Tag Archives: Florida Atlantic University Owls

No. 23 FAU rallies behind Davis to beat UTSA 112-103 in OT

Posted on by
Reply
Jordan Ivy-Curry. UTSA lost to 23rd-ranked Florida Atlantic 112-103 in overtime in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Jordan Ivy-Curry scored a career-high 38 points in front of the home crowd Sunday afternoon, but Florida Atlantic withstood the barrage and defeated the Roadrunners by nine in overtime. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Johnell Davis scored 34 points Saturday afternoon as the 23rd-ranked Florida Atlantic University Owls rallied from a 16-point deficit in the first half to down the UTSA Roadrunners, 112-103 in overtime, at the Convocation Center.

Coming off a Final Four season, the Owls didn’t flinch when they fell behind 36-20 in the first half. They kept plugging away and tied the game in regulation, escaping a loss when UTSA’s Carlton Linguard Jr. missed a wide-open three at the buzzer.

In the overtime, FAU called on Alijah Martin, who scored nine of his 26 points in the extra five minutes.

Johnell Davis. Florida Atlantic beat UTSA 112-103 in overtime in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Johnell Davis scored 34 points — 13 in the first half, 17 in the second half and four in overtime — for the FAU Owls. Davis, from Gary, Ind., has hit 30 or more points in two of his last three games and in three of his last eight – Photo by Joe Alexander

Martin also contributed momentum-turning plays with a key steal and an offensive rebound off a missed FAU free throw as the Owls improved their record to 15-4 overall and 5-1 in the American Athletic Conference.

With the loss, the Roadrunners fell to 7-12 and 1-5, including a pair of agonizing losses in the AAC to Top 25 teams — both in overtime. On Jan. 10, the Roadrunners played on the road and took 13th-ranked Memphis to OT before falling 107-101.

This time, guard Jordan Ivy-Curry electrified the home crowd with a career-high of 38 points. Ivy-Curry was on his game, hitting 10 of 20 from the field, four of eight from three-point distance and 14 of 17 at the free-throw line.

Guard Christian Tucker also played well, contributing 19 points and 12 assists. Tucker, a one-time, walk-on, is leading the conference in assists and is also one of the AAC’s best free-throw shooters.

The Roadrunners had it going early in the game, knocking down 12 of their first 17 shots. Eight of the 12 were 3-pointers, including four of them by Isaiah Wyatt. A triple by Linguard made it 36-20 in favor of the Roadrunners with 9:24 left in the first half.

From there, the Owls started getting hot themselves. Davis hit a three, a layup and another three to ignite the visitors on a 29-17 run to the end of the first half.

Christian Tucker. UTSA lost to 23rd-ranked Florida Atlantic 112-103 in overtime in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA point guard Christian Tucker finished with 19 points and 12 assists. – Photo by Joe Alexander.

After the Owls scored the first five points after intermission for a 54-53 advantage, the Roadrunners went on the attack again. The constructed an 11-3 run. When forward Massal Diouf hit a layup on an assist by Ivy-Curry, the Roadrunners had regained control, up by seven.

At that juncture, the Owls grinded it out through the end of regulation, outscoring the Roadrunners 34-27 in the last 14 minutes. They did it in large measure by running UTSA off the 3-point line.

Consequently, the Roadrunners made only one triple down the stretch. In the closing moments of regulation, UTSA had a three-point lead when Davis had the ball on the perimeter, looking for a chance to tie. As he rose to shoot, Wyatt fouled him, bumped him body-to-body.

Davis, a 6-foot-4 junior from Gary, Ind., went to the free-throw line and made all three attempts with 16.6 seconds left. His third make tied it 91-91. After that, UTSA had the ball and Ivy-Curry faced a double team.

Ivy-Curry may have had a chance to drive it but he elected to pass to the open man, and Linguard missed, sending the game into overtime.

Isaiah Wyatt. UTSA lost to 23rd-ranked Florida Atlantic 112-103 in overtime in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Isaiah Wyatt caught fire early, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes. He finished with 14 points. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Records

Florida Atlantic 15-4, 5-1
UTSA 7-12, 1-5

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Notable

In UTSA’s first season in the American, three of its first six conference games have lapsed into overtime. One was a win but two have been excruciating losses to Top 25 opponents.

