By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The lowly East Carolina Pirates entered Wednesday night’s game in Greenville, N.C., with 16 losses on the season and without a win at home against an American Conference opponent.

The Pirates rectified the situation by cruising to an 88-72 victory, delivering a program-record 17th straight loss to the beleaguered UTSA Roadrunners.

UTSA point guard Austin Nunez sat out after taking a hard fall in a game played at home Saturday night.

For the Roadrunners’ men’s basketball program, it was another dubious moment as it clinched a 20-loss season for the fourth time in the last five years. Last season, in Austin Claunch’s first as head coach, they finished 12-19.

This year, the hard-luck Roadrunners sit at 4-20 and 0-12 in the American. To make matters worse, there’s probably no chance for redemption in March, either. In a new twist, the conference has whittled the tournament down to 10 teams.

Going into Wednesday night’s late games, North Texas, Rice and East Carolina were locked in a battle for the 10th spot.

North Texas and Rice have seven losses East Carolina eight, meaning that UTSA, barring a miraculous turnaround in the last few weeks, likely is on the verge of elimination with six games to play.

The Pirates, who improved to 8-14 on the season and 3-8 in the American, looked like a team that could have been beaten. They entered Wednesday night with an 0-5 record at home in the American and with a track record for losing in a variety of ways.

But with the Pirates racing to a 46-31 halftime lead, and with star guard Jordan Riley finishing with 19 points to lead six players in double figures, the Roadrunners were left again wondering when, or if, it will ever end.

“These guys battled,” Claunch said on his postgame radio interview with Andy Everett. “Just didn’t get it done.”

For Nunez, indications are that he could be ready on Sunday at Charlotte, but it’s uncertain how that will play out considering that he crash-landed so hard on a drive to the hoop last Saturday night at home against North Texas.

Against East Carolina, with seven players inactive, UTSA started Jamir Simpson and Brent Moss in the backcourt, with Baboucarr Njie on the wing and Daniel Akitoby and Kaidon Rayfield on the front line.

Simpson played 38 minutes, with Rayfield and Moss getting 36 and Daniel Akitoby 31. Akitoby, a spot player in the first few months of the season, produced 16 points and 11 rebounds. Moss had 15, with Rayfield scoring 12 and Simpson 11.

But, as so often happens with the Roadrunners, they shot the ball poorly. They hit 37 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. At the free throw line, their inconsistency was maddening as they made only eight of 16.

In contrast, the Pirates attacked the rim and got fouled enough to make 18 of 20 free throws. From the field, they hit 46 percent, including 53 percent in the first half when they broke the game open.

Records

UTSA 4-20, 0-12
East Carolina 8-16, 3-8

Coming up

UTSA at Charlotte, Sunday, 11 a.m.
FAU at UTSA, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 6 p.m.

Notable

UTSA men’s basketball remains tied for second for the longest active losing streak in NCAA Division I. The Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils have dropped 22 in a row, while the Roadrunners and the Air Force Falcons have lost 17 straight.

East Carolina’s Jordan Riley, with three straight 30-points plus games coming in, was limited to 19. But Isaiah Mbeng and Co. more than made up the difference. He scored 15 of his 18 in the first half.

Demitri Gardner had 15, with Eli DeLaurier going for 13 and Giovanni Emejuru 12. Emejuru, a 6-foot-10 senior, protected the paint with three blocked shots while also pulling down 12 boards.

The Pirates entered the game with five players inactive, second in the conference in numbers only to the Roadrunners.

First half

Mbeng hit three 3-point buckets and scored 15 points, lifting the Pirates into a 46-31 lead.

In the game played at the Williams Arena at Menges Coliseum, in Greenville, N.C., Mbeng tied his career high in scoring by connecting on four for five from the field and three for four from beyond the 3-point arc.

Averaging 23.3 points for the season, Riley played secondary role in the opening half, scoring six points with three assists and three rebounds in 19 minutes.

UTSA entered the American Conference contest without the services of seven players, including Nunez, who has played 22 games as the team’s No. 1 point guard this season, and also without center Mo Njie.

Leading 9-6 in the first five minutes, UTSA started to falter as East Carolina started a 26-7 surge.

When Mbeng nailed a three with 6:02 left in the half, the Pirates had opened a 32-16 lead. Three minutes later, a Gardner triple gave East Carolina its largest lead of the half at 39-21.

East Carolina forward Keanna Rembert (left) scored six of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA coach Karen Aston had told her players coming into Tuesday night that if they could hold the East Carolina Lady Pirates to less than 70 points, then they would have a chance to beat the highest-scoring team in the American Conference.

As it turned out, the high-flying Pirates failed to hit 70 but played better defense than the defense-minded Roadrunners, claiming a 65-58 victory at the Convocation Center in a battle between contenders in the American.

“We had too many turnovers and we gave up too many offensive rebounds,” Aston said. “That’s just the story of the game.”

The other story centered on a plague of injuries that has hurt UTSA all season. The problem was exacerbated against the Pirates when Cheyenne Rowe had to sit out with an illness.

