Guard Jhivvan Jackson out-races a defender en route to the game-clinching basket with 43 seconds left.
Guard Jhivvan Jackson scored 23 points Thursday night, and the UTSA Roadrunners held off the Marshall Thundering Herd 81-77 at the Convocation Center.
The big play on the defensive end for UTSA came with less than a minute remaining courtesy of Giovanni De Nicolao.
Trailing by one, Marshall had the ball and a chance to take the lead.
De Nicolao had other ideas. He made a steal on the baseline, and UTSA advanced the ball quickly.
Jackson, on the dribble, out-raced a Marshall defender to the rim and scored a layup with 43 seconds left for an 80-77 UTSA lead.
Marshall’s C.J. Burks and Jon Elmore misfired on threes on the next two possessions to end the threat.
UTSA’s Keaton Wallace hit a free throw with a second left for the final point, as the Roadrunners won their second in a row and their third in four tries.
Consecutive victories over UAB and Marshall have boosted UTSA’s confidence leading into a Saturday home game against Western Kentucky.
“It just tells us we can come out here and beat anybody,” Jackson said. “We just got to keep playing the way we are, keep getting better on defense every day, and it just going to come out.”
Records:
UTSA 12-11, 5-5, T7 in C-USA
Marshall 14-8, 5-4, T5 in C-USA
UTSA’s Keaton Wallace shakes a defender to hit an 18-footer on Jan. 20 against UTEP.
UTSA freshman Keaton Wallace says he knows what to expect from the Marshall Thundering Herd.
“They like to play fast,” Wallace said. “They shoot a lot of threes, throw a lot of lobs.”
On the flip side, the Marshall coaching staff might not know exactly what to expect from Wallace and the Roadrunners when they meet tonight at 7 at the Convocation Center.
Is UTSA still the team that rushes the ball up the court and then allows one of its freshmen sharpshooters – Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson — to fire away from long distance?
Or, has UTSA’s fun-and-gun offense now been modified?
It’s hard to tell, after Wallace passed for a team season-high of 11 assists last Saturday in an eye-opening, 82-70 victory at Alabama-Birmingham.
As a team, the Roadrunners probably have never looked better in recent years than they did at UAB, when a crisp offense notched 24 assists on 32 field goals.
Wallace said it’s definitely the way he’d like to see the team play as it battles through the last month of the Conference USA schedule.
“That’s Roadrunner basketball,” Wallace said. “Moving the ball. Making open shots. Making plays for other teammates. Getting them open.”
But with powerful Marshall and Western Kentucky coming into San Antonio this week, can the Roadrunners keep it going?
“I feel like we’re locked in,” Wallace said. “We’re ready to play. I feel like we’re doing better things. We’re improving. We’re making better reads on offense and playing harder on defense, making the job easier for us.”
It’s certainly making the job easier for UTSA coach Steve Henson, who had been sweating a string of poor performances, particularly some poor offensive performances.
UTSA never looked worse this season than it did last Thursday in a 75-51 loss at Middle Tennessee State.
The Conference USA-leading Blue Raiders toyed with the Roadrunners, holding them to 34 percent shooting.
On the UTSA bench, Henson watched with some anxiety at the poor shot selection. So much so, that he spent all day last Friday trying to figure it out.
“You know, we kind of got tricked earlier in the year,” the coach said. “We had so many guys feeling good early, had so many guys shooting it well. You know, we just had easy shots.
“As the season went on, certain guys (weren’t) shooting it as well now as we were earlier, which affects everybody else.
“Defenses were getting better. Scouting reports were more specific. And we just (weren’t) running good offense.”
Shooting only 30.2 percent from the field in C-USA play, Wallace took the message to heart.
He emerged at UAB as a player intent on finding shots for his teammates.
In the first half alone, he passed for five assists, with four of them leading to three-point baskets.
How effective was he?
When Wallace entered the game, the Roadrunners led 4-1. When Henson took him out near the end of the half, they were up 37-22.
In the second half, the former backcourt standout at Richardson High School notched six more assists, with four resulting in layups.
As the team boarded the bus, they packed a few statistical oddities.
Giovanni De Nicolao, UTSA’s starting point guard and most consistent playmaker, had hit four three-pointers.
Wallace had only four points, but he had the most assists he’s ever had in a game in his life.
“Like I said, coach emphasized that we got to drive the ball more,” he said. “In previous games I’d been taking a lot of threes. So, he emphasized (that). He believes that I can drive the ball, that there’s more to my game than just shooting.
“I was driving it (against the Blazers), making the defense collapse and kicking it to my teammates. They were knocking down shots. So, credit to them.”