The Roadrunners emerged with an 89-82 victory over Rice on Jan. 6 in Houston. Four nights later, they played at No. 13 Memphis and dropped a 107-101 decision to the Tigers. Finally, against 23rd-ranked FAU, they bolted to the large lead in front of a home crowd but couldn’t hold on.

“We have got to find a way to win those games,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said.

Dre Fuller Jr. UTSA lost to 23rd-ranked Florida Atlantic 112-103 in overtime in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

FAU center Vladislav Goldin (50) extends his length to defend against UTSA forward Dre Fuller Jr. Fuller, who attended FAU briefly last summer, finished with nine points and five rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

In his postgame radio interview aired on KTKR AM-760, The Ticket, Henson bemoaned the lost opportunity to beat the Owls at the end of regulation.

On the play, Ivy-Curry was double-teamed on the perimeter and couldn’t get off a shot, electing to pass off to Linguard on the high right side of the three-point arc. The 7-foot center misfired, leaving the score tied 91-91 going into the OT.

“Juice (Ivy-Curry) had it going,” Henson said. “We needed to make sure he gets that shot and we didn’t do it.

“We should have just left everybody flat, just let Juice play straight in iso ball. We tried to get (FAU center Vladislav) Goldin out of the lane, so we could get down in there and attack.

“I mean, he causes some problems with his length down in there. We tried to pull him out … They just went and gave a little soft double on Juice. Juice’s only option would have been to back it up and then drive it at Goldin, which probably would have been successful.

“But he made the right play. You got to trust your teammates. Carlton made some baskets with the game on the line earlier in the season. It was the right play. But we would have loved to have Juice take that last shot.”

Alijah Martin. Florida Atlantic beat UTSA 112-103 in overtime in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Guard Alijah Martin hit two threes and scored nine of his 26 points in overtime. He also had a key steal and an offensive rebound in the extra five minutes. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Struggling UTSA hopes to bounce back against No. 23 Florida Atlantic

Posted on by
Reply
Christian Tucker. UAB beat UTSA 78-76 in the men's basketball American Conference opener on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Christian Tucker averages 12.8 points, 5.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds going into Sunday’s home game against the FAU Owls. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Humbled by a blowout loss on the road against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Wednesday night, the UTSA Roadrunners didn’t have much time to sleep on it before wake-up calls went off in their hotel rooms Thursday at 4 a.m.

Time to stand up and face another day.

Sleep-deprived or not, the Roadrunners were scheduled to board the bus for a trip to the airport, fly back to San Antonio and then meet in the basketball offices for a session with coaches.

Topics in the film-room included a 107-78 loss to Tulsa and an upcoming test at home against the nationally-ranked Florida Atlantic University Owls.

Later that evening, the Roadrunners watched on television as the No. 23 Owls rallied at home from an 11-point halftime deficit to beat the Wichita State Shockers, 86-77.

They are the real deal, these Owls, who return almost everyone from a team that reached the NCAA Final Four last season.

“They’re just really physical,” UTSA guard Christian Tucker said. “They like to move the ball a lot and they’re a great three-point shooting team. When you have those intangibles, it makes you a better team.

“We’re going to have our game plan, and we’ll approach it the right way.”

Several players on the FAU roster have the ability to make plays offensively, but Johnell Davis has emerged as the Owls’ leader, with averages of 17.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals.

He pretty much does it all, and with great efficiency, hitting 50 percent from the field and 47.5 percent from three-point distance.

“Such a good player,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “Plays with great pace and strength and command of the ball.”

Florida Atlantic (14-4 overall, 4-1 in the American) comes in with victories in pre-conference against the likes of Butler, Texas A&M and Arizona. In conference, the Owls have lost by two at Charlotte, and that’s it.

They’ve since registered victories over Tulane in New Orleans and against UAB and Wichita State at home.

UTSA (7-11, 1-4) has looked promising on occasion but has been unable to break through with a signature victory. The Roadrunners have lost three straight and seven of nine.

The loss at Tulsa set off some alarm bells, with UTSA giving up a season high in points in regulation on 59 percent shooting. In response, coaches analyzed with the players every defensive possession in the Tulsa game during Thursday’s film session.

Tucker said he thinks the Roadrunners are still believers in their ability to win and generate some momentum.

“It’s still not late in the season,” Tucker said. “We definitely still have some things we need to clean up … We’ve worked so hard in here (during preseason and in-season practices), eventually it’s going to pay off.”

