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UTSA ties a program record with 39th win of the season

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners held off the home team East Carolina Pirates in a hectic bottom of the ninth inning Saturday afternoon to win 7-6, claiming their 10th win in a row and their 39th overall to tie a program record for a single season.

With Pirates baserunners at first and second, UTSA reliever Robert Orloski recorded a strikeout to end the game. The 6-foot-4 sophomore from Idaho retired Ryley Johnson, who swung and missed a high fastball.

UTSA claimed the American Athletic Conference title outright Friday night with an 8-5 victory over the Pirates. But as the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader came down to the wire, the Pirates had the upper hand with a two-run lead going into the last inning.

Much to the dismay of fans in Greenville, N.C., the Pirates’ bullpen subsequently melted down with four straight walks to open the top of the ninth.

The fourth free pass brought in a run and pulled the Roadrunners to within one. With the bases still loaded, Mason Lytle doubled down the left field line off reliever Colby Wallace, clearing the bases to put UTSA on top, 6-4.

One out later, Andrew Stucky hit a ball off the end of his bat that squirted through the right side. The RBI single lifted the Roadrunners into a three-run lead.

Trailing 7-4 entering the bottom half of the ninth, the Pirates did not quit. Battling against Orloski, Michael Kalinich and Braden Burress opened the inning with singles. When Drew Downs walked, the bases were filled with East Carolina players — with nobody out.

Over the next few minutes, the Pirates scored two runs, and Roadrunners coach Pat Hallmark was ejected from the game following an argument with the home plate umpire.

After Colby Wallace’s RBI single to left field, the Pirates pulled to within 7-6, and the Pirates’ crowd started to cheer and clap. The Roadrunners’ coach had been tossed, and Johnson, who had homered earlier in the game, was at the plate.

Orloski, trying to meet the moment, recovered from being down 2-1 in the count to throw two straight strikes for his seventh save of the season and his second in two days.

Records

UTSA 39-10, 20-3
East Carolina 27-23, 11-12

Coming up

Game 3 of the series and the second game of the doubleheader will be played today.

Notable

UTSA has tied the school record for victories established in 1994 (39-18) and again in 2008 (39-19). The Roadrunners can break the record this afternoon if they can win the series finale against the Pirates.

UTSA clinched the series with its second win against East Carolina in two days, with the third game set for later this afternoon.

As a result, the Roadrunners are now eight for eight in series victories in the American Athletic Conference this season. They have played eight and have won all eight of them. UTSA also won its 10th game in a row and its ninth straight in AAC play.

The Roadrunners won 8-5 Friday night to clinch the AAC regular-season title outright. The win in the series opener also allowed them to claim the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

UTSA wins the AAC baseball title after surviving a crazy eighth inning at East Carolina

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners have won the American Athletic Conference baseball title outright after holding off the East Carolina Pirates 8-5 Friday night in a chaotic, weather-delayed game in Greenville, N.C.

In winning its ninth straight game to secure its first regular-season conference title in 17 years, UTSA improved to 38-10 overall and to 19-3 in the AAC going into a doubleheader that has been scheduled for the Pirates’ home field on Saturday.

UTSA can tie the program’s single-season record for victories if it can win the first game of the doubleheader. With a sweep, UTSA can break it with what would be the team’s first 40-win season.

The doubleheader was deemed necessary to complete the three-game series after officials elected not to play on Sunday to avoid more issues with the weather. The Pirates, who had won the last five regular-season titles in the American, fell to 27-22 overall and 11-11 in conference.

Coming out of a 35-minute rain delay in the sixth inning with a four-run lead, the Roadrunners broke the game open with three runs in the top of the eighth as Andrew Stucky delivered a three-run double. His shot down the third-base line cleared the bases and gave the Roadrunners what appeared to be a commanding lead.

Going into the bottom half of the eighth, the game took a bizarre turn.

Righthander Rob Orloski, who threw five pitches to get the last out in the seventh, was sent to play left field to start the inning while lefthander Jake Cothran came in to pitch. After the Pirates put two runners on via a hit by pitch and a single, the Roadrunners made another pitching change, with Sam Simmons entering to replace Cothran.

Simmons immediately found trouble, giving up a single to Colby Wallace to load the bases, followed by James Herring’s two-run double to left. When Herring’s ball fell and the two runners crossed, the Pirates had cut the lead to 8-3. All of which prompted UTSA to make a few more changes. Lorenzo Morresi came in to play left and Orloski returned to the mound to try to put out the fire.

The Pirates, however, had other ideas. Pinch hitter John Collins roped a double down the left field line to score two more runs and trim the UTSA lead to 8-5. After Walker Barron singled to put runners at the corners again, Orloski settled down, retiring three straight batters to get out of it. In the bottom of the ninth, Orloski set down three in a row to end the game.

In the end, Zach Royse (8-4) earned the win and Orloski notched his sixth save.

With the victory, the Roadrunners move into their last five games in the regular season just needing to maintain momentum. After playing two at East Carolina on Saturday, they return home to host the Rice Owls for three more, from May 15-17, to close the regular season. UTSA is now the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament, set for May 20-25 in Clearwater, Fla.

UTSA is hoping, after the dust settles in Clearwater, to have done enough to warrant a bid to the 64-team NCAA tournament. The Roadrunners are on the right track, entering the East Carolina series at No. 20 in the NCAA’s ratings percentage index. UTSA hasn’t played in the NCAA tournament since 2013 when it won the postseason crown in the Western Athletic Conference.

