Jhivvan Jackson takes over NCAA Division I scoring lead

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Jhivvan Jackson. UTSA beat A&M-Corpus Christi 89-67 on Tuesday night at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson hits a floater in the lane against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson has taken over the national lead in scoring, according to NCAA Division I basketball statistics released Monday afternoon.

Jackson, a 6-foot junior, moved up from third to first on the national charts after scoring 28 points Sunday at the Convocation Center in a 98-55 victory over UT Permian Basin.

A tight race for the NCAA scoring lead has developed early in the season, with Jackson (25.2 points per game) leading Marquette’s Markus Howard (25.1) and Northeastern’s Jordan Roland (25.0).

UTSA coach Steve Henson on Wednesday, Oct. 30. 2019 at the UTSA Convocation Center. The Roadrunners beat Texas A&M International 89-60 in an exhibition game. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Steve Henson. – photo by Joe Alexander

Jackson has surged lately, averaging 26.8 points during a streak of four wins in five games by the Roadrunners.

Armed with a dynamic array of skills, the native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, does a little bit of everything with the ball, shooting the 3-pointer, pulling up for medium-range floaters and driving to the basket with either hand.

Jackson averaged 18.4 points as a freshman two years ago. Last season, he led Conference USA in scoring at 22.9. This year, he’s scored 30 or more four times, including 33 on Dec. 7 at Texas State.

Moreover, the former standout at Euless Trinity High School is rebounding at a higher level, averaging 5.7 per game.

UTSA coach Steve Henson said after the UTPB game that Jackson’s improved work habits are starting to pay off.

“He’s obviously such an elite, talented scorer,” Henson said. “He was a guy, by the time he got here, he could go get 30 when the lights came on.

“But his habits are getting better. He’s becoming a better practice player. He’s starting to help his teammates more, which is absolutely huge.

“(We) called a play for him today, and he said, ‘Let’s run it for Knox (Hellums).’ Those are good signs for us.”

Basically, Jackson is maturing into a leader.

“He’s such a quick guy, he can chase down long rebounds,” Henson said. “He’s had a few big rebound games for us this year.”

In the past two seasons, Jackson and junior Keaton Wallace have emerged to lead a basketball renaissance at UTSA, pacing the team to a combined 37 victories.

With the two high-scoring guards returning, the Roadrunners were a trendy pick in the preseason to contend for a Conference USA title.

But after a 32-point loss at Utah State dropped the Roadrunners to 0-5, Jackson did some soul searching.

He told The JB Replay upon returning home from Utah that the Roadrunners would get better with an increased focus on defensive effort.

“It’s what we’re really emphasizing, just, getting a lot of stops,” Jackson said. “We have a chance to be a really good defensive team. But you know, we got to do it for 40 minutes. Not just in stretches. That’s the one thing we’ve been working on, is, getting stops.

“We know the offense is going to come. We’re not worried about offense. You know, anybody on our team can score. Once we get our defense together, really locking down people, we’re going to be good.”

Coming up

UTSA (4-6) vs. Oregon State (8-1), Wednesday, 4:30 p.m., at the Toyota Center in Houston.

After a slow start, UTSA lights up UT Permian Basin, 98-55

Aside

UTSA guard Keaton Wallace played in Sunday's game with a mask after being hit in the face earlier in the week. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Keaton Wallace played in Sunday’s game with a mask after being hit in the face in practice on Saturday. – photo by Joe Alexander

On a sleepy Sunday afternoon at UTSA, junior guards Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace put on another show for the home fans, just as they’ve done for the past two-plus seasons.

This time, the show came with a few twists.

Jackson, a diminutive 6-foot guard, turned into something of a rebounding machine with a career-high 14. Wallace emerged as a masked marauder of sorts.

He wore a plastic mask as protection after taking a shot to the nose in practice on Saturday.

Not to worry.

Wallace broke out of a 3-point shooting slump with a season high five long balls.

As a result, the Roadrunners extended their winning streak to three games with an easy 98-55 victory over NCAA Division II UT Permian Basin.

Records

UTSA 4-6
UT Permian Basin 10-3

Setting the scene

Early in the day, the energy in the Convocation Center was minimal, with an announced crowd of 708 in the building.

