Tag Archives: Houston Christian Huskies

UTSA’s Claunch: ‘I can’t remember being part of a comeback like that’

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Primo Spears, Jonnivius Smith and the UTSA Roadrunners created a little momentum for themselves with a split of two games on a trip earlier this week in Troy, Ala.

After losing 86-72 on Monday to the Troy Trojans, the Roadrunners buckled down and claimed an improbable 76-74 victory Wednesday against the Merrimack College Warriors.

Against Merrimack, the Roadrunners were looking at the prospect of returning to San Antonio on a four-game losing streak when they fell behind by 14 points with 3:31 remaining.

They responded with a Spears-fueled 20-4 run in the last three minutes to win.

With a home game looming Saturday against Houston Christian, first-year UTSA coach Austin Claunch took questions on a zoom call Friday to discuss his feelings about the state of the team.

“It was good to get two games back to back where we have 80 minutes that we can really watch and dissect and figure out where we’re making mistakes,” he said. “We got to play a lot better.”

Before the remarkable win Wednesday, the Roadrunners had lost by double digits in three straight, a skid that started at Bradley and continued with a home loss to Little Rock.

After another lackluster showing against Troy on Monday, the comeback against the Warriors was just what they needed.

Smith set it up with his work on the boards and then Spears completed the deal, scoring 15 points in the final 2:51 of the game.

“Obviously it’s great to learn and teach after a win,” Claunch said. “I think part of a growing program is learning how to win when you don’t play your best basketball.”

The circumstances were dire in the second half when the Warriors, playing a zone defense, kept making stops and started building their lead into double digits.

“In the second half, they threw a punch and it sort of looked like, ‘Hey, we’re on the ropes here,’ ” Claunch said.

Spears, a Florida State transfer, came off the ropes swinging, in a manner of speaking. Starting at 2:51 on the clock, he scored 12 points in a minute and a half and then added three more in the final 30 seconds.

“I was really proud of the resiliency and just (the) commitment to playing the next play … and so to finish that game the way we did, I can’t remember a time that I’ve been a part of a comeback like that,” Claunch said. “So, certainly to be sitting here now, coming off a win, coming back to the Convo, we’re excited about tomorrow.”

Records

Houston Christian 2-5
UTSA 2-3

Coming up

Houston Christian at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.

Notable

Claunch said guard Paul Lewis is definitely out for the Houston Christian game. Lewis has missed the last three with a foot injury.

As for forward Jaquan Scott, Claunch said his starter on the front line is more day to day after sitting out the last two. Claunch indicated that guard Tai’Reon Joseph, who is ineligible and hasn’t played yet, is expected to make his UTSA debut soon, possibly by the end of next week.

UTSA could certainly use Joseph’s firepower in upcoming road tests at Saint Mary’s, Calif., on Tuesday or at the University of Arkansas on Saturday, Dec. 7. “Maybe it’s Arkansas, but it’s soon, it’s very soon,” Claunch said.

Against Merrimack, Primo Spears and Jonnivius Smith broke out with their best games as Roadrunners. Spears scored a season-high 29 points and Smith pulled down 20 rebounds, becoming the third player in school history to get that many boards in a single outing.

“I thought Jo’s energy … he was relentless,” Claunch said. “Going after the ball offensively and defensively after the shot was taken, and then to step up and make some big buckets down low. He played through some physicality. It was happy for him to be back in his home state, with some family there, and play the way he did … really happy for Jo. We need him to keep playing that way.”

As for Spears, Claunch said it showed leadership and poise to do what he did late in the game, knocking down three 3-point baskets and converting two more three-point plays in the final 2:51. “We got a ways to go, but it’s wins like those and plays like those that can give your team the confidence to start turning the corner,” the coach said.

Fuller scores 24 as UTSA holds off Houston Christian, 89-87, ending a three-game skid

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners gave up most of a double-digit lead in the final minutes Monday night and then escaped with an 89-87, non-conference road victory against the Houston Christian Huskies. Forward Dre Fuller Jr., who led UTSA with a season-high 24 points, said he will take it.

“Winning on the road is extra, extra hard,” Fuller told Andy Everett on the team’s radio broadcast. “You walk in the gym (seemingly) down 20 already, with the refs and the opponent, so we just had to just fight and keep going.”

Ahead by one point at halftime, the Roadrunners built leads as large as 11 points three times in the second half, only to see the Huskies keep battling. In crunch time, UTSA’s Isaiah Wyatt hit a layup for an 81-70 lead with 5:40 remaining.