Records

UTSA 38-10, 19-3
East Carolina 27-22, 11-11

Coming up

UTSA at East Carolina, Saturday, doubleheader, first game at 1 p.m.
Second game to follow, 45 minutes after the conclusion of the the first game

Before the weather delay

Needing only one win to clinch the title outright, the Roadrunners took a 5-1 lead on the Pirates only to have the game postponed in the sixth inning on a weather delay.

Trailing 1-0, the Roadrunners started to roll with their explosive offense. In the top of the fifth, with East Carolina starter Ethan Norby cruising, Garrett Gruell led off by slicing a single into right field. James Taussig followed by getting on top of a high fastball and pulling it to right for a two-run homer.

Television announcers called the line drive at 108-mph off the bat.

After that, Norby started to falter. On a 3-2 pitch, he walked Cade Sadler. Then, a pitch got away from him and he hit Nathan Hodge to put runners at first and second. With Mason Lytle stepping up to hit, Sadler strayed off second base, enough to draw a throw to second from catcher Walker Barron. Sadler, on a heads up play, promptly took third base for a steal.

Lytle responded with a line drive that ticked off the glove of third baseman Colby Wallace. It went for an RBI single as Sadler came in to score easily and Hodge advanced to second. After Ty Hodge was retired on a foul ball off to the right side, Andrew Stucky came to bat to set the stage for another key play.

Stucky grounded to the left side, and the Pirates infield turned what was initially called as an inning-ending double play. Upon further review, umpires ruled that Stucky beat the relay throw to first base, which allowed Nathan Hodge to score and make it 4-1.

The Roadrunners scratched another run across in the sixth to make it 5-1. With East Carolina coming to bat in the bottom of the sixth, umpires stopped the game and waved players off the field for a weather delay.

To this point, UTSA starter Zach Royse had held the Pirates to one run on four hits and one walk. Royse had struck out four and had thrown 77 pitches.

Surging UTSA opens three-game series at East Carolina today

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners can clinch the American Athletic Conference regular-season baseball title outright today when they play on the road against the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, N.C.

If they win, they get an added bonus of securing the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament. UTSA needs only one win in its last six conference games to clinch the top seed.

After extending their winning streak to eight last Sunday at South Florida, the Roadrunners enter the three-game series against East Carolina having claimed at least a tie for the regular-season crown.

It’s the first regular-season title for the Roadrunners since 2008. Sitting at No. 20 in the national ratings percentage index, they’re also hoping to qualify for their first NCAA tournament since 2013.

Friday’s game is expected to feature starting pitchers Zach Royse of UTSA against East Carolina’s Ethan Norby. Royse is 7-4 with a 4.81 earned run average in 67.1 innings pitched. Norby enters 6-4 and 3.39 with 69 innings.

The starters for Saturday and Sunday have not been announced. UTSA closes out the regular season May 15-17 at home against the Rice Owls. The AAC tournament is May 20-25 in Clearwater, Fla.

Led by an explosive offense that’s scored 428 runs in 47 games, the Roadrunners (37-10 overall, 18-3 AAC) have been relentless in punishing their opponents.

Mason Lytle and Jordan Ballin both are hitting .370. Andrew Stucky, James Taussig, Drew Detlefsen and Caden Miller have all produced an OPS above 1.000. In their last 13 games, they’re 12-1, and they’ve scored 147 runs in that span.

East Carolina has had a tough season by its own lofty standards. The Pirates (27-21, 11-10) have reached 40 victories in six straight seasons, including five straight AAC regular-season titles. A few months ago, they started fast in conference, winning three straight at home against Memphis and another three on the road at Rice.

But in the third weekend of conference, they slumped with three straight losses at home against Florida Atlantic. The Pirates have been chasing the leaders ever since.

Records

UTSA 37-10, 18-3
East Carolina 27-21, 11-10

Coming up

UTSA at East Carolina, Friday, 5 p.m.
UTSA at East Carolina, Saturday, 3 p.m.
UTSA at East Carolina, Sunday, noon

Notable

The Pirates have reached the NCAA tournament eight times under 11th-year coach Cliff Godwin. The Pirates have reached the the last six NCAA tournaments that have been played. The tournament, along with most of the season, was scratched in 2020 because of the pandemic.

The Roadrunners, in turn, have produced a more modest record, having played in only three NCAA tournaments (1994, 2005 and 2013). They played their first season in 1992.

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark is in his sixth season with the Roadrunners. In three previous seasons, his teams have been highly competitive. They finished tied for third and second in Conference USA in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Last spring, in their first year in the American, they finished second again. Hallmark’s Roadrunners beat the Pirates two out of three last March in San Antonio.

The 2022 team got hot at the end of the season and reached the finals of the C-USA tournament before losing to Louisiana Tech. In both 2023 and 2024, the Roadrunners faltered, losing their first two games in conference tournament play both times.

AAC men’s tournament: East Carolina ends UTSA’s season, 70-65

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The season is over for the UTSA men’s basketball team. The East Carolina Pirates held off the Roadrunners in a thriller that went down to the final seconds, winning 70-65 in the second round of the American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth.

As a result, the sixth-seeded and 19-13 Pirates completed a 3-0 sweep of the Roadrunners this season and will advance to play in the quarterfinals Friday night against the three seed UAB Blazers.

