UTSA women hold on to conference lead by defeating North Texas, 54-52

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

Sidney Love blocks a shot that seals the victory, boosting UTSA to a 19-3 record overall, including 10-1 in the American Athletic Conference. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Playing a game with conference championship implications in front of a rowdy home crowd, the UTSA women rallied from a four-point deficit in the last five minutes Tuesday night to defeat the North Texas Mean Green, 54-52.

With the win, the Roadrunners improved to 12-1 in their last 13 games and held onto first place in the American.

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 shout their approval after making a stop on the last possession to beat the North Texas Mean Green. – Photo by Joe Alexander

North Texas had a chance to tie in the final seconds and send it to overtime, but UTSA guard Sidney Love blocked a runner by Desiree Wooten on the last possession, prompting a roar of approval from an announced crowd of 1,418 fans at the Convocation Center.

In response, UTSA players stomped, waved their hands and shouted back at the crowd, with a few players rushing off the bench to hug Love.

What the game may have lacked in aesthetics — both teams shot less than 33 percent from the field; both combined to commit 44 turnovers, and UTSA misfired on all 18 three-point attempts — it may have made up for it with late-game dramatics.

Trailing 48-44 and with the game clock ticking under five minutes, UTSA came up with big plays down the stretch by the likes of Love, Jordyn Jenkins, Idara Udo and Nina De Leon Negron to claim its 19th win of the season against only three losses.

Jenkins had five of her game-high 26 points in the Roadrunners’ 10-4 closing run, including a couple of contested 12-foot jumpers. Other notable plays down the stretch included:

De Leon Negron tying up North Texas star Tommisha Lampkin to force a held ball, with the extra possession leading to a sweet right-handed scoop shot by Love that gave the Roadrunners momentum. Also, a hustle play by Udo, who rebounded a miss by De Leon Negron and scored for a two-point lead.

After Wooten sank a floater from 10 feet to tie the game with two minutes left, Jenkins responded on the other end with a 12-footer and a 52-50 lead with 1:38 remaining. The Roadrunners never trailed after that.

Jordyn Jenkins. 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

Jordyn Jenkins, the leading scorer in the American, produced 26 points on seven field goals and 12 free throws on 15 attempts. – Photo by Joe Alexander.

“I thought this was a really, really well-scouted game,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I thought both teams were well-prepared. It was just a dog fight because of how well both teams were prepared. I told ’em at halftime it was just a defensive battle.

“We felt bad about our mistakes, but we were forcing the same ones on the other end. So, I kind of felt like this was going to boil down to some really small things, and, you know, somebody just decided to grit it out. I actually thought we would make more shots than we did.

“We uncharacteristically, couldn’t hit from three. But, man, tough. Just a tough performance from our team.”

In a matchup of two of the best forwards in the American, UTSA’s Jenkins won the battle, registering a game-high 26 points on seven field goals and 12 of 15 shooting at the free-throw line. Also, eight rebounds. Her North Texas counterpart, Lampkin, played hard and collected 16 rebounds but was held to five points.

Lampkin, averaging 16.7 points on the season at an AAC-best 57 percent from the field, couldn’t get the ball enough against a swarming UTSA defensive presence to do much damage. She finished two for five from the field and committed five turnovers.

In a sense, Jenkins may have adapted a little better to the physicality of the game, making adjustments along the way.

Asked what goes into making the adjustments, the 6-foot UTSA senior said, “Honestly, a lot of maturity. I know a couple of years ago, me, I’d be arguing with the refs or getting into my feelings. But it’s just about moving on to the next play and embracing the physicality and just reading your defender. Just worry about what they’re doing and adapt.”

North Texas Tommisha Lampkin. 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

North Texas forward Tommisha Lampkin, regarded as one of the best players in the American, was held by a swarming UTSA defense to five points. – Photo by Joe Alexander

On the last play, it almost looked like the Roadrunners knew what was coming from the Mean Green. Wooten drove down the right side and may have stumbled a bit when Love reached in and swatted the ball away.

Aston credited her coaching staff for keeping players informed on what the visitors might do. “A lot of credit to our staff,” she said. “They have responsibilities to prepare our team. We talk about this all the time. Just do your job. And I thought they were really well-prepared.

“I thought they knew what we were probably going to see. I thought they did a good job at the timeouts giving us an idea of what they might be looking for. I thought Sid handled that well. We knew they were probably going to isolate Lampkin, and she did a good job of staying loose and getting the block.

“But I thought, down the stretch … we didn’t give up a lot of easy shots in the last five minutes.”