UTSA guard Damara Allen scored 12 points on three of nine shooting. She also had three rebounds and three assists. – Photo by Joe Alexander

As a result, Rowe missed her first game of the season, joining six other players on the roster who have been out of action with assorted injuries.

Without Rowe and injured Idara Udo on the floor, the Roadrunners were extremely thin on the inside, playing sophomore Emilia Dannebauer 31 minutes and freshman Sanaa Bean 18, much more than their season averages.

East Carolina took full advantage, winning the battle of the boards, 32-26, including 17-8 on the offensive end. In the beginning, the Roadrunners shot the ball well and took an early eight-point lead.

But as the Pirates continued to trap and press, the Roadrunners turned it over 29 times, leading to 27 points for the visitors. It was just too much for the home team to overcome.

“I thought UT San Antonio had a good game plan, and that was to take the paint away from us,” East Carolina coach Kim McNeill said. “They did a really good job of that. We weren’t as clean as we normally are on offense.

“You got to credit that to the (UTSA) defense. I think we made some gutsy plays down the stretch. Down on the defensive end we got some stops when we needed … and we made some baskets when we needed them, too.”

East Carolina rallied behind forward Keanna Rembert, who scored six of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Trailing by 12 points midway through the fourth, the Roadrunners made it interesting, cutting the lead to seven with three minutes left.

In response, Rembert answered with a follow shot with 2:54 remaining to boost the advantage to nine. UTSA couldn’t get closer than six the rest of the way.

Mia Hammonds and Damara Allen scored 12 points apiece to lead the Roadrunners. Guard Ereauna Hardaway, the team’s second-leading scorer, was held to eight points on one for five shooting.

UTSA forward Mia Hammonds notched 12 points, six rebounds, one block and a steal. – Photo by Joe Alexander

East Carolina’s primary threat in the backcourt had an off night, as well. Kennedy Fauntleroy, who had averaged 23 points in three previous games, was held to two points on two free throws.

The Arizona State transfer also committed seven turnovers and eventually fouled out. But in Fauntleroy’s case, her teammates in the backcourt picked up the slack to win in one of the toughest places to play in the American.

Guards Savannah Brooks and Jayla Hearp both hurt the Roadrunners. Brooks had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Brooks also recorded three steals. Hearp scored 10 and pulled down five rebounds — all of them on the offensive end.

Also, Pirates guard Taylor Barner came off the bench and made an impact in defending UTSA’s Hardaway.

Records

East Carolina 14-6, 6-1
UTSA 9-8, 4-2

Coming up

UTSA at Memphis, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Third quarter

Jayla Hearp scored nine points and Savannah Brooks added six in the third period as the Lady Pirates came from a one-point halftime deficit and surged into a a 50-41 lead.

UTSA freshman forward Sanaa Bean produced four points and two rebounds in 18 minutes. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Pirates also played stifling defense, forcing the Roadrunners into eight turnovers as they won the period, 25-15.

When the Roadrunners did get a clean look at the hoop, they shot only three of 10 from the field.

First half

Despite making 15 turnovers in the half and playing without Rowe, the UTSA Roadrunners ran into the dressing room with a 26-25 lead on the East Carolina Lady Pirates.

Damara Allen led the Roadrunners with 10 points, including two of their four 3-pointers. Three-point shooting was a key for the ‘Runners as they hit four of five in the half. They also shot nine of 16 from the field.

Another promising sign for UTSA was its defense on guard Fauntleroy, who was held scoreless after averaging 23 points a game over her last three. Fauntleroy shot zero for two from the field and made five turnovers.

East Carolina’s best weapon was its full-court press, which forced UTSA into nine second-quarter turnovers.

Trailing by eight early in the game, the Pirates used the press to flip the momentum. They took a 17-16 lead on a Rembert jumper with 6:01 left in the half.

UTSA immediately regained the lead when the Roadrunners beat pressure and fed Allen, who hit a three out of the corner.

Jayda Holiman made another trey a few minutes later, expanding UTSA’s advantage to 25-21. Rembert knocked down a triple with 41 seconds left to tie the score. UTSA center Emilia Dannebauer hit a free throw with 10 seconds left for the final point.

Notable

UTSA forward Cheyenne Rowe sat out the game with an illness. She is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds. Rowe had started and played all 16 games for the Roadrunners.

UTSA forward Idara Udo has been out for seven games with a lower leg injury but went through some shooting drills Tuesday afternoon before the team warmups. – Photo Joe Alexander.

The Roadrunners had six other players sitting out, five of whom haven’t played this season. Idara Udo, who has been out for the past seven games, played the first 10 and averaged 8.1 points and 7.2 rebounds.

Before pre-game warmups, Udo was on the floor shooting the ball, a positive sign for the team.

Maya Linton, Nyayongah Gony, Saher Alizada, Sema Udo and Taylor Ross are the others who have not played this season.

Gony, Sema Udo and Ross are out for the season, while Idara Udo, Linton and Alizada were listed as out for the game, according to the official availability report.

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.