No. 11 UTSA finished its first season under Coach Austin Claunch at 12-19 overall and 6-12 in conference. Last year’s team finished 11-21 and 5-13 and then had all but one of its scholarship players leave in the wake of Steve Henson’s dismissal as head coach.

Coming in from an assistant’s job at Alabama to rebuild from three straight losing seasons, Claunch couldn’t prevent a fourth straight, but he said he felt like the program made progress.

“I’m so proud of this step our program took this year,” said Claunch, who previously won two regular-season titles in a five-year run at Nicholls State in the Southland Conference.

“Certainly,” the coach added, “going from an increase in win total from last year, both total and in conference, I’m proud of the work not just that the record shows, but the work that these guys as a group put in.

“Our seniors, like Primo (Spears) and Damari (Monsanto), they’ve been really fun to coach. If I sit here and talk about ’em too long, I’m going to get emotional. I’m sure I will at some point anyway.”

It’s been an emotional ride all season for the Roadrunners, with two players lost to injury and three others leaving for non-injury related issues during the season. Raekwon Horton was the latest non-injury departure. A major contributor with 12.2 points and 5.9 rebounds, he played his last game on March 1.

Claunch announced on Tuesday, the day UTSA left for Fort Worth, that Horton would not be available for the tournament. It left Claunch with eight scholarship players available. Against the Pirates, seven players played for the Roadrunners, including freshman walkon Baboucarr Njie.

They played hard and with heart but failed to avoid becoming the fourth straight UTSA men’s team to lose its first game in a conference postseason event. A bright spot in the postgame interview came when Roadrunners sophomore Marcus Millender said he would likely return to UTSA next season.

Millender led the Roadrunners against East Carolina with 24 points and seven rebounds.

East Carolina coach Michael Schwartz praised the UTSA coaches and players, calling the Roadrunners “dynamic” and saying that his team for the third time this season was fortunate to win.

The Pirates lost their final regular-season game against the FAU Owls and were able to bounce back, mainly because their players “locked in” during preparation for the trip to Fort Worth, the coach said.

“Everybody kept asking about playing a team for a third time, and we said that is irrelevant,” Schwartz said. “That’s not what makes this game hard, playing UTSA a third time. What makes this game hard is playing UTSA because they’re a really good team. So that’s where our focus was, preparing as if this was the first time we played them.”

Starting with a Feb. 5 home game against Tulane, UTSA played nine games decided by single-digit margins and lost eight of them. In a maddening finish to that stretch of heartbreak, the Pirates rallied from a four-point deficit with 11:47 left and rode the hot hands of Jordan Riley and RJ Felton to claim the victory.

After ECU caught up and forged a three-point advantage with 2:35 left, UTSA responded with a few defensive stops and five points from Millender to reclaim the lead. The Roadrunners had a one-point edge with 1:17 remaining when Millender drove baseline for a layup and a 63-62 lead. In turn, Felton muscled inside to spark a 6-2 run into the final seconds of the game.

East Carolina, with a three-point advantage, called time with 6.1 seconds left. As UTSA inbounded the ball to Jonnivius Smith, the Pirates elected to foul on the catch. The ploy worked, as Smith missed the front end of a one and one. The Pirates rebounded, and Jayshayne Woodard ended up dunking for the game’s final points.

Individuals

UTSA – Marcus Millender scored 24 points on nine of 20 shooting from the field. He was two of five from three. Spears, who fell late in the game and hurt his surgically-repaired left arm, went to the bench momentarily but later returned to finish it on the court. A second-team, all-conference performer, he finished with 19 points. Damari Monsanto hit five threes and scored 17. Both Millender and Monsanto pulled down seven boards each. Jonnivius Smith had three points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

East Carolina – Jordan Riley led the Pirates with 22 points and 12 rebounds. The 6-foot-4 Temple transfer sparked the Pirates in the second half with a few monster dunks. Guard RJ Felton had 17 points and Cam Hayes 16

First half

Tempers flared at the end of the half as East Carolina forward CJ Walker bumped into Njie as players were leaving the floor. Despite poor shooting, the Pirates led the Roadrunners 34-28 at the break. At the end of the halftime break, it was announced that Walker had been hit with a technical foul. The Roadrunners were awarded free throws and hit both without any time having run off the clock

Records

UTSA 12-19, 6-12
East Carolina 19-13, 10-8

Notable

UTSA entered the tournament looking for its first win in a conference postseason game since 2021 when the Roadrunners beat the Charlotte 49ers 72-62 as members of Conference USA. That was the fourth and final season for former Roadrunners stars Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace.

The Roadrunners lost their tournament openers in 2022, 2023 and 2024, all by margins of three points or less. In 2022, Southern Miss defeated UTSA, 67-64. In 2023, Rice eked out a 72-71 victory over the Roadrunners. Both of those contests came in the C-USA postseason. Last season, the Roadrunners lost to Temple, 64-61, to cap their first season in the American.

In the past four years, the Roadrunners have finished 10-22, 10-22, 11-21 and now 12-19, giving the program 10 losing seasons in its last 13. UTSA hasn’t qualified for the NCAA tournament since 2011. The 14-year drought is the longest in school history. The Roadrunners, who started play in 1981-82, made NCAA tournaments in 1988, 1999, 2004 and 2011.

UTSA guard Primo Spears fell late in the East Carolina game and injured a left arm that was badly damaged eight years ago. But, after coming out for a short time, he returned to play the final minute. After the game, he said he was OK.