Wallace’s smooth shooting stroke from November and December still hasn’t re-emerged. He was only 2 for 7 against UAB. He took only one three pointer and missed it.
Henson, however, has hardly lost confidence in him.
The coach is staying with a player who has proven he can make a positive impact, one way or the other.
“When he locks in on trying to make shots for others, that helps him,” Henson said after Tuesday’s workout at UTSA. “He’s not going to lose his shooting ability. It’ll be big time when he gets all that stuff packaged together.
“Yeah, he’s got the ability to do what he did (at Birmingham). He did it today (in practice). He was really aggressive driving it.”
Wallace said, in a sense, the shooting slump has had its benefits in that it has sparked him in trying to improve in other phases.
“It forces you to adjust,” he said. “It forces me to think different. It forces me to do different things on the court.
“As far as not scoring as many points as I did before, now I have to think about getting a few more assists, a few more rebounds, so we can win those games.”
So, as his game evolves and the team faces a critical phase of its schedule, does he now consider himself more of a pass-first guard?
“Um, no,” Wallace said. “I wouldn’t say more of a pass-first guard. I would just say, making plays. A play-making guard.”
Freshman Keaton Wallace buries a three on Dec. 31 against North Texas.
Keenan Evans hit an 18-foot jumper at the buzzer Wednesday night, lifting 10th-ranked Texas Tech to a 73-71 victory over Texas in an overtime thriller in Lubbock.
Kerwin Roach II made a 3-point shot with 12 seconds left to tie the game, setting up the dramatic final play.
Evans calmly brought the ball up and drained a shot over Roach from the top of the key.
“He made a tough step-back on me,” Roach told the team’s radio broadcast. “I guarded pretty well … but it was a tough shot by a good player.”
Evans led Texas Tech with a career-high 38 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field. Evans was also 2 of 4 on three-pointers and 18 of 20 from the free-throw line.
Roach scored 20 to lead Texas.
Records
Texas Tech 18-4, 6-3
Texas 14-8, 4-5
Keenan’s last three games: 2️⃣6️⃣ points, 3️⃣1️⃣ points and 3️⃣8️⃣ points. Three W’s.
Young has now produced a Big 12 record of four games of 40 points in a season. Here’s a breakdown:
Nov. 26, 2017
Final score: Oklahoma 90, Oregon 80
Where: Portland, Oregon
Points: 43
Assists: 7
Minutes played: 37
Field goals: 11-22
Three pointers: 4-11
Free throws: 17-18 Notable: Young scored the most points for a Sooner since Buddy Hield had 46 in then No. 1 Oklahoma’s 109-106 loss to No. 2 Kansas in triple overtime on Jan. 4, 2016, according to the Associated Press. Quotable: “I found my teammates and found some for myself,” Young said. “My teammates did a great job of knocking down shots and that opened up the floor for me.”
Dec. 30, 2017
Final score: Oklahoma 102, TCU 97 in overtime
Where: Norman, Oklahoma
Points: 43
Assists: 7
Minutes played: 40
Field goals: 15-27
Three pointers: 10-18
Free throws: 3-7 Notable: Young scored 29 after halftime. It was Young’s second dominating performance against TCU this season. He had 39 in Fort Worth on Dec. 30. Quotable: “Sometimes you wonder, is he even human?” asked Oklahoma guard Christian James.
Jan. 20, 2018
Final score: Oklahoma State 83, Oklahoma 81 in overtime
Where: Stillwater, Oklahoma
Points: 48
Assists: 8
Minutes played: 43
Field goals: 14-39
Three pointers: 8-20
Free throws: 12-12 Notable: Young missed a long three at the overtime buzzer. None of Young’s teammates scored more than eight points. Quotable: “We’ve got to work harder on getting more motion away from the ball and get the ball moving a little bit,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said.
Jan 30, 2018
Final score: Oklahoma 98, Baylor 96
Where: Norman, Oklahoma
Points: 44
Assists: 9
Minutes played: 38
Field goals: 11-20
Three pointers: 6-11
Free throws: 16-19 Notable: The next stop for Young and the Sooners is Austin. OU plays at Texas on Saturday. Quotable: “Trae Young is a special player,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “His 3-point shot is obviously elite. What we tried to do was not get him on the free-throw line. As you can see, we weren’t effective there.”
Freshman point guard T.J. Starks hit four 3-point baskets and scored 16 points Tuesday night as Texas A&M beat Arkansas 80-66 in Southeastern Conference basketball.
