Freshman forward Kaidon Rayfield played with energy, contributing nine points, four rebounds and two blocks, to earn the praise of UTSA coach Austin Claunch after the Tulane Green Wave rolled past the Roadrunners, 85-52. – Photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The frustration has deepened for the slumping UTSA Roadrunners.
After staying even with Tulane for about nine minutes in the first half Saturday afternoon, the Roadrunners watched as the Green Wave buried them in an avalanche of three-point baskets.
Led by guards Rowan Brumbaugh and Curtis Williams Jr., the visitors from New Orleans knocked down a school-record 19 triples en route to an 85-52 victory at the Convocation Center.
Brumbaugh and Williams made six threes apiece for the Green Wave (12-4, 3-0), who have won five in a row.
As a 6-4 guard from Washington, D.C., Brumbaugh entered the season with considerable hype as the preseason player of the year in the American Conference.
Tulane’s Rowan Brumbaugh finished with a game-high 23 points, to go along with seven assists, five rebounds and four steals. – Photo by Joe Alexander
He lived up to the billing against the Roadrunners, producing 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Brumbaugh also had four steals. Williams had a big day, as well, with 22 points and four assists.
“I’m glad we’re 3-0,” Brumbaugh said. “Still a lot of work to do. But it’s a good feeling being 3-0.”
The Green Wave have been hot and cold from the three-point arc this season, making only 31 percent coming into San Antonio. Against UTSA, they connected on 19 of 42 for 45.2 percent.
“We’ve had games where we haven’t really shot well, but we all know we’re a good shooting team,” Brumbaugh said. “You see it every day in practice. So it feels good to have a game like that where you make 19 threes. I think that’s a school record, so it’s a great feeling for sure.”
For UTSA, it was the team’s ninth straight loss, including eight by double figures. The Roadrunners (4-12, 0-4) haven’t lost this many in a row since the spring of 2023 when they dropped 11 straight.
Austin Nunez led the Roadrunners with 12 points, and Jamir Simpson pitched in with 10. Tulane limited UTSA to 35 percent shooting and 23 percent from the arc.
The Roadrunners hit only five of 21 attempts from three as they finished with a point total in the 50s for the third straight game and for the sixth time overall.
Guard Austin Nunez scored 12 points to lead the Roadrunners, who have finished with point totals in the 50s for the past three games. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Their total of 52 was the second lowest of the season next to the 50 they posted in a 61-50 loss to Abilene Christian on Nov. 24.
The play of freshman Kaidon Rayfield caught the eye of UTSA coach Austin Claunch. Rayfield, who came off the bench, had nine points, four rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes.
Claunch said he liked Rayfield’s aggression, “just put his head down and go play.”
In a high-energy second half, the freshman would drive, draw contact and get to the line. Rayfield made only five of nine, but Claunch was encouraged by the effort.
“We need more of that,” the coach said. “It’s hard to coach … There’s got to be something that we can do to encourage that a little more. I don’t know if it’s encourage or drill.
“I don’t what it is. But obviously it’s my job. That’s what I get paid to do. I got to figure out how to do that better.
“But I thought Kaidon did a good job of that when he got in. He played with some spirit. He plays hard. He’s got to get better at a lot of things. Obviously, he’s a young player, with a really bright future.”
Records
Tulane 12-4, 3-0
UTSA 4-12, 0-4
Tulane coach Ron Hunter won the 546th game of his 32-year career as a college head coach. – Photo by Joe Alexander
Coming up
Rice at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
First half
The Tulane Green Wave constructed a 39-21 halftime lead against the UTSA Roadrunners after romping on a 26-10 run in the last 11 minutes.
Brumbaugh scored 14 points in the half for the Green Wave, who shot only 13 of 33 from the field but worked the 3-point line efficiently, knocking down eight of 22 from long distance.
By contrast, UTSA hit only two of 13 from three in the half against a tricky Tulane zone. The Roadrunners were eight of 31 from the field for 26 percent.
Notable
The Roadrunners, who opened a three-game homestand with losses to Charlotte (74-58) and Tulane (85-52), are prepaing to host the Rice Owls Wednesday night.
Even though the Green Wave arrived in San Antonio seven games over .500 for the season, including a 93-90 overtime victory over the ACC’s Boston College Eagles on a neutral site, their NET ranking was 203 out of 365 teams in NCAA Division I. UTSA came in at 330.
The Roadrunners’ last victory at home was Nov. 18 against Southwestern Christian. Their last victory was Nov. 25 in Florida against Georgia Southern.
UTSA freshman Matheo Coffi totaled six points and 11 rebounds. It was his third double-figure rebounding game of the season. – Photo by Joe Alexander