In 2017, in between his freshman and sophomore year of high school, Spears had surgery following a nasty fall in a summer all-star game in New York City. Spears dislocated his left elbow, fractured the radial bone and tore ligaments, an injury that required at least three surgeries to repair and knocked him out all of his sophomore year.

This season, the Roadrunners appeared to have momentum going into February. A 54-50 road victory against 23-win North Texas capped a 4-5 record in the AAC at the halfway point of the schedule. But they struggled to hold leads in close games down the stretch and finished in a three-way tie for ninth.

UTSA women pound East Carolina for ninth straight victory

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The American Athletic Conference champion UTSA women’s basketball team rolled to a 28-point lead in the third quarter and then cruised to a 67-48 victory over the East Carolina Pirates Tuesday night.

With the win, coming in a road game at Greenville, N.C., the Roadrunners improved to 26-3 on the season. They finished their remarkable run through the AAC with a 17-1 record, tying a school mark for wins in conference. UTSA is 19-1 in its last 20 games leading into the AAC tournament.

The tournament opens on Saturday in Denton and continues the rest of the way in Fort Worth at Dickies Arena. Second-round games are Sunday, and then UTSA will open play on Monday in the quarterfinals as the tournament’s top seed.

Jordyn Jenkins had 26 points and six rebounds to lead the Roadrunners. Jenkins, a player of the year candidate in the AAC, hit 11 of 14 shots from the field. Forward Idara Udo contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Point guard Nina De Leon Negron had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists as the Roadrunners swept two games this season from the Pirates, who eliminated the Roadrunners at the AAC tournament last year.

East Carolina men survive hot-shooting UTSA to win 96-89 in overtime

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The East Carolina Pirates made four straight defensive stops, leading to eight points in a row, as they broke open a hotly-contested tie game and defeated the UTSA Roadrunners 96-89 in overtime Sunday at Greenville, N.C.

It was the sixth straight loss for UTSA going down the stretch of the regular season in the American Athletic Conference.

Records

UTSA 10-17, 4-11
East Carolina 16-12, 8-7

How it happened

The Roadrunners played and shot the ball well for most of the night. They built a nine-point lead with 13:34 left in regulation. But they couldn’t make a few plays on the offensive end to close the second half, and the game went to overtime.

Once there, the Roadrunners continued to carry the fight to the Pirates, who were playing in their home at Minges Coliseum. UTSA’s Damari Monsanto quieted the crowd by knocking down a three-point shot with 3:08 remaining, tying the score, 86-86.

From there, East Carolina ratcheted up its defense behind Jayshayne Woodard, turning away UTSA without points on four possessions in a row.

On the other end, the Pirates converted with RJ Felton scoring on a drive to start a decisive 8-0 run. After Cam Hayes hit two free throws, Jordan Riley sank a 12 foot jumper.

Woodard, who made a steal and blocked a shot on the defensive end to kick start the rally, added a dunk with 39 seconds left to make it 94-86 with 39 seconds left.

UTSA couldn’t get any closer than five the rest of the way.

Another heartbreaker

For the Roadrunners, it was another heartbreaker in a late-season swoon that’s been marked by lost leads and lost games. This one was at least their fifth conference loss after leading by nine or more points in the second half. In their previous five setbacks, all came by five points or less.

East Carolina was responsible for one of them in an 80-79 victory at UTSA on Feb. 8. Now, the Pirates have swept the two-game series in contests that came down to only a few possessions each time.

On the offensive end, the Roadrunners played well, shooting 47 percent from the field and hitting at a 48 percent clip from three (13 of 27).

Guard Primo Spears contributed 24 points and seven assists. Marcus Millender scored 21 with five rebounds and four assists.

Monsanto and Tai’Reon Joseph both reached double figures, as well. Monsanto scored 14 and Joseph, who came out of the game momentarily in the first half with a cut near his eye, added 11.

Raekwon Horton returned after sitting out a game with an injury and worked hard at the end to slow down Felton, who led all scorers with 30 points. Riley had 17 points and Hayes 16.

For the Pirates, Felton hit 10 of 15 from the field and made all five of his attempts from the three-point line.

As a team, East Carolina shot 53 percent from the field and 56 percent from three against a UTSA defense that ranks near the bottom of the AAC in both of those categories.

For the season, the Roadrunners were allowing 46 percent field goal shooting and 35.8 percent from three leading into Sunday’s games.

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, Sunday, March 2, 5 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Tuesday, March 4, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Charlotte, Sunday, March 9, 3 p.m.

First half

The Roadrunners shot 59 percent from the field and withstood a scoring binge by guard RJ Felton to take a 39-38 lead on the Pirates.

In the opening 20 minutes of the game played at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, N.C., the momentum flowed back and forth with 11 lead changes and seven ties.

The Roadrunners trailed by as many as five at one juncture but always stayed competitive with a sweet flow on offense. They made 16 of 27 shots from the field and six of 11 from three.

UTSA women beat East Carolina 60-46 to stay undefeated at home this season

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Sidney Love. UTSA beat East Carolina 60-46 at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Teammates hoist UTSA guard Sidney Love into the limelight with the gold ‘Cash In’ chain for her efforts against the East Carolina Pirates. Love scored 15 points on six of eight shooting, and she also had three steals. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women kept alive their chances for an undefeated season at home Wednesday night with a 60-46 victory over the East Carolina Pirates in a physical American Athletic Conference encounter at the Convocation Center.

