row, but also would result in the fastest start after 14 games in school history.

Tipoff is at 2 p.m. at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, with the game against the Golden Hurricane (7-7, 1-1) set for telecast on ESPN+. UTSA has been busy this week, winning on the road Sunday at Charlotte and on Wednesday at home against UAB.

Taking the floor today, the Roadrunners will also have a score to settle. The Golden Hurricane beat the Roadrunners last year in Tulsa by erasing a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win, 74-70.

The Golden Hurricane went on to win 25 games on the season, including finishing in a three-way tie for first in the American and earning a postseason bid to the Women’s Basketball Invitational.

Crawford, a 5-11 senior, is one of the hottest players in the conference at the moment. After scoring 36 points in a home win against East Carolina on Sunday, she added 22 in Tulsa’s 84-78 loss at North Texas on Wednesday night.

Records

Tulsa 7-7, 1-1
UTSA 11-2, 2-0

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
Wichita State at UTSA, Jan. 11, noon

Notable

Later today, the UTSA men (6-6) will open their conference schedule in New Orleans against the Tulane Green Wave (7-7, 1-0). Roadrunners guard Primo Spears ranks fifth in the nation at 22.2 points per game.

The game, which tips off at 5 p.m. on ESPNU, is a homecoming of sorts for Roadrunners coach Austin Claunch and guard Tai’Reon Joseph.

Claunch once lived in New Orleans for a few years and coached at nearby Nicholls State, where he led the Colonels to a pair of regular-season titles in the Southland Conference.

Joseph grew up in Baton Rouge and played there last season at Southern University.

In the wake of a tragedy, UTSA’s Austin Claunch extends his sympathies to New Orleans

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

For UTSA men’s basketball coach Austin Claunch, who once worked at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, any chance to get back to the bayous and byways of South Louisiana is special because of his ties to the area.

But to coach his first AAC game for the Roadrunners at Tulane University in New Orleans on Saturday afternoon, well, it’s a moment he’s been looking forward to since the schedule was posted.

Given the tragic events in the French Quarter on New Years day, it’s also an opportunity for the 35-year-old Claunch to speak fondly of his former home and to extend his sympathies to people in the region.

“As we travel to New Orleans,” the coach said Thursday morning, “I do want to say my thoughts and prayers are with the city. (As) many of you know, I lived in South Louisiana for seven years. I lived in New Orleans for two years, certainly a place really dear to my heart.”

At least 15 people were killed when a truck plowed through a crowd in the French Quarter in the early morning hours on Wednesday. Dozens more were injured. Federal investigators are calling it an act of terror.

On the coach’s zoom call, he made sure to mention that he was thinking about everyone.

“(I have) a lot of close friends down there,” Claunch continued. “Looking forward to catching up with some friends. And, more importantly, just thinking about everyone that’s been affected by what happened over New Years.”

Claunch has had his ups and downs in his first season with the Roadrunners. They started out 1-3, but they found some traction eventually and started to play well. They had a three-game winning streak going into a game at Army last week, but after a furious second-half rally fell short, they lost 78-75 to the Black Knights.

Against Tulane (7-7, 1-0), UTSA (6-6) will enter conference play knowing that more improvement is mandatory in the long term. In the short term, it would be helpful if the Roadrunners could get a couple of their big men back on the floor.

The coach said that 6-foot-11 center Mo Njie, who sat out the Army game with an ankle injury, is day to day though it looks like he will play against the Green Wave.

Asked about the status of 6-7 forward Jaquan Scott, who has not played in four straight games for unspecified reasons, Claunch left the door open slightly that he could return. If he does, it would be a boost, considering the Mississippi State transfer has averaged 7.2 points and 4.8 rebounds.

Scott hasn’t played since Dec. 7 in a road loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks. The coach said he planned “sit down with him” to have some conversations, but he didn’t want to say much more about it. “I will have more of an update on that in the coming days,” Claunch said.

Coming up

UTSA at Tulane, Saturday, 5 p.m.

Records

UTSA (6-6, 0-0)
Tulane (7-7, 0-1)

Notable

Tulane is in its 11th season in the AAC and in its sixth under Coach Ron Hunter. After three losing seasons, Hunter’s Green Wave broke out in 2022-23 with a 20-11 record, including 10-6 in the AAC. Last year, they finished 14-17, with a 5-13 record in the conference.

Earlier this season, Tulane lost five straight, but the squad has since won two in a row. On New Years Eve, they won on the road, walloping the Charlotte 49ers, 83-68, in their AAC opener. Kalen Banks, Rowan Brumbaugh, Kam Williams and Gregg Glenn III lead the Green Wave. Banks, a 6-8 forward, averages 18.2 points and 8.2 rebounds.