Tag Archives: Mo Njie

Dunking and dancing: Roadrunners revel in Rowdy Jam festivities

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Macaleab Rich

UTSA junior Macaleab Rich soars over Coach Austin Claunch in the dunk contest Thursday night at Rowdy Jam. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The night started with the UTSA band rocking the Convocation Center. It continued with introductions of the men’s and women’s basketball teams, a three-point shooting exhibition and a dunk contest.

It ended with a concert by soulful R&B singer Cupid, The Linedance King, who had hundreds of students, athletes and even a few administrators dancing all together on one end of the court.

After it was over, a few of the UTSA athletes applauded the show, which served not only to bring everyone together in a party atmosphere on the floor, but also to break up the routine of preseason practices.

Asked how she thought the fans did in the dance portion of the show, UTSA women’s team center Emilia Dannebauer smiled and said she thought “everyone was amazing.”

Men’s team center Mo Njie said he thinks it was a fun event for everyone, and he hopes the fans continue to come out when the season starts.

Njie has high hopes for the Roadrunners men, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

“We want to be the best defensive team in the nation,” he said.

Adriana Robles. UTSA basketball Rowdy Jam on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Adriana Robles, enjoying a moment at Rowdy Jam, is competing for playing time at point guard for the defending American Conference regular-season champion UTSA women. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Matheo Coffi. UTSA basketball Rowdy Jam on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Matheo Coffi. from Strasbourg, France, shows off his hops during the dunk show. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Saher Alizada. UTSA basketball Rowdy Jam on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Saher Alizada is a junior from Montreal, Canada. She’s a transfer from South Plains College. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Mo Njie. UTSA basketball Rowdy Jam on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Six-foot-11 center Mo Njie, a grad student, is one of four returning players for the UTSA men.- Photo by Joe Alexander

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Coach touts Maya Linton as ‘the difference’ for UTSA against Tulsa

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Maya Linton. UTSA beat South Florida 65-42 in American Athletic Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Maya Linton and others held the leading scorer in the American Athletic Conference to 10 points in Saturday’s 60-53 road victory at Tulsa. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA coach Karen Aston on Monday praised junior forward Maya Linton for her effort on the defensive end in a 60-53 victory Saturday at Tulsa.

Linton held Golden Hurricane star Delanie Crawford to 10 points as Roadrunners won their fifth in a row and improved to a school-record 12-2 record, including 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference. Crawford, the AAC’s leading scorer at the time, was held to 3 of 13 shooting from the field.

“Really proud of our team’s resiliency at Tulsa,” Aston said. “I thought that was a hard-fought game. Both teams played really hard. I just thought that we showed some toughness and resilience in that game, for sure.”

Aston said that Linton, a 5-foot-11 junior from Duncanville, was “the difference in the game.”

“No question about it,” the coach said on her weekly zoom call with the media. “Delanie Crawford is a wonderfully-gifted offensive basketball player. I just thought Maya committed to being unconcerned about other things … and just made it difficult for her to get shots off.”

The coach said “a lot of different people” guarded Crawford but she said Linton sets the tone for the team defensively.

Coming up

As play in the American continues, the UTSA men (6-7, 0-1) will host Tulsa (6-9, 0-2) on Tuesday at 7 in the Convocation Center, and the women will host the defending AAC tournament champion Rice Owls (8-6, 1-1) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Notable

Despite 17 points and nine rebounds from UTSA forward Raekwon Horton, the short-handed Roadrunners men suffered a 92-63 loss at Tulane on Saturday afternoon. Tulane manufactured a 15-0 run early in the game to take charge. The Green Wave led 47-23 at intermission and by as many as 35 points in the second half.

UTSA played without 6-foot-11 center Mo Njie for the second game in a row. Coach Austin Claunch said that Njie has a foot injury and might be out for between “a couple of weeks” and a month. “Obviously we really, really miss his size,” the coach said. “That’s a tough break. More than that, just the spirit he plays with. He’s (rehabilitating) every day and when we get to that point in February, maybe he can get back in and help us.”

Roadrunners haven’t spent much time worrying about an AAC preseason slight

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners didn’t get much love from coaches in the American Athletic Conference during the league’s media days a few weeks ago. The coaches picked UTSA in a tie for 11th place in the 13-team AAC.

UTSA center Mo Njie says that players haven’t spent much time discussing it.

“People don’t really believe in us,” said Njie, a 6-foot-11 SMU transfer. “They don’t think we have the talent or the skill to come out and perform. But, I mean, I think that’s the beauty of it, honestly. Now we have the chance to come together and really show what UTSA basketball is all about.”

The Roadrunners will conduct an intra-squad scrimmage on Wednesday and then will make final preparations over the weekend in advance of the season opener against Trinity University on Monday, with game time set for 6:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

“It’s time to get out here and see where we are, see where we need to get better,” first-year coach Austin Claunch said . “I expect us to play well (in the opener), but I also don’t expect that to be the team you see in March, either.

“We’re going to have to make strides throughout the course of the year on both sides of the ball and really lean into know who we are and figure out our identity as we go. But, no, we’re excited to get out here and compete.”

Notable

Guard Tai’Reon Joseph’s playing status for the season opener remains in question because of a waiver request to the NCAA that remains unsettled. Joseph, a 20-point scorer at Southern University last season, is believed to be sidelined for the first seven games unless UTSA gets a reprieve.

“He’ll play at some point for UTSA,” Claunch said. “You’ll certainly see him in the AAC (games) and hopefully sooner than that.”

Joseph, one of the team’s most explosive offensive players, was held out of UTSA’s 21-point exhibition setback at Southern Cal because of the eligibility question. In a scrimmage against McNeese 10 days ago, he scored 11 points, knocking down a couple of three-pointers.