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Florida International hangs on to beat UTSA, 79-76

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UTSA sophomore guard George Willborn III fires up the home crowd down the stretch with a tomahawk dunk.

Trailing by a dozen points with 12:10 remaining Thursday night, the UTSA Roadrunners finally started to show some spunk against the Florida International Panthers.

They started pushing the pace. Attacking the basket. Putting some pressure on the visiting team.

Unfortunately for UTSA, it was not enough.

The Panthers held off the fast-closing Roadrunners 79-76 before 1,218 fans at the Convocation Center.

“We had some opportunities to win,” UTSA guard George Willborn III said. “(But) … we can’t wait until the last minute of the game to try to get things going.”

With the victory, FIU improved to 8-9 on the season and 2-2 in Conference USA. UTSA, in losing its second straight, fell to 9-9 and 2-3.


FIU’s Eric Lockett drives to the bucket early in the second half.

The Panthers’ backcourt dominated the game.

Point guard Brian Beard produced 20 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Trejon Jacob had 16 points and Eric Lockett 15.

When Jacob and Lockett weren’t hitting long three-pointers, they were dominating on the glass. The two combined for 15 rebounds.

For the most part, FIU held UTSA’s top scorers in check. At the half, Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace were a combined 1-for-11 from the field.

Jackson got going in the second half, finishing with a team-high 22 points. But Wallace struggled throughout, shooting 0-for-7 from the floor and 0-4 on three-pointers.

Willborn, making his first start, finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds, a steal and a block.


UTSA forward Byron Frohnen gets to the hoop in the first half.

Florida International led, 47-37, at intermission on the strength of its long-distance accuracy.

FIU hit seven three-point shots, including three by Jacob.

UTSA, meanwhile, couldn’t get its offense out of neutral.

The Roadrunners shot 38.7 percent from the field and turned it over six times in falling behind by double digits at the break.

Coming up

UTSA hosts Florida Atlantic at 2 p.m. Saturday.

A few questions and answers about the Big 12 basketball race

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Sitting around on a Sunday afternoon wondering about a few topics of discussion in the Big 12 basketball race:

First, how did West Virginia contain Oklahoma’s Trae Young? Young, OU’s sensational freshman, scored 29 points but had to work hard to get every one of them. West Virginia ended up winning 89-76 in Morgantown even with its own standout, Jevon Carter, on the bench in foul trouble in the second half. Mitch Vingle of the Charleston Gazette-Mail breaks it down.

Second, who is Mitch Lightfoot, and why aren’t Billy Preston and Silvio De Sousa playing for the Kansas Jayhawks? Gary Bedore of the Kansas City Star has some answers. On Saturday, Kansas registered an 88-84 victory at TCU with Lightfoot playing a leading role.

Moving on, how did Baylor finally get its mojo back? Well, for starters, guard Manu Lecomte emerged from his shooting funk and hit a few key three-pointers as the Bears downed the Texas Longhorns, 69-60, in Waco. In addition, senior center Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. out-played UT freshman Mo Bamba. Here’s a recap from the Associated Press.

And, finally, what is going on in Lubbock? Texas Tech kept it rolling with its eighth win in a row Saturday, a 74-58 home victory over Kansas State. Carlos Silva Jr. of the Lubbock Avalanche Journal has the story. Keenan Evans scored 27 to pace the Red Raiders, 14-1, 3-0, who are tied with West Virginia for the early lead in the conference.

Tulane basketball rebounding under Mike Dunleavy

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Mike Dunleavy played on the first Spurs basketball team I ever covered.

He came off the bench in the 1982-83 season, when the Silver and Black won 53 games and advanced to the NBA’s Western Conference finals.

In the wake of his playing career, Dunleavy became an NBA head coach for more than 20 years, working for four franchises, notably the Los Angeles Lakers.

Last year, he surprised some by taking a job at Tulane of the American Athletic Conference.

Tulane won six games last season in a difficult first year in New Orleans, but the Green Wave have since started to raise some eyebrows.

Thursday night, they knocked off the SMU Mustangs, 73-70.

People took notice because SMU was a 30-win, NCAA team from last year, and it’s a good bet that the Mustangs will play in the national tournament again this year.

Here’s a story from the New Orleans Advocate on the victory.

I haven’t checked all 351 NCAA Division I programs, but I do know that Dunleavy is one of at least four former Spurs players coaching at that level.

The others, that I know of, are Avery Johnson at Alabama, Larry Krystkowiak at Utah and Johnny Dawkins at UCF.

Texas Tech makes history with first victory at Kansas

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The Texas Tech Red Raiders guarded the three-point line effectively and came away with an impressive 85-73 Big 12 road victory at Kansas Tuesday night.

It was the first win by the Red Raiders at historic Phog Allen Fieldhouse in 18 tries, the Associated Press reported.