Jordyn Jenkins produced 23 points and six rebounds as first-place UTSA (21-3, 12-1 in the AAC) improved its home winning streak to 14 games, dating back to last year. The Roadrunners are 11-0 at home this season.

East Carolina (13-12, 5-8) came into San Antonio having won two in a row and three of four, including a road win at UAB. But UTSA was relentless with a defensive effort that held the visitors to 26 percent shooting from the field.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat East Carolina 60-46 at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins contributed 23 points and also six rebounds. She shot 10 of 17 from the floor, as UTSA stayed one game in the loss column ahead of South Florida in the AAC title race. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Pirates guard Khia Miller was ejected from the game early in the second half for an intentional foul on Roadrunners’ forward Maya Linton. Linton also was assessed a technical, her second, which disqualified her for the remainder of the game.

Addressing the media afterward, UTSA coach Karen Aston wasn’t happy that one of her players was ejected. She didn’t love the idea that her team turned it over 21 times, either, or that East Carolina won the rebounding battle (41-39).

But she will take a 14-point victory in which her team led for almost the entire 40 minutes and led by as many as 20 in the second half.

“Happy to get another win here in the Convo, for sure,” Aston said. “(The season is) winding down and (it’s) hard to believe we just have two more of these (home games) in here. I thought we played really well, for the most part.

“We’ll look back on it and nit-pick a little bit about some careless turnovers. Obviously, the rebounding was a big one that we’ve got to clean up before we play (Memphis, at home) on Saturday. But I thought we had a better aggressiveness about ourselves today. A better tempo for the way we played offensively.

“That’s really what I was hoping for tonight. So, we’ll clean up the rest of it.”

UTSA forward Maya Linton picked up technical fouls in the second and third quarters. By rule, she was disqualified after the second one and was sent to the dressing room. – Photo by Joe Alexander

In what is shaping up as a possible dream season for the Roadrunners, they have won four straight overall and 14 of their last 15, with five to go in the regular season.

Sitting on 21 wins, they are tied with the 1983-84 Roadrunners for the third most in a season in school history, behind only the 2007-08 team with 23 and the ’08-09 team with 24.

Defeating ECU also allowed them to stay a game in the loss column ahead of the second-place South Florida Bulls (17-8, 10-2) and two games ahead of the third-place North Texas Mean Green (18-7, 10-3) in the AAC regular-season title race.

South Florida and North Texas both won at home Wednesday night to keep the pressure on the Roadrunners, with the Bulls downing the Rice Owls, 82-77 in three overtimes, and the Mean Green pounding the Memphis Tigers, 97-57.

In the UTSA postgame, Jenkins talked about what it was like to be on the floor, at home, and to be able to hold East Carolina to four points in a 17-4, second-quarter show of force.

“The home crowd obviously helps, really getting into it and chanting ‘D-Up,’ ” Jenkins said. “But it comes with communication on the court. When we’ve got solid communication, it’s fun, and it makes things easier.

“We have trouble with that a lot during practice. We need to be better at that so we can consecutively have good possessions.”

Cheyenne Rowe. UTSA beat East Carolina 60-46 at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Cheyenne Rowe came off the bench for eight points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes. — Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s second quarter was a defensive clinic. The Roadrunners held the Pirates to one for 16 shooting from the field and forced five turnovers.

In addition, two UTSA forwards off the bench, Cheyenne Rowe and Taylor Ross, had a major impact. Both had five rebounds in the period alone and Ross, a freshman from Brennan, also blocked a shot.

Rowe (eight points, 10 rebounds for the game) and Ross (three and seven) both played 18 minutes total and allowed the Roadrunners to cruise to an easy victory, even with foul-plagued starters Idara Udo and Linton not being major factors in the game.

Asked about Rowe and Ross’ contributions, Aston said, “That’s what I’ve been looking for.”

Another narrative coming into the game centered on what happened between the Roadrunners and the Pirates the last time they played.

Last March 12 in Fort Worth, East Carolina rallied from a pair of 11-point deficits in the fourth quarter to beat UTSA, 55-54, in the AAC semifinals, ending the Roadrunners’ quest for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Love and Jenkins both chuckled at a question about whether there was any talk among players in the last few days about last year’s disappointment against the Pirates.

“No, we kind of wanted to leave that in the past,” Love said. “I don’t know. I think we just moved on and focused on being in the present and being where we are right now.”

Forward Amiyah Joyner led the Pirates with 18 points and eight rebounds. The 6-foot-2 forward hit six of 13 shots from the field. The rest of her teammates shot a combined 11 of 52.

Karen Aston. UTSA beat East Carolina 60-46 at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Karen Aston has led UTSA to a 21-3 record, with five games to play before the AAC tournament. The program record for wins in a season is 24. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Records

East Carolina 13-12, 5-8
UTSA 21-3, 12-1

Coming up

Memphis at UTSA, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Saturday, Feb. 22, 4 p.m.

First half

Dominating with physical play in the paint and effective position defense on the perimeter, the Roadrunners held the Pirates to four points in the second quarter. Consequently, they surged to a 29-17 lead at halftime.

UTSA shrugged off a sluggish start and outscored ECU 17-4 in the second. ECU got flustered at the end of the period after Love tied up Joyner.

Trying to hang on to the ball, Joyner was pulled down to the floor. Once there, she tossed the ball and hit UTSA forward Maya Linton in the midsection. Linton tossed it back, prompting officials to stop play and go to the replay monitors.

