Jackson, Wallace lead UTSA past Alabama-Birmingham, 82-70

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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).


Fading away, Jackson hits a long three out of the corner against UAB.

UTSA had made 15 threes on three other occasions this year — at Tulsa, at home against NAIA Bethany, Kansas, and on the road at Nebraska.

Against UAB, Jackson, Giovanni De Nicolao and Deon Lyle all buried four. George Willborn III, Austin Karrer and Toby Van Ry all hit one apiece.

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.

New Orleans’ late surge knocks out Incarnate Word, 68-58

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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.

Middle Tennessee defense dominates UTSA, 75-51

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Championship teams share a few common characteristics.

They play with consistent aggression and never allow an opponent to think they can win.

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders used that formula to dominate the UTSA Roadrunners 75-51 Thursday night in Conference USA men’s basketball.

In the game played at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the Blue Raiders buried the Roadrunners with a 40-24 second half.

“They just took it right to us,” UTSA coach Steve Henson told the team’s radio broadcast. “They wore on us and wore on us and dominated the glass, and … we just couldn’t make…we just didn’t compete offensively.

“We just don’t compete enough. We just settle for shots. When it’s hard, we don’t know how to respond, and it was hard.”

After representing the C-USA at the NCAA tournament two years in a row, the Blue Raiders showed why they are projected to make it three straight.

Forwards Nick King and Brandon Walters had their way, with King scoring a game-high 22 points and Walters grabbing 14 rebounds.

Middle Tennessee (15-5, 7-1) also enjoyed a strong showing from guard Antwain Johnson, who scored 15.

Jhivvan Jackson scored 17, but nobody else hit double figures as UTSA (10-11, 3-5) recorded its fewest points in a game this season.

Henson said he liked how his players protected the ball in the first half, when they led briefly 14-11 and went into the dressing room down only 35-27.

“Other than that, offensively, you got to drive it down in there and expect to finish,” Henson said. “We’re taking jump shots. I think guys shooting ’em are expecting ’em to go in. It’s just easier to let it fly.

“We got to find a better balance between having some offensive freedom and taking bad shots. We got to drive it. We don’t get to the free throw line. We got to get on the attack. We got to … get in the paint and finish around the rim.”

UTSA hit 4 of its first 8 from 3-point range and then went cold, hitting only 3 of 16 the rest of the way.

The Blue Raiders held the Roadrunners to 21 of 61 from the field overall for 34 percent.

“I thought our guys started the game with a terrific mindset,” Henson said. “I thought we were fighting defensively. We did some really good things from the scouting report.

“We took away some of their strengths. We did a good job on (guard Giddy) Potts all night. We paid extra attention to him. But (with) their style, their toughness, just wore on us, just kept chipping away at us.

“Kind of shows us how far we’ve got to go to become a good ball club.”

UTSA will move on to play at Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday night. UAB broke a two-game losing streak by defeating UTEP 85-78 Thursday.

Lewis Sullivan scored 19 as the Blazers (14-7, 5-3) shot 55.2 percent from the field.

C-USA road test: UTSA takes on Middle Tennessee

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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.

UIW’s losing streak hits 10 as Houston Baptist wins, 102-86

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The Houston Baptist Huskies broke a nine-game losing streak Wednesday night in a 102-86 victory over the slumping Incarnate Word Cardinals.

Playing at home, the Huskies got off to a hot offensive start behind guard Jalon Gates to build a 44-36 halftime lead.

Afterward, HBU was never seriously challenged in extending UIW’s losing streak to 10 games.

Forward Charles Brown III led the Cardinals with 22 points on 9 of 15 shooting. Shawn Johnson added 16 points and Cody Graham 14.

Not to be deterred, the Huskies got 23 points from Gates, a sophomore from Clemens, and 22 each from Braxton Bonds and David Caraher.

Will Gates Jr., Jalon’s older brother, scored 11.

HBU capitalized off of UIW’s mistakes, producing a 20-8 edge in points off turnovers.

The Huskies also dominated with a 27-10 advantage on second-chance points.