On top of that, both teams seemed not completely prepared for a 3 p.m. tip off.

The Falcons, who came in riding a 10-game winning streak, missed their first seven shots. Fortunately for the visitors, the Roadrunners missed their first six.

Heating up

Stepping up the intensity, the Roadrunners called on freshman Jacob Germany to spark the team midway through the first half.

Germany had two points, a rebound and three blocked shots in a five-minute sequence.

In the meantime, Wallace and Jackson started to roll.

Wallace hit four 3-pointers before halftime for 15 of his 18 points. Jackson scored 13 in the first half, en route to a monster show of 28 points and 14 rebounds.

On the horizon

UTSA will play in Houston on Wednesday against the Oregon State Beavers. The game is set for 4:30 p.m. at the Toyota Center, home of the NBA Houston Rockets. The team returns to the Convocation Center on Saturday to meet Illinois State.

Notable

UT Permian Basin was playing its second game in two days. The Falcons won at home against Cameron in Odessa on Saturday afternoon, and then made the trek to San Antonio for the non-conference road game.

UTSA took full advantage of the situation, cranking up its offense for season highs in points in a game and in a half (58, in the second half).

The Roadrunners also knocked down a season-high 14 three-pointers, including a 3-for-3 effort from sophomore guard Adokiye Iyaye, who scored a personal season high of 11 points.

As a team, the Roadrunners nailed 14 of 29 from beyond the 3-point line to continue a three-game hot streak.

In victories over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas State and UTPB, they have made 31 of 67 from distance (46.2 percent).

By comparison, the Roadrunners connected on only 27.7 percent from long range (41 of 148) during a season-opening, five-game losing streak.

Quotable

UTSA coach Steve Henson, on Wallace’s performance in the mask:

“Didn’t seem to bother him too much. He made three or four threes in the first half. Told him we may just turn him into Rip Hamilton and let him wear it for awhile.”

(Hamilton, who wore a protective mask during much of his 14-year NBA career, was regarded as one of the game’s deadliest long-range shooters. He made 530 three-pointers in 921 NBA games. He retired after the 2012-13 season.)

Henson, on the team winning four of five games after opening the season with five losses:

“We’re not trying to get too carried away. Our opponents early on were really, really good. Our next two opponents are really, really good. We’re just trying to make progress. We had some surprises early. Things were not as easy as we thought they might be.

“Had some struggles in some areas. Just trying to address those. Trying to find something to help establish an identity. To give us a chance to be a really good team. I think we made some progress this week. But it’s still a work in progress.”

UTSA vs. UT-Permian Basin photo gallery

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Jhivvan Jackson had 28 points and 14 rebounds as UTSA beat UT-Permian Basin 98-55 on Sunday at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson had 28 points and 14 rebounds as UTSA beat UT-Permian Basin on Sunday

UTSA beat UT-Permian Basin 98-55 on Sunday at the UTSA Convocation Center.

UTSA set to host the streaking UT Permian Basin Falcons

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Jhivvan Jackson. UTSA beat A&M-Corpus Christi 89-67 on Tuesday night at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson, the third-leading scorer in NCAA Division I, has produced 30 or more points in three of his last four games.- Photo by Joe Alexander.

The UT Permian Basin Falcons will carry a 10-game winning streak into Sunday’s 3 p.m. game at the Convocation Center against the UTSA Roadrunners.

Bolstered by several transfers from NCAA Division I programs, the Division II Falcons of the Lone Star Conference continued their hot streak Saturday afternoon, downing Cameron 89-77 in Odessa.

Forward Miles Washington, a 6-foot-8 transfer Mississippi State, hit 9 of 9 shots from the field and scored 19 points to lead the Falcons past the Aggies in an LSC game.

Records

UTSA 3-6
UTPB 10-2

Back from the break

In meeting the Falcons, the Roadrunners are returning to the court for their first game action in eight days.

They’ve won three of their last four, including back-to-back victories over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State. In their last outing, the Roadrunners won in San Marcos against the Bobcats, 77-71, on Dec. 7.