After it was sorted out, both Joyner and Linton were hit with technical fouls.

Notable

Early in the third quarter, emotions boiled over once again. It started with Miller bringing the ball over halfcourt on the dribble, with Linton meeting her to contest. Trying to clear space, Miller swung her arms while clutching the ball.

Kim McNeill. UTSA beat East Carolina 60-46 at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

East Carolina coach Kim McNeill led the Pirates to 23 wins and a trip to the NCAA tournament in 2023. Her team beat UTSA last March in the AAC semifinals and then lost to Rice in the title game. – Photo by Joe Alexander

She appeared to land an elbow on Linton, who held her head with both hands momentarily. Afterward, she looked up and appeared to say something in frustration. Referees stopped the action again and went to the monitors to assess what happened.

Miller was hit with an intentional foul and an automatic ejection. Linton also got a technical. Combined with the one she had in the first half, she was sent to the dressing room.

Quotable

Aston said she didn’t see what caused the flaring of tempers between Joyner and Linton in the second quarter.

“I honestly didn’t see anything until the tail end,” Aston said. “They called a jump ball, and I’m trying to figure out whose possession it is. There’s only five seconds left. I’ll have to look at these situations on film and see if we can handle ourselves a little differently than what we did.

“I thought we re-grouped at halftime. We talked about it and then the little episode in the third quarter (between Miller and Linton) I thought really hurt us, to be honest with you, because it took away our aggression, because we didn’t quite know what to do with that, and we tried to monitor what was going on. I thought it took away from the flow of the game for us, definitely.

“So, we got to learn some lessons from that.”

AAC contenders

Basketball teams in the AAC play 18 games in the regular season. Here is a look at the top five in the AAC women’s title chase:

UTSA 12-1, 21-3
South Florida 10-2, 17-8
North Texas 10-3, 18-7
Tulane 8-4, 15-8
Temple 8-5, 14-10

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated UTSA’s record in the AAC regular season. UTSA is 12-1 in conference.

Taylor Ross. UTSA beat East Carolina 60-46 at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman Taylor Ross contributed three points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 18 minutes. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Enjoying the grind: first-place UTSA women set to host the East Carolina Pirates

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Sidney Love blocked shot. UTSA beat North Texas 54-52 in American Athletic Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

The UTSA Roadrunners host the East Carolina Pirates tonight at the Convocation Center. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Relay

The UTSA women’s basketball team is in a balancing act right now, trying at once to enjoy its historic success, while at the same time staying dialed into the serious business of winning a championship.

It’s an exhilarating — yet challenging — experience for the Roadrunners. Not only are they coming off an emotional victory that yielded the first 20-win season at UTSA in 16 years, but they’re also preparing for a home game against a surging opponent, hungry for its own continued success.

With her team holding a one-game lead in the loss column over its nearest competitor, UTSA coach Karen Aston says that “it’s really tough” to know exactly how to deal with the nuances of keeping her players loose and also focused with a competitive edge.

“It’s kind of a feel,” she said. “This particular team seems to do better when your foot is kind of on the gas a little bit and you have a sense of urgency in practice, no matter how long practice is, which none of them are really very long right now.

“But I think, it’s not a science. They’re kids. They’re human. They have other stuff going on. And to be able to find some kind of balance. Yeah, get in the gym, work on your shot. Don’t lose your skill set, but keep fresh legs.”

After staging a remarkable rally in the last few minutes to win last Saturday at Wichita State, improving to 20-3 on the season, UTSA returns home to face the East Carolina Pirates tonight. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

Winning is fun, yes. But the last thing Aston wants is for her players to feel mentally as if they’ve arrived, and they start to skip some steps on the practice court.

Then again, that’s something that could have happened before now and it hasn’t, likely because the players enjoy the work as much as they enjoy being around each other.

“Again, it’s not a science,” Aston said. “We kind of take every week as it goes. Every day as it goes. Kind of looking at what the week looks like and try to lighten some of their load, for some that have maybe logged a lot of minutes.

“You know, you want to keep the other guys … in game mode on practice days, the ones that don’t log as many minutes. They have to stay ready, and I think this group has done a great job with that. They enjoy practice for the most part, which makes it fun.

“And I appreciate how they’ve approached whatever we’ve given them. They don’t seem to question whatever the day is going to bring. I appreciate that about this group.”

Records

East Carolina 13-11, 5-7
UTSA 20-3, 11-1

Coming up

East Carolina at UTSA, tonight, 6:30 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Notable

UTSA has won 13 of its last 14 games, including three straight victories since it dropped a 75-63 decision on the road at South Florida on Jan. 29.

The Roadrunners (11-1 in the AAC) have six games left on their regular-season schedule and lead the Bulls (9-2) by a game in the loss column.

One area of concern for UTSA lately is perimeter shooting. UTSA has hit only 16 percent (nine of 56) from the three-point arc over its last three games.

East Carolina started conference by losing three straight and six of its first eight, but has rebounded to win three of its last four, including a five-point road win at UAB last Wednesday. Coach Kim McNeill’s Pirates won at home on Saturday, defeating the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, 73-64.

Two years ago, the Pirates won 23 games and the AAC’s postseason title on their way to the NCAA tournament.

Last year, they reached the AAC title game by rallying in the fourth quarter of the semifinals to beat the Roadrunners, 55-54. Amiya Joyner, who had 13 rebounds in the victory, is ECU’s top player this season.