But the Huskies kept playing and stayed within striking distance. The Roadrunners also pushed back, with Adante’ Holiman driving to the rim and getting fouled with six seconds to go. Holiman missed the first one and made the second for a three-point lead.

On HCU’s next possession, Fuller fouled Michael Imariagbe just as he advanced past halfcourt. Imariagbe made the first free throw and then missed the second one on purpose. Bruce Carpenter rebounded and had a decent look at the basket inside the top of the key, but he misfired at the buzzer.

“Road wins are good, however they come,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “Should have been a little cleaner. Wish it would have been a little smoother down the stretch. Both halves, we had good stretches in the middle … built that lead and then didn’t hang on to it very well.”

For UTSA, the win was a relief after dropping three in a row — all on the road — at Minnesota, Lamar and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Along with Fuller, point guard Christian Tucker played well. Tucker finished with 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Chandler Cuthrell came off the bench for 10 points and six boards.

Marcus Greene led the Huskies with 23 points. Jay Alvarez scored 19. Imariagbe enjoyed a big night with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Bonke Maring scored 16.

Records

UTSA 2-3
Houston Christian 0-3

Coming up

Jacksonville State (Ala.) at UTSA, Friday, at noon

Notable

After beating Western Illinois at home to start the season, the Roadrunners embarked on a stretch of four straight games away from home. They lost by 26 points at Minnesota, by eight at Lamar and by 10 at Texas State before winning by two at Houston Christian.

UTSA coach Steve Henson shuffled his starting lineup against the Huskies. He started Trey Edmonds and Dre Fuller at the forwards, Isaiah Wyatt on the wing and Adante’ Holiman and Christian Tucker at guard. Wyatt, a 6-4 swing man, was the new starter replacing 7-foot Carlton Linguard Jr., who came off the bench.

Henson said his original starters weren’t do anything wrong so much as he just wanted to shake things up after a few losses.

“We lost a couple of ball games, so we wanted to mix things up,” Henson said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys that have earned the opportunity to play and start. Also was hoping Carlton would relax a little bit. Coming off the bench sometimes that helps guys. He’s a big part of what we do. We need him to be really comfortable out there.”

Linguard finished with 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. Wyatt had seven points and four rebounds in 21 minutes. Leading the way were Fuller and Tucker, who serves as a lead guard along with Holiman. Tucker came up big with 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

UTSA rallies with three runs in the ninth to beat Houston Christian, 9-8

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The 23rd-ranked UTSA Roadrunners rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth Tuesday night to defeat the Houston Christian Huskies, 9-8.

The game was tied with two out when UTSA’s Matt King stepped to the plate with bases loaded against Houston Christian reliever Javan Smitherman. King was hit by a pitch to force in the winning run.

At one point in the game, the Roadrunners trailed 6-0 on their home field and appeared to be on the way to back-to-back losses.

Undeterred, they scored three runs in the third inning, one in the fourth, twice in the seventh and three times in the ninth to claim their 31st victory of the season.

With UTSA down 8-6 going into its last at bat, Leyton Barry opened the ninth inning with a triple off Smitherman. The HCU righthander promptly steadied himself and retired the next two batters, getting Taylor Smith to foul out and Antonio Valdez to ground back to the mound.

Needing one more out to nail down what would have been one of Houston Christian’s best victories of the season, Smitherman couldn’t get it. Josh Killeen doubled to drive in Barry, trimming the lead to 8-7.

Smitherman promptly walked Caleb Hill on four pitches and then was tagged for an RBI single by Sammy Diaz. While Killeen scored, Hill advanced to third. Freshman Garrett Brooks then drew a walk to load the bases, setting the stage for the game winner.

For UTSA, Killeen had two hits and three RBIs. Hill had three hits and two RBIs. Ryan Beaird pitched the final 1 and 1/3 innings to earn the victory.

Reed Chumley had four hits for HCU and belted a two-run homer. Also for the visitors, outfielder Damian Ruiz had three hits and threw out a runner at the plate to choke off a seventh-inning rally.

With one out in the seventh, Caleb Hill tripled to left center field to drive in two runs, trimming the HCU lead to 8-6. On the next play, Diaz flied out to Ruiz, who threw from right field to the plate cut down Hill for the last out.

UTSA entered the game ranked in the national top 25 for the second week in a row and for the third time this month. This week, the Roadrunners were 23rd by Baseball America and 25th by D1 Baseball.

Records

Houston Christian 8-28
UTSA 31-10

Coming up

UTSA at UAB, three-game series starting Friday.