Getting hot

Junior guard Jhivvan Jackson ranks third in the nation in scoring at 24.9 points per game. He has scored 30 or more points in three of his last four, including a season-high of 33 against Texas State. Jackson’s career average of 21.2 ppg is No. 1 in school history.

Junior guard Keaton Wallace has started to click offensively, averaging 24 ppg in his last two games. Combined, in victories over the Islanders and Bobcats, Wallace has hit 14 of 24 from the field, 1 of 4 from three and 19 of 19 from the free-throw line.

The Roadrunners have won three of four since freshman Erik Czumbel has been the starter at point guard. Czumbel, from Verona, Italy, is averaging 5.8 points on 52.9 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from three. Czumbel hit three, 3-pointers at Texas State.

Coming up

It’s a busy week for the Roadrunners.

After tangling with the Falcons, the Roadrunners will play the Pac-12’s Oregon State Beavers on Wednesday in Houston. The game is set for 4:30 p.m. at the Toyota Center, the home of the Houston Rockets. On Saturday, they’ll return home to the Convo to face Illinois State. The Illinois State game is a 3 p.m. start.

Texas Tech defeats the No. 1 Louisville Cardinals, 70-57

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Texas Tech coach Chris Beard walked off the court at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, waving his arms and hailing fans who made the trip from Lubbock to New York City.

It was a good night to be a Red Raider.

Texas Tech broke a three-game losing streak by knocking off the No. 1-ranked Louisville Cardinals, 70-57, at the Jimmy V Classic.

A relentless Red Raiders’ defensive effort helped to hold the prolific Cardinals to 34 percent shooting and only 17.6 percent from the 3-point arc.

Louisville forward Jordan Nwora, who entered averaging 21.6 points, scored 14 points on 16 shots.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the floor, guard Davide Moretti scored a team-high 18 points to lead three players in double figures.

Playing without high-scoring freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey, the Red Raiders also got 13 points from freshman Terrence Shannon, Jr., and 10 from Avery Benson.

Ramsey, who made the trip to New York, has been out three games with a hamstring issue.

Last year, the Red Raiders made a memorable run to the NCAA title game. In the aftermath, the transition has been a bit of a struggle.

They lost several key players, including Jarrett Culver, Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens and Brandone Francis.

After a 5-0 start, they lost consecutive games to Iowa, Creighton and DePaul, the last two in overtime.

After beating Louisville, the Red Raiders will return home to play Southern Miss, UT-Rio Grande Valley and CSU Bakersfield.

Tech’s Big 12 opener is Jan. 4 at home against Oklahoma State.

Records

Texas Tech 6-3
Louisville 9-1

Jackson scores 33 points as UTSA beats Texas State, 77-71

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Guard Jhivvan Jackson produced a season-high 33 points and added seven rebounds Saturday afternoon, leading the UTSA Roadrunners past the Texas State Bobcats, 77-71, in San Marcos.

Jackson hit 13 of 26 from the field as the Roadrunners (3-6) won their first road game of the season and claimed their first two-game winning streak.

Keaton Wallace scored 17 points and Erik Czumbel had 11 to deny the Bobcats (6-4).

Breaking from a three-point halftime lead, the Roadrunners stayed patient in their offense and hit six three-pointers after intermission.

Jackson nailed a big one with 4:48 remaining to make it a 10-point game. With a defender’s hand in his face, he leaned back and hoisted it high, drawing nothing but net.

“They’re a great defensive team and I knew they were going to come at me,” Jackson told the team’s radio broadcast. “But I had a couple of easy shots in the beginning. It was kind of just, my teammates helped me on the screens, and coach trusted me to take a few more shots. I mean, they were really just going in today.”

It was a big win for the Roadrunners, who started the season at 0-5.

“To be honest, this was a concerning game … because they’re so tough, so good defensively,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “We haven’t shown the ability to have strong possessions yet. We get clicking sometimes, but I was concerned that maybe we weren’t ready to have enough good offensive possessions to withstand their pressure, and we did.”

Guard Mason Harrell led the Bobcats with 19 points. Guard Caleb Asberry had 18. Nijal Pearson, Texas State’s best player, was held to 15 points on 5 of 15 shooting.