Records: UIW (5-13, 0-8), Houston Baptist (5-16, 1-7)

Coming up: UIW hosts New Orleans Saturday at 2 p.m.

Photo caption: Guards Will Gates Jr. (left) and Jalon Gates of Houston Baptist.

No. 1 Villanova loses Phil Booth indefinitely with hand injury

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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.

Clutch shooting lifts OU past Kansas, 85-80

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Christian James and Brady Manek knocked down clutch three pointers in the final 69 seconds Tuesday night as 12th-ranked Oklahoma rallied for an 85-80 victory in Big 12 men’s basketball over No. 5 Kansas.

National player of the year candidate Trae Young, a freshman, assisted on both baskets.

Playing at home before an energized crowd, Oklahoma (15-4, 5-3) led for much of the first half and held a two-point edge at halftime.

But first-place Kansas (16-4, 6-2) started to click after intermission, surging into a 10-point advantage with nine minutes left.

When guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk buried a three pointer with 9:26 remaining, the Jayhawks had a 72-62 lead.

At the end, Kansas seemed to have control when Lagerald Vick followed a Devonte’ Graham miss.

The basket silenced the crowd and put the Jayhawks up 80-77 with 2:33 left.

From there, the Sooners went on an 8-0 run to the final buzzer.

Young hit a couple of free throws and then created plays for James and Manek.

On the first play, Young drove baseline and, from under the goal, he passed outside to James on the wing.

James, who was 0-for-6 from three-point range in his last game, swished the shot with 1:09 remaining to give the Sooners an 82-80 lead.

After Mykhailiuk missed a three on the other end for Kansas, Young got the ball in his hands again, and he punished the visitors.

Dribbling at the top of the three-point circle, Young drove to his right. With his head down, he hooked a no-look pass to Manek on the right wing.

Manek swished it with 27 seconds left for the final points.

Young, who ranks No.1 in the nation in scoring and assists, finished with 26 points and nine assists. James scored 15 points and Manek had 14.

Mykhailiuk scored 24 to lead the Jayhawks, while Malik Newman added 20.

Graham, Kansas’ leading scorer at 18 points per game, had a rough night shooting the ball, hitting only 4 of 19 from the field.

He finished with 11 points and nine assists.

Around the Big 12

Down by 15 points in the second half, 14th-ranked Texas Tech came from behind to stun Oklahoma State, 75-70, in Lubbock…

The conference race has tightened considerably, with Kansas (6-2) leading by a game over Oklahoma, Texas Tech, West Virginia and Kansas State (all 5-3). Texas (4-4) is two games back …

Kansas leads Big 12 basketball race by two games

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The first-place Kansas Jayhawks might be hard to catch in the Big 12 basketball race if they can win at Oklahoma Tuesday night.

Kansas will take a two-game lead in the loss column on four different ball clubs leading into a game against OU at the Lloyd Noble Center.

West Virginia trailed Kansas by a game until Monday night, when it got beat 82-73 at TCU.

Now, Kansas (16-3, 6-1) leads by a game and a half and two in the loss column over both West Virginia (16-4, 5-3) and surging Kansas State.

Kansas State (15-5, 5-3) won on the road Monday night, knocking off Baylor, 90-83.

OU (14-4, 4-3) and Texas Tech (15-4, 4-3) both are two full games back with a little more than a third of the conference schedule in the books.

In Fort Worth, TCU started its day getting dropped from the AP Top 25 rankings.

But it finished with authority, recording a victory at home over a Top 10 team for the first time in nearly five years.

Guard Alex Robinson produced 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to lead the Frogs, who are playing without injured standout Jaylen Fisher.

Fisher was lost for the season last week after right knee surgery.

West Virginia came into Fort Worth on a roll, having blown out Texas 86-51 at home on Saturday, only to follow it up with a 33 percent shooting performance at TCU.

Jevon Carter had 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Mountaineers.

Bamba scores 24 as Texas throttles Iowa State, 73-57

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The Texas Longhorns refused to let a lost weekend in West Virginia keep them down for long.