A good argument can be made that the Red Raiders won the game with their perimeter defense.

Kansas hit 17 of 35 three-point shots in a 92-86 win at Texas on Friday night.

Texas Tech didn’t allow the defending conference champions to shoot like that two games in a row, limiting the Jayhawks to 6 of 26 from long distance .

As a result, the 18th-ranked Red Raiders improved to 13-1 overall and 2-0 in conference under second-year coach Chris Beard.

The 10th-ranked Jayhawks, under veteran coach Bill Self, fell to 11-3 and 1-1.

“It’s impossible to stop ’em,” Beard said. “You just try to contain ’em, and you try to contest shots.

“Like, the way they shot the ball in Austin the other night, they’re not going to get beat, cause Texas did a good job contesting most of ’em. They’ll play on the final Monday (of the NCAA tournament, if they shoot well).

“You got to be fortunate and tonight, we were. They got some good looks. We made some mistakes on switches. So we were fortunate tonight. But you got to give our guys credit. I did feel like there was a sense of urgency to guard the three-point line.”

Kansas guard Devonte’ Graham led all scorers with 27 points, but he didn’t have much help.

In contrast, ten players played for the Red Raiders and nine of them scored.

Senior Keenan Evans led Texas Tech with 15 points. Justin Gray, Norense Odiase and Jarrett Culver added 12 apiece. Zhaire Smith scored 11.

TCU escapes with 81-78 victory at Baylor in overtime

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Forward Vladimir Brodziansky hit the go-ahead basket with 90 seconds remaining Tuesday night, and the 16th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs went on to beat the Baylor Bears 81-78 in overtime.

With the win on Baylor’s home floor in Waco, the Frogs improved to 13-1 overall and to 1-1 in the Big 12. The Bears fell to 10-4 and 0-2.

Brodziansky, a 6-11 senior from Slovakia, led five TCU players in double-digit scoring with 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting. Sophomore guard Jaylen Fisher added 15 points and four assists.

Junior forward J.D. Miller had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Horned Frogs, who bounced back from Saturday’s one-point home loss to Oklahoma.

Center Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. led the Bears with 28 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bears trailed by 12 early in the second half and came back to tie it 74-74 at the end of regulation.

Down by two in overtime, TCU called on Brodziansky, whose three-pointer with 1:30 remaining lifted the Frogs into a 75-74 lead. TCU never trailed again.

Longhorns grind out a 74-70 win in OT at Iowa State

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Forward Dylan Osetkowski scored a career-high 25 points Monday as Texas subdued the Iowa State Cyclones, 74-70, in overtime at Ames, Iowa.

With the scored tied, Osetkowski hit a three-pointer, lifting the Longhorns into a 70-67 lead with 36 seconds left in OT.

From there, 6-foot-11 UT center Mo Bamba contributed on the defensive end with a blocked shot.

Bamba’s play was the beginning of the end for the Cyclones (9-4, 0-2 in the Big 12).

The Longhorns (10-4, 1-1) made it a five-point game when when Matt Coleman knocked down the first two of his four straight free throws in the final 12 seconds.

After Coleman’s first two freebies, Nick Weiler-Babb gave Iowa State a glimmer of hope in front of the home fans when he hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining, cutting the UT lead to 72-70.

But Coleman answered again with two more free throws to account for the final points.

Texas returns home to face the Baylor Bears on Saturday.

West Virginia wins again

The West Virginia Mountaineers entered play Monday ranked sixth nationally in the Associated Press poll and then backed it up with their 13th win in a row, a 77-69 road victory at Kansas State.

Smart scores 22, North Texas holds on to beat UTSA, 72-71

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The North Texas Mean Green, leading by eight points with seven minutes remaining, made just enough defensive plays to hold on for a dramatic, 72-71 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners Saturday night.

Playing at home in the Convocation Center, UTSA had a couple of chances to take the lead in the last 12 seconds but came up empty on two possessions.

First, North Texas center Shane Temara, shown in the video above, blocked a shot by UTSA’s Byron Frohnen.

On the other end, the Mean Green missed a free throw, which gave UTSA one last opportunity.

Roadrunners point guard Giovanni De Nicolao rushed it up court on the left side, angled to his right and stretched out to attempt a sweeping layup, which skipped off the front of the rim.

Nick Allen had a chance to follow it, but his tap was too strong, and it went over the goal.

The buzzer sounded as the teams battled for possession under the basket (see video below).

Guard Roosevelt Smart led North Texas with 22 points. Ryan Woolridge scored 18 points and A.J. Lawson added 14.

The victory gave North Texas (9-6, 2-0) a sweep of two road games — both victories by one point — to start the Conference USA phase of its schedule.

The Mean Green also dealt the Roadrunners (8-7, 1-1) their first loss at home this year after 6-0 start.