Playing at home in College Station, the Aggies broke open a close game and snapped a two-game losing streak by outscoring the Razorbacks 47-34 in the second half.
Starks, from Lancaster, hit 4 of 5 from long distance in making his second straight start.
Center Tyler Davis produced 15 points and 13 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive glass.
Daryl Macon scored 20 off the bench to lead the Hogs, who had won three in a row.
The seventh-ranked Kansas Jayhawks limited Kansas State to 32.3 percent shooting Monday night and held on to sole possession of the lead in the Big 12 men’s basketball race with a 70-56 road victory.
Guard Svi Mykhailiuk hit five 3-pointers and scored 22 to lead the Jayhawks, who improved to 18-4 and 7-2 in conference.
Coming into their home arena with a chance to tie for the conference lead, the Wildcats lost to the rival Jayhawks for the second time this season and fell to 16-6 and 5-4.
Kansas coach Bill Self pointed out a few statistical oddities in his team’s 40-27 burst to the first-half lead.
“If you’re going to be up 13 on the road, have 12 turnovers and go 6 for 13 from the foul line, you wouldn’t think that would be the case,” Self told the Associated Press. “Somehow we were able to keep the lead and win both halves.”
Wildcats forward Dean Wade had 20 points and eight rebounds but guard Barry Brown, the team’s leading scorer, struggled with 4 for 16 shooting.
Averaging 17.3 points coming in, Brown finished with nine as K-State’s four-game winning streak came to an end.
Kansas beat Kansas State 73-72 in Lawrence on Jan. 3.
“I told the guys we had to play better than we did in Lawrence, because they’re a great road team,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “They have good poise. They understand each other, their roles. I expected them to come at us and they did.”
Kansas guards Devonte’ Graham and Malik Newman both posted double doubles to aid the Jayhawks.
Graham had 16 points and 11 assists. Newman came alive offensively in the second half and finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“I think his confidence keeps going up and he knows how much he means to this team.” – Devonte’ Graham on Malik Newman recording his first career double-double #KUbballpic.twitter.com/E3z4XWUELO
Jhivvan Jackson scored 24 points and Keaton Wallace passed for a season-high 11 assists Saturday night as UTSA posted a surprisingly easy 82-70 road victory at Alabama-Birmingham.
The Blazers entered the game 11-1 at home this season in Bartow Arena, having lost only to the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.
But the Roadrunners didn’t seem to flinch at history or anything else on a night when they tied a season-high with 15 three-pointers and registered 24 assists on 32 baskets.
UTSA (11-11, 4-5) also out-rebounded the bigger home team, 36-34. UAB (14-8, 5-4) didn’t play up to par in either half.
Left on their heels early by the Roadrunners’ ball movement, shooting and rebounding, the Blazers trailed 42-26 at intermission.
They closed to within eight once early in the second half but couldn’t sustain the momentum against a UTSA offense that continued to click.
“Proud of our guys,” UTSA coach Steve Henson told the team’s radio broadcast. “We needed a win. We needed to play like that, though. That’s the way you got to play.
“I hope people don’t look and say, ‘Well, we won because we made 15 three-pointers. I mean, certainly, that helped our cause. But they were better shots.”
Only two nights ago, UTSA’s offense had stagnated badly in a 75-51 loss at Middle Tennessee.
Even in a 65-61 home victory over UTEP last Saturday night, the ball didn’t always move as Henson wanted.
But UTSA had a good day of practice in Birmingham on Friday and came to the arena on game night with a positive outlook.
The Roadrunners got a steal off the opening tip and a layup by Jackson to set the tone.
“We were just active all game,”” Jackson said. “That really helped us. We played really good ‘D.’ We were patient on offense and we got the shot we wanted.”
It certainly aided the cause that most of the shots were going in.
The Roadrunners hit 48.5 percent from the field and 53.6 percent from long distance (15 of 28).
With the victory, UTSA moved into a four-way tie for seventh in the conference race.
Middle Tennessee is first at 8-1, followed by Old Dominion and Western Kentucky, both 7-1. Marshall is 5-3. Then, UAB and North Texas at 5-4. Followed by Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, UTSA and Florida Atlantic, all 4-5.
UTSA plays at home next week, hosting Marshall on Thursday and Western Kentucky on Saturday.
UIW center Konstantin Kulikov, with hands up, gets position under the basket to block a shot in the first half against the New Orleans Privateers.
Fans at the University of the Incarnate Word saw flashes of promising play from the home team Saturday afternoon.
The slumping Cardinals erased an eight-point deficit in the first half and made it a two-point game at intermission.