Playing at home in Austin, UT hammered Iowa State 73-57 Monday night behind freshman center Mo Bamba’s career-high 24 points.

Two days ago, the seventh-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers crushed the Longhorns, 86-51.

After an attitude check and a road trip back home, UT (13-7, 4-4 in the Big 12) spanked Iowa State, leading for the entire 40 minutes.

Referencing the game in Morgantown, Bamba told reporters Monday night, “It was obviously a tough loss. It was a quick turnaround, and we kind of had to go into self-reflection mode and just build off of what we could have done better.”

Added Bamba, in comments posted on UT’s website, “Our motto coming into this was ‘Someone has to pay for it.’ Unfortunately for Iowa State, it was them, but the league is very competitive, and you don’t want to go on a losing streak.”

Iowa State (11-8, 2-6) fell behind by 11 at intermission, regrouped over the first seven minutes of the second half to pull within six, then faded.

Nick Weiler-Babb’s three-point shot for Iowa State made it 49-43 with 12:53 remaining.

At that point, Texas responded with a dunk from Kerwin Roach II, a three from the 6-11 Bamba and jumper by Eric Davis Jr., pushing the lead to 13.

The Cyclones never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

Texas entered Monday night’s game projected by at least one statistical analysis as a low-seed in NCAA tournament.

If the Longhorns make the NCAA field, it will be because of their defense, as they have held nine foes to fewer than 60 points.

Of course, without guard Andrew Jones, who is stricken with leukemia, the Longhorns will need higher-level performances from everyone.

Bamba seems to be playing harder and with better efficiency.

“I thought tonight was about as clean of a game as he’s played in terms of efficiency,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “For those of you guys who were giving me a hard time about his threes, he was 2-for-2. He can make the shot. It’s a weapon for us if teams are going to leave him wide open.

Next up for Texas is a non-conference home game Saturday against Ole Miss.

Next week, the Longhorns travel to play at 14th-ranked Texas Tech and return home to face No. 12 Oklahoma.

The OU game is set for 5 p.m. on Feb. 3 in Austin.

Villanova, Virginia, Purdue remain 1-2-3 in AP Top 25

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Villanova, Virginia and Purdue remained 1-2-3 in the Associated Press Top 25, according to the wire service’s weekly college basketball poll released Monday.

In a resurgence for traditional programs, Duke and Kansas moved up to the 4-5 spots, respectively.

The AP is reporting that Kentucky has fallen out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2014.

Three games will be played tonight in the Big 12, including a feature match on ESPN between TCU (14-5, 2-5) and seventh-ranked West Virginia (16-3, 5-2) in Fort Worth.

The injury-scarred Frogs fell out of the Top 25 in the wake of a 1-1 week with a home victory over Iowa State and a road loss at Kansas State.

TCU has lost standout guard Jaylen Fisher to a knee injury that he suffered in practice last Tuesday.

Fisher had surgery on Thursday, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Also tonight, Texas hosts Iowa State and Baylor hosts Kansas State.

AP Top 25

1 Villanova 18-1 Big East
2 Virginia 18-1 ACC
3 Purdue 19-2 Big Ten
4 Duke 17-2 ACC
5 Kansas 16-3 Big 12
6 Michigan State 17-3 Big Ten
7 West Virginia 16-3 Big 12
8 Xavier 18-3 Big East
9 Cincinnati 17-2 American
10 North Carolina 16-4 ACC
11 Arizona 16-4 Pac 12
12 Oklahoma 14-4 Big 12
13 Ohio State 17-4 Big Ten
14 Texas Tech 15-4 Big 12
15 Gonzaga 17-4 West Coast
16 Saint Mary’s 19-2 West Coast
17 Wichita State 15-4 American
18 Clemson 16-3 ACC
19 Auburn 17-2 SEC
20 Florida 14-5 SEC
21 Arizona State 15-4 Pac 12
22 Tennessee 13-5 SEC
23 Nevada 18-3 Mountain West
24 Rhode Island 15-3 Atlantic 10
25 Michigan 17-5 Big Ten