Joyner, a 6-foot-2 junior forward, is averaging 14.2 points and 8.5 rebounds. Freshman point guard Devin Hagemann leads the team with 59 assists. Hagemann passed for eight assists in the victory over the Golden Hurricane.

AAC standings

UTSA 11-1, 20-3
South Florida 9-2, 16-8
North Texas 9-3, 17-7
Tulane 8-4, 15-8
Temple 8-5, 14-10
Tulsa 6-6, 12-12
UAB 6-7, 15-10
Rice 5-6, 12-11
East Carolina 5-7, 13-11
Memphis 4-7, 6-16
Charlotte 2-9, 7-15
Florida Atlantic 2-10, 10-15
Wichita State 2-10, 8-17

Wednesday’s games

Wichita State at Charlotte
Rice at South Florida
East Carolina at UTSA
Memphis at North Texas

UTSA beat North Texas 54-52 in American Athletic Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Tonight, the UTSA women will face the East Carolina Pirates, a team that eliminated them from the AAC tournament last season. – File photo by Joe Alexander

East Carolina men rally in the last minute to top UTSA, 80-79

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C.J. Walker, a grad transfer from UCF, calmly knocks down the game-winning shot for the East Carolina Pirates with four seconds left. – Video by The JB Replay

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Forward C.J. Walker hit a turnaround jumper in the key with four seconds remaining Saturday night, lifting the East Carolina Pirates over the UTSA Roadrunners, 80-79, at the Convocation Center.

Walker, a 6-foot-8 transfer from UCF in his first year at East Carolina, finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

He had 18 of his points in the second half, when the Roadrunners were going to sophomore guard Marcus Millender, who scored 17 of his team-high 21 after intermission.

C.J. Walker, East Carolina. East Carolina beat UTSA 80-79 at the Convocation Center in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

East Carolina forward C.J. Walker scored a game-high 28 points on nine of 15 shooting from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Pirates coach Michael Schwartz credited Walker for keeping his focus during a game in which he was asked to come off the bench.

Schwartz said the plan was to get the ball to Walker at the end.

“We felt like that’s how we had to go,” Schwartz said, “to play through C.J. He delivered, and he’s delivered a lot of times this year. Really proud of C.J.

“Love his approach. He didn’t start tonight. That’s the maturity of someone that came off the bench as obviously a main guy and a starter, to come in and stay totally focused on the task at hand.”

The Pirates trailed by four with 48 seconds remaining and still managed to pull out the victory on the Roadrunners’ home floor.

Turnovers by the Roadrunners set up the Pirates’ last two possessions and the last five points of the game.

First, ECU’s Trevian LeBeaux made a steal, leading to a driving layup by guard Jordan Riley, who was fouled on the play.

After the whistle, Riley went to the line and sank the free throw with 17.9 seconds remaining, bringing the Pirates to within one.

On the ensuing inbounds play, UTSA’s Primo Spears was trapped in the backcourt, and guard RJ Felton forced a turnover that gave the Pirates the ball with 14 seconds left.

Marcus Millender. East Carolina beat UTSA 80-79 at the Convocation Center in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA sophomore Marcus Millender scored a team-high 21 points for his second straight game in the 20s. He had a career-high 28 on Wednesday night against Tulane. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Cam Hayes received the inbounds pass about 35 feet from the hoop and fed it to Walker just outside the top of the key. Dribbling left and then spinning back to his right, Walker fired a turn-around jumper from the free-throw line over Horton for the winning basket.

As UTSA rushed the ball up the other way, Horton missed a desperation three at the buzzer from about 30 feet, sealing the team’s second straight heartbreaking loss at home.

The Roadrunners gave up a 10-point lead in the last three minutes and lost 61-60 to the Tulane Green Wave on Wednesday night.

UTSA coach Austin Claunch said he felt like his team played well enough to win the game but just couldn’t make the plays at the end to clinch it.

Claunch said the Roadrunners will need to get back to work to reverse their fortunes. Responding to a reporter who asked how his players recover from close losses, “You know, it’s hard. You got to get up and go to work.

“You know, we’ll be in a lot more of these games as we move forward. We just got to figure out how to finish them better.”

Records

East Carolina 13-11, 5-6
UTSA 10-13, 4-7

Coming up

UTSA at Wichita State, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Tulsa, Saturday, Feb. 15, 5 p.m.

First half

The UTSA Roadrunners heated up late in the half, knocking down five of their last six shots against the East Carolina Pirates, as they took a 40-33 lead into intermission. For the half, they Roadrunners shot 47 percent from the field.

Primo Spears. East Carolina beat UTSA 80-79 at the Convocation Center in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Primo Spears returned after sitting out with an injured foot against Tulane and scored 13 points in 37 minutes. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Pirates got the early jump to start the game, driving the ball inside, getting to the free throw line and moving out to a 10-5 lead. From there, the Roadrunners started to click, sprinting away on a 14-0 run.

After two straight baskets by reserve forward Jonnivius Smith, the Roadrunners led 19-10 with 11:03 remaining. The Pirates responded with a run of their own, tying the game 23-23. But the Roadrunners retaliated, taking an aggressive approach. With the ball moving on offense, Damari Monsanto finished two plays with three pointers.

Another highlight came when Raekwon Horton lobbed a pass above the rim, where Baboucarr Njie soared to dunk it.

Horton led the Roadrunners in the half with 11 points, and Horton had nine. Smith was effective with four points, four rebounds and two steals.