Down the stretch, the Roadrunners have seven games at home and six on the road before the AAC tournament. Tucker said it would be helpful if the UTSA students, who have returned to campus for the spring semester, would come out to support.

It’s so important to look up in the stands and see a packed Convocation Center,” he said. “When the students are involved in the game, and they’re loud, we really feed off that energy and it helps us out.

“If we can get a big crowd of student in here every single game, then that could really help us. I just really want the students to show out and give some support to us.”

Coming up

Florida Atlantic at UTSA, Sunday, 2 p.m.
Tulane at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
UTSA at South Florida, Saturday, Jan. 27, 3 p.m.

Records

Florida Atlantic (14-4, 4-1)
UTSA (7-11, 1-4)

Notable

UTSA guard Isaiah Wyatt, who had games of 27 and 20 points in late November and early December, hasn’t had as big of a role in the offense lately. He was held scoreless at Tulsa on 0-for-5 shooting.

Roadrunners guard Adante’ Holiman is likely out for the FAU game. It’ll be his fifth straight sidelined with an ankle sprain. Holiman has played in 12 games, averaging 9.2 points and 2.1 rebounds. Three scholarship players sitting out as redshirts include Juan Reyna, Justin Thomas and Blessing Adesipe. Thomas has been sitting out of practices recently with a case of mononucleosis, Henson said.

The Owls beat the Roadrunners twice last season in Conference USA on their way to a 35-4 record and a berth in the Final Four at Houston’s NRG Stadium.

In the UTSA game played at San Antonio, FAU built a 16-point lead at halftime and then cruised to an 83-64 victory. FAU held UTSA to 36.2 percent shooting on one end, and on the other, Davis scored 14 points and Brandon Weatherspoon had 12. In Boca Raton, Fla., senior Michael Forrest scored 19 points to lead seven players in double figures in rolling to a 106-66 victory. Forrest, who played five years at FAU, has moved on and is no longer in the program.

UTSA capitalizes on a Florida Atlantic bat infraction to win its 10th straight game

Posted on by


UTSA junior Ulises Quiroga remained undefeated by working 6 and 1/3 innings to earn the victory in the first game Sunday, setting up a doubleheader sweep of the FAU Owls.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Pitching, hitting and playing defense aren’t the only things that that aid in the winning cause in baseball.

Sometimes, just being alert can be crucial to team success.

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark cited catcher Sammy Diaz for picking up on a subtle rules infraction by the opposing team, helping the Roadrunners complete a Conference USA doubleheader sweep against the Florida Atlantic University Owls, 7-2 and 5-3, on Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.

UTSA reliever Simon Miller pitched two scoreless innings. UTSA baseball beat Houston 12-2 in 7 innings on a run rule on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA reliever Simon Miller ran his record to 5-0 with 2 and 2/3 innings of work in the second game – File photo by Joe Alexander

As a result, the Roadrunners won all three games against the Owls in their C-USA opening series, extending their winning streak to 10 games, the second-longest in school history.

How did Diaz’ awareness aid the UTSA cause? Well, it’s a bit complicated. But, during Game 1 Sunday morning, he noticed that a few FAU hitters came to the plate with a bat that didn’t meet regulations.

“There’s bat testing in NCAA baseball now,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark explained. “Every bat has to pass a test on Thursday and have a new sticker, a present-year sticker, and Sammy noticed in Game 1 that they had a bat that didn’t have an orange sticker on it.”

As soon as the Roadrunners became aware of it, they employed a strategy, to call attention to the infraction only when the Owls used a bat without an orange sticker to score a run.

It happened in the top of the first inning in Game 2. With a runner on base via a walk, UTSA pitcher Ryan Beaird threw a fastball that FAU offensive star Nolan Schanuel smashed over the left field wall for an apparent two-run homer.

“At no point in the first game did that bat do any damage (to us),” Hallmark said. “They used the bat again in the second game, and that was the bat he hit the home run with.”

That’s precisely when the issue blew up on the Owls. As Schanuel was rounding the bases, UTSA’s second-game catcher Josh Killeen picked up the bat to bring it to everyone’s attention, and a discussion among umpires ensued.

Then, with Schanuel already seated in the dugout and the scoreboard showing FAU with a 2-0 lead, one of the umpires in the conference at home plate looked up and motioned with his fist, giving the “out” signal.