Pearson was 2 of 6 from the field in the second half and seemed frustrated at times by the UTSA defense.

First-half recap

Jackson came out hot, scoring 21 points in the first half as UTSA took a 37-34 lead on the Bobcats.

The game is being played in San Marcos at Strahan Arena, the home of the Bobcats.

Hitting nine of 16 from the field and three of seven from beyond the arc, Jackson paced the Roadrunners, who built a lead as large as nine points.

Mason Harrell hit a three with four seconds left in the half to pull the Bobcats to within three.

Records

UTSA 3-6
Texas State 6-4

Recently

Texas State played at the University of Houston on Wednesday night. The Cougars won 68-60 to snap the Bobcats’ four-game winning streak.

UTSA played at home on Tuesday, beating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 89-67. It was UTSA’s first victory over an NCAA Division I team this season.

Wallace scores 31 as UTSA routs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 89-67

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Keaton Wallace. UTSA beat A&M-Corpus Christi 89-67 on Tuesday night at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Hard-driving Keaton Wallace takes it into the paint against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. – photo by Joe Alexander

Junior guard Keaton Wallace connected on a school-record 15 free throws without a miss Tuesday night en route to a season-high 31 points in UTSA’s 89-67 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders.

Bouncing back from a Saturday night loss to Prairie View A&M, the Roadrunners placed four men in double figures for the team’s first victory of the season against an NCAA Division I opponent.

UTSA shot a season-high 54.5 percent from the field, improved to 2-6 on the season and won for the second time in three games on a season-opening home stand.

The Islanders fell to 3-5 after rolling into San Antonio on a three-game winning streak. Nolan Bertain led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with 18 points. He hit four 3-point shots.

Notable

Wallace’s 15-for-15 effort at the free-throw line highlighted a 23-of-26 team effort. Wallace broke the 26-year-old UTSA record held by guard Afis Olajuwon, who made 14 of 14 at home against Sam Houston State on Jan. 9, 1993.

Quotable

“That’s actually crazy. I didn’t even know I shot that many free throws. But that’s great. I feel great about that. You know, big time.” — Keaton Wallace, on what it means to get the school record.

Coming up

UTSA plays at Texas State on Saturday. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. in San Marcos at Strahan Arena.

Wallace’s resurgence

Keaton Wallace entered the game averaging a modest 12.9 points a game on 29.5 percent shooting from the field and 22.8 percent on 3-pointers.

He was 4 of 14 afield and 0 of 8 at the 3-point arc in a 79-72 loss to Prairie View.

The performance capped a mystifying seven-game stretch for Wallace, who emerged as one of the top players in Conference USA last year.

Henson said it was “really good” to see Wallace hit 8 of 12 from the field against the Islanders.

“We’ve been talking about our struggles, really, across the board,” Henson said. “Defensively, we haven’t been good enough. Offensively, the ball has not been going in the hole. Kind of felt like Keaton is a big key to all of this. We know that we need him to get going. We knew he was ready just at any moment to pop it, and so it was really good to see that happen.”

Hellums, Germany shine

Knox Hellums and Jacob Germany each scored 12 points off the bench for the Roadrunners. Hellums, a 6-5 junior transfer from Pepperdine, hit 4 of 4 from the 3-point arc. Germany was 5 of 7 including a couple of slam dunks. Jhivvan Jackson, one of the leading scorers in the nation, had 12 points in only 17 minutes.

First-half recap

Eleven players played and nine scored in the first half Tuesday night as the UTSA Roadrunners took a 41-25 lead against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Slumping junior Keaton Wallace led the way with 16 points. He hit 3 of 3 from the field and 10 of 10 at the free throw line.

UTSA vs. A&M-Corpus Christi photo gallery

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Freshman center Jacob Germany had 12 points and 4 rebounds off the bench for the Roadrunners. UTSA beat A&M-Corpus Christi 89-67 on Tuesday night at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman center Jacob Germany had 12 points and 4 rebounds off the bench for the Roadrunners. UTSA beat A&M-Corpus Christi 89-67 on Tuesday night at the UTSA Convocation Center.