In the second half, a rally sparked by the presence of 7-foot center Konstantin Kulikov allowed UIW to come from six down to take a one-point lead on the New Orleans Privateers.
But in the end, the defending Southland Conference champions had too much athleticism and showed too much poise, winning 68-58 to hand the Cardinals their 11th straight loss.
“We just don’t have enough firepower, offensively,” UIW coach Ken Burmeister said.
“We go into lulls. I think in the first half we went eight straight times (scoreless).
“In the second half, we go seven straight times, (and) we didn’t get any baskets,” he said. “You got to get baskets. You know, the kids fought on defense. Rebounding was OK. New Orleans is a good team.
“You know, they got good shooters. Good athleticism. So, we just got to get that first one and get going.”
While UIW had Kulikov to defend and rebound in the paint, New Orleans (11-10, 8-2 in the SLC) unleashed significant talent across the front line and even in some of their big men off the bench.
In fact, reserve forward Macur Puou provided the difference for the Privateers against the Cardinals (5-14, 0-9) as he hit 8 of 9 shots from the field for 18 points.
Starting forward Travin Thibodeaux scored 14 and guard Troy Green nine.
Guard Cody Graham scored 11 and Sam Burmeister 10 for the Cardinals, who have been winless since Dec. 16.
But in Kulikov, from Oryol, Russia, UIW can see a glimmer of hope for the future.
He enjoyed one of his better games with six points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots in 29 minutes.
When Kulikov was on the floor, it changed the dynamic of the action. New Orleans had trouble getting to the basket.
Regardless, the junior transfer from San Jacinto College expressed some frustration at the lack of consistency.
“Most of the games we’ve had this type of thing, where we just play for 30 or 35 minutes and the last five minutes, we just let a team take the lead,” he said. “We just need to work on that in practices. I think it will be fine.”
Kulikov’s first few months at UIW have been chaotic.
The junior transfer from San Jacinto started practice, only to be told just before the start of the season that his eligibility was under review at the NCAA office.
He wasn’t cleared to play until a Dec. 22 game at Florida.
“I feel much better now,” he said. “Because when I came back after my eligibility status, I felt out of shape. Now I feel like I’m back in shape and I can play with these guys.”
A second-half, three-pointer by Shawn Johnson sparked cheers from the crowd and a demonstration from Speedo-clad members of the UIW swim team.
UTSA forward Kendell Ramlal rises up to dunk off a pass from Byron Frohnen in last Saturday’s 65-61 victory over UTEP in San Antonio.
The UTSA Roadrunners have emerged with a few of their better performances this season on big stages.
They stayed with the Oklahoma Sooners well into the second half in Norman.
They battled the Nebraska Cornhuskers with explosive offense into the last few minutes.
The Roadrunners will need another strong effort Thursday night in a Conference USA test against the defending champion Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
Middle Tennessee (14-5, 6-1) and UTSA (10-10, 3-4) are set to play at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Following back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, the Kermit Davis-coached Blue Raiders are averaging 6,118 fans, second in the C-USA only to UTEP.
They’re stacked with talent again, as evidenced by victories against Vanderbilt and Ole Miss in non-conference, not to mention a 66-62 victory last Saturday at Western Kentucky in conference play.
The Roadrunners will have their hands full with the C-USA co-leaders, who feature the likes of Nick King, Giddy Potts and Brandon Walters.
UTSA’s Keaton Wallace shakes a defender to hit a first-half three against UTEP.
Phil Booth suffered a fractured bone in his right (shooting) hand in the second half of last night's 89-69 win over Providence. He is sidelined indefinitely. https://t.co/MlWRc9MJuGpic.twitter.com/iXpmTHz12g
An examination Wednesday revealed that redshirt junior guard Phil Booth suffered a fractured bone in his right (shooting) hand during the second half of top-ranked Villanova’s 89-69 win over Providence on Tuesday night.
According to a news release from Villanova, the injury will sideline Booth – who missed all but three games of the 2016-17 season due to a knee injury – indefinitely.
Booth ranks second in the Big East to teammate Jalen Brunson in assist-to-turnover ratio (64 assists, 26 turnovers, 2.5 ratio) and averages 11.6 points per game.
He has started all 20 games for the Wildcats, averaging 28.3 minutes per outing. He is 40-of-93 from beyond the 3-point arc (.430).
The Wildcats travel to Milwaukee to meet Marquette Sunday at 1 p.m.
Booth emerged in the national spotlight two years ago in Houston when he scored 20 points in 25 minutes off the bench in Villanova’s 77-74, NCAA championship-clinching victory over North Carolina.