Two runs, ultimately, were erased from the scorebook.

“I saw J.K. pick up the bat, and I didn’t know what was going on,” recalled UTSA relief pitcher Daniel Shafer, who was in the bullpen in left field at the time. “I kind of assumed it was an illegal bat or something was up with it. Then I saw him called out and I just said, ‘OK. I’ll take it.’

“That’s a great hitter over there, Schanuel. He puts good swings on the ball.”

Does he ever. Schanuel leads Conference USA with a .441 batting average. He’s also got eight home runs.

FAU coaches and players objected to the ruling on what would have been his ninth jack of the season, but the discussion didn’t last too long after the home plate umpire issued a warning to the bench.

“I think they were showing them some stickers that looked like last year’s stickers,” Hallmark said. “They’re not orange anymore. So, that’s what happened.”

The first C-USA series of the season for UTSA started on Friday with the Roadrunners beating the Owls 8-2 on a cold and blustery night. By Saturday, the weather worsened, with rain washing out what had been scheduled as an afternoon game.

Because of the rainout, the teams played two seven-inning games Sunday, with the first starting at 9:30 a.m. By the time the doubleheader was complete, the Roadrunners were answering questions about a C-USA series sweep and a 10-game win streak.

“Ten wins in a row is great, but it’s still a long season,” said Shafer, who closed out both ends in the doubleheader. “It’s still really early. I mean, we’ve got a lot to work on. In all phases of the game. It’s great, but a lot of season is left.”

Nevertheless, it helps the Roadrunners immensely to forge such a solid start in conference play, going 3-0 against a team that came in with its own five-game win streak.

Offensively, UTSA pounded out 14 hits in Friday’s opener, including four of them for extra bases. On Sunday, there were fewer balls hit into the gaps, and there were only 16 UTSA hits in the two games combined.

But there was quite a bit more pop in the balls they did hit, with four going for home runs, including three of them in the second game — one each by Leyton Barry, Matt King and Isaiah Walker.

On the pitching side, UTSA was impressive all weekend, as usual. The Owls, hitting .292 as a team entering the series, scored only seven runs on 19 hits in the three games. In the two played on Sunday, Roadrunners’ pitching scattered 12 hits.

With such a deep reservoir of talent on the mound, Roadrunners coaches had the luxury in the second game Sunday to bring in ace reliever Simon Miller in an early high-leverage situation. In the top of the third, with UTSA leading 2-0, FAU had runners at first and second with one out.

In came Miller, who got Schanuel on a ground ball force play for the first out, before he retired the side against cleanup hitter Jackson Ross. The move allowed UTSA to get through the meat of the Owls’ batting order for the second straight time without harm.

“We’re deep,” Hallmark said. “People don’t realize, guys like Ruger (Riojas) and Fischer (Kingsbery) who are throwing a bullpen (session) right now, allow us go to Simon so early in the game. (Pitching) Simon that early in the game is a little odd, to most people.”

In the move to Miller, Hallmark elected to take out Daniel Garza, one of his best bullpen arms.

“But with two guys on, and one out, and the best hitter in the country coming up to bat, to me, the game is on the line, even though it’s only the third inning …

“It could be the moment of truth, and Simon is our best pitcher … and the only way you do that is to have a deep pitching staff.”

Miller, the winning pitcher in Game 2 after working 2 and 2/3 innings, has responded in key situations all season.

The junior righthander from Canton has made nine appearances and has fashioned a 5-0 record with an 0.38 earned run average. His five victories lead the C-USA.

Hallmark is also high on Shafer, who has made nine appearances and notched three saves, with a 2.70 ERA.

“He wants the ball,” the coach said. “Shafer’s mad when I put Simon in, because he wants to go out there. So, today, it worked out. He got to go out there when he wanted.

“We’re lucky to have as many as what we call ‘Junk Yard Dogs’ on that pitching staff. They want the ball, and they want it in the leverage innings.”

Records

Florida Atlantic 12-9, 0-3
UTSA 18-3, 3-0

Coming up

UTSA at UT-Rio Grande Valley, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Friday, 3 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Notable

UTSA’s winning streak started on March 4, with an 11-5 victory over Utah.

UTSA beat Utah twice to close out a home series against the Utes and then won a mid-week game at Texas State. UTSA returned home to win three straight against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. From there, they traveled to Nacogdoches to beat Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday. After taking three straight from Florida Atlantic, the Roadrunners’ streak is 10.