UTSA beat A&M-Corpus Christi 89-67 on Tuesday night at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Prairie View A&M strikes early, holds on late, to down UTSA

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Jhivvan Jackson. Prarie View A&M beat UTSA 79-72 on Saturday night at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson scored 30 points for UTSA against Prairie View A&M. It was Jackson’s second 30-point game in a row and his third of the season. — Photo, Joe Alexander

The Prairie View A&M Panthers on Saturday night raced off on a 19-0 streak early in the game and made it stand up late for a 79-72 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

Senior guard Gerard Andrus led the Panthers with 20 points and 10 rebounds to hand UTSA its sixth loss in seven games this season, and its first at home.

After Keaton Wallace scored on a drive to pull the Roadrunners to within three with 29 seconds remaining, Andrus hit four straight free throws to help the Panthers put it out of reach.

Records

Prairie View 3-5
UTSA 1-6

‘A favorable match up’

Prairie View coach Byron Smith said his team brought momentum into the game after beating Central Arkansas in a neutral-site game in its last outing.

The Panthers knocked off the Bears 78-72 in overtime Saturday at Riverside, Calif., in the 2K Empire Classic.

“I think it just kind of pumped us up and we came out and got after it (tonight),” Smith said. “Obviously (UTSA is) a quality team. We felt like it was a favorable match up. UTSA is a good program and they’re going to be a really good team. They’re struggling a little bit.

“We thought our chances were good tonight, and we just got after them. We were ready to play from the opening tap.”

UTSA was hopeful that it had turned the corner after winning its last game, a 90-78 victory last Friday at home against NAIA Wiley College.

Prairie View had other ideas, shooting better than 50 percent from the field in both halves and finishing 30 of 54 for 55.6 percent.

On the other hand, UTSA couldn’t find the basket early against a Prairie View match up zone, allowing the Panthers to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 21-4 lead.

The Roadrunners misfired on eight straight shots during the Panthers’ run, including six 3-point attempts.

Frustration for UTSA

The Panthers, surprisingly, led for the rest of the game in front of an announced 888 fans at the Convocation Center.

“Frustrating,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “Just haven’t put together any stretch of days all season where we felt real, real good about things. We were hoping we were taking some little steps this week …

“Hoped we had made enough progress to find a way to win this game. We didn’t.”

A team effort

Several Panthers played well, including Andrus, Darius Williams (15 points) and Lanell Henry (14).

Combined, the threesome hit 19 of 32 from the field.

But it was Andrus who put away the Roadrunners at the end with his free-throw shooting.

Asked if he liked Andrus at the line in tight situations, Smith laughed and said, “I like him anywhere. In an alley fight, he’s your guy. He’s going to step up. He’s going to make plays. He’s got a lot of toughness. He’s overcome a lot. He’s a great kid.”

Jackson scores 30

UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson scored 30 points on 11 of 26 from the field. He was 5 of 15 on 3-point attempts.

As a team, the Roadrunners 26 of 67 for 38.8 percent. From three, the Roadrunners struggled again, hitting only 7 of 30 for 23.3 percent.

The Roadrunners have struggled from three all season, making only 28.2 percent.

Wallace shot 4 of 14 from the floor and 0 of 8 from three.

Bynum’s return

In his return to the Convocation Center, former UTSA guard Tamir Bynum scored seven points off the bench for Prairie View.

He hit all three of his shots from the field, including a driving layup with 14:06 remaining that capped a 7-0 run. Prior to the run, the Roadrunners had pulled to within one and were threatening.

Last fall, the former Houston-area high school standout played in nine games for the Roadrunners before transferring to Prairie View at the semester break. He averaged 1.9 points at UTSA.

Bynum has played in eight games for the Panthers this fall, averaging 4.9 points and 1.3 assists.

“Normally you’ve got to sit (out) a year but his mother had been ill, so he got a waiver and he was able to play immediately,” Smith said.

UTSA vs. Prairie View A&M photo gallery

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Atem Bior had 9 points and 7 rebounds. Prarie View A&M beat UTSA 79-72 on Saturday night at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Atem Bior had 9 points and 7 rebounds.

Prarie View A&M beat UTSA 79-72 on Saturday night at the UTSA Convocation Center.