Freshmen guards Keaton Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson scored 17 points apiece for UTSA.

“We had a bad stretch to start the second half,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “Down the stretch, we did some things right, to give ourselves a chance after being down.

“Came out of a couple of timeouts with the right mindset defensively and offensively. Cut into that lead. Got a steal. Got a run out.

“Just didn’t seal it.

“(We) told our guys, ‘That’s the way conference games go. You know, the teams that finish in the top two or three spots find a way to win all those games. The teams that finish at the bottom lose all those games.”

The details

With UTSA playing well and gaining momentum at the outset, North Texas put a stop to it, getting back into the game in the closing minutes of the first half.

The Mean Green continued to battle through the first 13 minutes after intermission. Three times in that span, the visitors opened leads of eight points.

The Roadrunners rallied with a 12-4 run to tie the game, 70-70. In retaliation, the Mean Green called on A.J. Lawson to hit a jumper for what would be the deciding basket with 1:02 remaining.

Jhivvan Jackson hit a free throw for UTSA to pull the Roadrunners to within one, but the Roadrunners would be denied on their final two possessions.

Once, Temara got the block against Frohnen. On the last play, UTSA’s Giovanni De Nicolao drove and missed a contested layup.

A tip by Nick Allen was long as the buzzer sounded.

First half highlights

Freshman Keaton Wallace led the UTSA offense in the first half.

Playing in front of the home fans, the 6-foot-3 lefty scored 11 points and hit three 3-point shots before intermission.

The Roadrunners held the Mean Green to 35 percent shooting and, at one time, led 38-25.

Leading by 13 points with 4:41 left, UTSA suffered a defensive letdown.

North Texas closed with a 9-3 run, including this buzzer-beating, bank shot by Smart over Kendell Ramlal.

Second half

The Mean Green continued to play well after halftime. UTSA would make a run on the visiting team, but North Texas would counter with a run of its own.

In the video above, freshman center Zachary Simmons dunks in front of his appreciative teammates on the Mean Green bench.

The play, set up by a Simmons steal on the other end, gave North Texas an eight-point lead (64-56) with 9:16 remaining.

UTSA made some plays down the stretch. Just not enough. In the video above, De Nicolao misses a shot on a drive but Austin Karrer is trailing the play, cleaning up with a stick-back.

Young scores 39 as OU beats TCU 90-89 in Fort Worth

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Amazing game in Fort Worth today. Oklahoma scored the first 11 points. TCU rebounded with authority, surging into what became a 13-point lead with 10 minutes left. But the Sooners rallied and knocked off the previously undefeated Frogs, 90-89, in the Big 12 opener for both teams. OU freshman Trae Young produced 39 points and 14 assists.

Kansas hits 17 threes en route to 92-86 victory over Texas

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The 11th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks buried 17 three-point shots and then held off Texas in the final minutes Friday night, beating the Longhorns 92-86 in Austin.

In the Big 12 opener for both teams, Kansas came out firing from long distance, making six threes in the first half and 11 after intermission.

Guard Devonte’ Graham scored 23 points for the Jayhawks, who are trying to win their 14th straight conference title.

He hit 6 three-pointers (in 12 attempts). Meanwhile, Lagerald Vick scored 21 points and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk added 20.

Both Vick and Mykhailiuk knocked downn 5 three-pointers.

Texas freshman forward Mo Bamba enjoyed the best game of his career as he finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots.

Longhorns guard Andrew Jones scored five points off the bench in his return after sitting out four games with a hairline wrist fracture.

McNeese State routs Incarnate Word in SLC opener

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Junior forward Quatarrius Wilson produced 20 points and 10 rebounds Thursday night for his third-straight double double, leading the McNeese State Cowboys to an easy victory over the University of the Incarnate Word, 85-62.

Playing at home in Lake Charles, La., the Cowboys (4-7) poured in 44 points in the first half and led by 18 at intermmission.

The Cardinals (5-6) retaliated with a run early in the second half, pulling to within 13 when freshman Christian Peevy completed a three-point play with 12:46 remaining.

But UIW couldn’t sustain the momentum and allowed McNeese to take charge again, hiking the spread to as many as 29 points down the stretch.

UIW will try to break out of a three-game losing streak when it plays the back end of a two-game SLC road trip Saturday afternoon at Nicholls State.

On a night when starters for the Cardinals struggled to score, Peevy scored 18 and Sam Burmeister added 10 to lead the bench. Starting forward Charles Brown III scored 11 but was held to 5 of 14 shooting.

Forward Simi Socks, the team’s leading scorer, did not make a field goal (0-for-3). He finished with two points.

McNeese’s defense held UIW to a season-low 32.3 percent shooting from the field. The Cardinals hit only 4 of 22 on 3-point attempts.