Unofficially, based on a quick review of the UTSA baseball record book, the longest streak in program history appears to be 12 games.

It was a streak put together in the 1994 season under coach Jimmy Shankle. That year, UTSA was in only its third year of baseball. Regardless, Shankle’s Roadrunners went on to win a school record 39 games and advanced to the NCAA Central Regional at Austin.

UTSA has had three other eight-game streaks since then — in 2006, 2008 and 2010 — all under coach Sherman Corbett.

The Roadrunners won six straight twice last season under Hallmark.

Quiroga’s big day

Junior Ulises Quiroga pitched 6 and a third innings to earn the victory in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, striking out nine batters while allowing two runs on five hits.

He gave up a hit and a walk in the seventh and was lifted with one out and runners at first and second. Shafer entered and walked the first man he faced, before Schanuel hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the second run of the game for the Owls. Shafer fanned Ross for the third out to end the game.

After the game, Quiroga said UTSA players aren’t dwelling on the winning streak, calling Sunday “just another day at the ballpark. Worried about the next one.”

Quiroga (4-0, 3.62 on the season) said he felt good about the way he was throwing the ball. “Command was there, and then the offense just opened up,” he said. “That helped me out big time, for sure.”

What was working best for him? “I was able to throw the breaker in there when I needed it.”

Quiroga always has been a fastball-oriented pitcher. It’s his best pitch. But in some respects, the junior from Baytown has altered his style this season, ditching the slider he used last year and replacing it with a curve.

“It’s a spike curve ball,” he said. “Fingers on top and throw it like a fastball.”

UTSA’s Keaton Wallace takes pride in career achievement

Posted on by
Keaton Wallace. UTSA beat UTEP 86-79 in a Conference USA game on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Senior guard Keaton Wallace will lead the UTSA Roadrunners into a weekend home series against the FAU Owls. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Senior guard Keaton Wallace says he was oblivious to the news last weekend that he had passed a former UTSA great and moved into second place on the school’s all-time scoring list.

“It’s really crazy, because I never knew until I came in on Monday … ” Wallace said. “They told me that I was second. I was shocked. I didn’t even know.”

For the record, Jhivvan Jackson leads the UTSA list with 2,411 points, followed by Wallace, Jackson’s teammate of the past four years, with 1,944, and Devin Brown with 1,922.

Brown, a shooting guard, amassed his point totals from 1998-2002 and went on to play in the NBA. He held the record for 18 seasons until Jackson broke it late last year.

Wallace eclipsed Brown’s mark last Friday when he scored a season-high 33 points in an 87-80 victory at Florida International. The former prep standout at Richardson added to his career total with 16 in a 90-47 victory at FIU on Saturday.

“You know, things like that don’t happen very often,” Wallace said. “Devin Brown, he’s a great player. I seen some of his tape. He could score. Just for two guys, me and Jhivvan, to play on the same team at the same time and do things like that, that’s big time. That speaks volumes. I’m going to keep working. Try to keep getting better.”

As Wallace works on his own game, the Roadrunners are also improving as a team. They have won five of their last six leading into a two-game, Conference USA home series this week against Florida Atlantic. The games are set for Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

If Wallace has learned anything in four years at UTSA, he knows it’s nice to start playing well in February, to lay the groundwork for a trip to the C-USA tournament in March.

“We’re feeling good about finishing strong in the conference,” Wallace. “I think we have six more games. Those six games can be a great momentum change for us going into the conference tournament. We just have to handle our business and do what we need to do. Come in with a positive mindset going into the conference tournament.”

UTSA is emphasizing perimeter defense against the Owls.

“I think we need to guard the three a little bit better,” he said. “I know they have a couple of three-point shooters, things like that. If the defense is all on the same page and we execute our schemes, make sure we don’t give up any offensive rebounds or any second-chance points, we’ll have a better chance at winning the game.”

Having Wallace at peak form also will help. Last weekend, with UTSA facing games critical to its long-term aspirations, the 6-foot-3 left-hander hit 12 of 19 from the field on Friday and 6 of 13 on Saturday.

Coming up

FAU at UTSA, Friday at 6 p.m.
FAU at UTSA, Saturday at 3 p.m.

Records

FAU 8-7, 3-3
UTSA 10-9, 6-6