For the Pirates, C.J. Walker came off the bench for 10 points ad six rebounds. Guard Jordan Riley scored nine, all from the free-throw line, where he made nine of 10.

AAC standings

Memphis 9-1, 19-4
UAB 8-2, 15-8
North Texas 8-3, 17-6
Tulane 7-4, 13-11
Temple 6-4, 14-9
FAU 6-4, 13-10
South Florida 5-5, 12-11
East Carolina 5-6, 13-11
UTSA 4-7, 10-13
Rice 3-8, 12-12
Tulsa 3-8, 9-15
Wichita State 2-7, 12-10
Charlotte 2-9, 9-15

Saturday’s results

FAU 79, Tulsa 55
North Texas 76, Tulane 66
Charlotte 78, Rice 75
East Carolina 80, UTSA 79

Sunday

Temple at Memphis, 1 p.m.
Wichita State at South Florida, 1 p.m.

Raekwon Horton. East Carolina beat UTSA 80-79 at the Convocation Center in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 2025. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Raekwon Horton started fast against East Carolina., scoring 11 of his 15 points before intermission. Horton also had five rebounds, four assists and a steal. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Looking to generate momentum, the UTSA men host the Tulane Green Wave

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Editor’s note: The UTSA Roadrunners are on the floor, going through shooting drills as they warm up for a meeting with the Tulane Green Wave. Primo Spears, the team’s leading scorer, is seated at courtside. Spears is wearing a walking boot on his left ankle/foot.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

As the UTSA men’s basketball team turns the corner to the second half of the American Athletic Conference schedule on Wednesday night, the Roadrunners host the Tulane Green Wave, hoping to build on momentum and move up in the standings.

Last week, they had one of those crazy college basketball experiences, first traveling to Florida, where they took a 94-74 loss to the FAU Owls. Still on the road, they headed to Denton, and the resulting 54-50 victory over North Texas was a major morale and confidence boost for a team that has been up and down all season.

At the time, the Mean Green were tied for first place in the American, undefeated at home and 16-4 overall.

“Life on the road, every day is a new day,” first-year UTSA coach Austin Claunch said, reviewing last week’s journey. “It was certainly a tale of two different games.”

Against the Owls, the Roadrunners stayed close for the first 10 minutes, only to take a major hit at the end of the half.

“They make a big three and go on a huge run … and we weren’t able to recover,” the coach said. “Second half, (Owls guard) KyKy Tandy really lit it up from three and (they) sort of pulled away. But I was of course really pleased with the poise and resiliency to regroup, go to Denton and get a huge win.”

With the road split, UTSA comes home to face Tulane Wednesday night and East Carolina on Saturday night. The Roadrunners need to keep it going if they hope to get a break in seeding at the AAC tournament, when it comes around in March.

“So these are two really big games,” Claunch said. “It feels great to be home, but it’s not going to feel great if we don’t play great. We’ve got to really lock in this week and understand what it’s going to take to win these games. If we do that, we’re going to put ourselves in a good position.”

Records

Tulane 12-10, 6-3
UTSA 10-11, 4-5

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
East Carolina at UTSA, Saturday, 7:08 p.m.

AAC standings

Memphis 8-1 18-4
UAB 8-2, 15-8
North Texas 7-3, 16-6
Temple 6-3, 14-8
Tulane 6-3, 12-10
FAU 5-4, 12-10
East Carolina 4-5, 12-10
South Florida 4-5, 11-11
UTSA 4-5, 10-11
Tulsa 3-6, 9-13
Wichita State 2-7, 12-10
Rice 2-7, 11-11
Charlotte 1-9, 8-15

Notable

Both the women’s and men’s AAC tournaments will be played at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. The women’s tournament runs from March 8-12. The men’s event is March 12-16.

In both cases, a first-round game between the Nos. 12 and 13 seeds will be played on the first day, meaning those two teams will need to win five games in five days to win the tournament title trophy. Teams seeded fifth through 11th will start play on Day Two, and will need to win four in four days. The top four seeds will get a double bye through to the Day 3 quarterfinals, meaning they will need three wins in three days.

Given all that, it’s critical for the UTSA men, who are playing with a seven-man rotation. The fewer games they need to win in Fort Worth, the better their chances of going deeper into the tournament or winning it. With UTSA tied for seventh in the AAC going into tonight, the team finds itself only two games in the loss column behind the teams tied for fourth — Temple and Tulane.

Is it possible, if UTSA can get hot down the stretch, to rise up and snag a top-four seed?

“I have looked at it a little bit,” Claunch said on his Monday morning zoom call. “Certainly, I think we’re capable of going on a run here in these last nine games. But not if we don’t have a great practice today. You know, it’s not something I’m really talking to our team about.

“We certainly feel that Saturday (against North Texas) was a huge step forward. At the halfway point, to get that win, and kind of put yourself right in the middle with some games coming up against teams that are sort of jockeying for those same positions. But our focus is on today. Right? We’ve said it all year. We want to dream big and focus small.”

Tulane beat UTSA 92-63 on Jan. 4, so Claunch’s focus at the moment centers on how to slow down the Green Wave.

“We’ve got a team (coming in) on Wednesday that really handed it to us at their place,” Claunch said. “We’re a completely different team than we were in New Orleans. But they do a great job defensively. They’re extremely long and active and they have good offensive players.

“So, this is going to be a really challenging game on Wednesday. Not a lot of time to think about the tournament right now. We’ve got to lock in on what’s in front of us.”