Records

North Texas 16-7, 8-3
UTSA 19-3, 10-1

Coming up

UTSA at Wichita State, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Notable

The Mean Green’s championship hopes have taken a hit in the past two games. Last weekend, they lost at South Florida, and after allowing a late lead to slip away at the Convocation Center, they are now two games behind the league-leading Roadrunners in the loss column. The top of the AAC standings now include: UTSA (10-1), South Florida (8-2), North Texas (8-3), Tulane (7-3) and Temple (6-4).

Idara Udo. 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

Idara Udo. 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

First half

The Roadrunners couldn’t handle the North Texas pressure very well. But they did play well defensively themselves, and then they capitalized on 12 points from Jenkins to forge a 28-24 lead at intermission.

UTSA had a strong start to the game, taking an 8-2 lead in the first four minutes and then building it to 14-7 after one quarter. When Love converted a three-point play early in the second, the crowd was getting into it, with the Roadrunners leading 17-7.

At that point, the Roadrunners became extremely careless with the ball and committed five turnovers on five possessions, leading to a 10-0 run by the Mean Green. A fast break layup by Chania Price tied the score 17-17 with 7:07 left.

UTSA held North Texas to three field goals in the last seven minutes to turn the momentum in its favor. Jenkins hit six straight free throws in the final 2:28. Jenkins finished the half two of five from the field and eight of eight at the line.

North Texas star Tommisha Lampkin, facing double- and triple-team pressure, scored one point in the half on zero for one shooting.

Nina De Leon Negron. 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

Roadrunners point guard Nina De Leon Negron gets a hug from her mother after the Roadrunners beat the North Texas Mean Green. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Maya Linton. 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

Forward Maya Linton helped hold the North Texas Mean Green to 31.7 percent shooting. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Karen Aston. UTSA beat Temple 70-61 on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center in American Athletic Conference women's basketball. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Karen Aston said in the postgame that leadership has helped the team recover from fourth-quarter deficits against both Temple and North Texas. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA women set to face North Texas, another upper-tier AAC contender

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Winners of an eye-opening 18 games on the season and chasing a conference championship, the UTSA women will face their third title contender in seven days tonight when they host forward Tommisha Lampkin and the North Texas Mean Green at the Convocation Center. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m.

In the past week, the first-place Roadrunners’ have had only mixed results against a couple of teams grouped in the upper tier of contenders in the American Athletic Conference race. Last week, for instance, they traveled to Tampa, Fla., and had their 10-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the South Florida Bulls.

The Bulls pulled away late and won 75-63.

Sitting out the game was injured UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins, the leading scorer in the the AAC, as well as the scoring and rebounding leader for the Roadrunners. Last weekend, the Roadrunners returned home to play the Temple Owls and surged late to win, 70-61.

But it wasn’t easy. With Jenkins returning to the court against the Owls, she turned it on in the second half and rallied the Roadrunners, who also were buoyed by big performances from Nina De Leon Negron, Idara Udo and Cheyenne Rowe.

UTSA trailed by 14 early in the third quarter and by 11 early in the fourth before making the final push in front of a vocal crowd, improving to 11-1 in their last 12 games. Now they’re preparing to face the Mean Green, who lost at South Florida last weekend despite Lampkin’s second strong performance in a row.

Following a 16-point, 10-rebound showing in a close win at home against Temple, the 6-foot-2 senior forward from Mansfield exploded for 19 points and 15 boards against the Bulls. With her recent play, Lampkin has joined Jenkins as a player to watch in the AAC’s player of the year race.

Lampkin averages 16.7 points and 9.7 rebounds, and she leads the conference in shooting 57 percent from the field. Jenkins, a 6-foot senior from Washington, is the leading scorer in the AAC at 18.8 points. She’s also averaging 7.2 rebounds.

Records

North Texas 16-6, 8-2
UTSA 18-3, 9-1

Coming up

North Texas at UTSA, tonight, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Wichita State, Saturday, 2 p.m.

AAC leaders

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

UTSA men come away with a signature victory over North Texas in Denton

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After hanging on to beat the North Texas Mean Green 54-50 on Saturday in Denton, the UTSA Roadrunners handed first-year Coach Austin Claunch his biggest win at the school and the 100th of his career.

New UTSA men's basketball coach Austin Claunch was at the Roadrunners softball game on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at Roadrunner Field to throw out the first pitch. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Austin Claunch hit a milestone with his 100th win as a college head coach. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Center Jo Smith made a clutch defensive stop on North Texas’ last possession, and Raekwon Horton followed by knocking down two free throws with one second remaining to secure the win for the Roadrunners.

Horton finished with a season-high 23 points on eight of 11 shooting in 40 minutes. Primo Spears, battling a sore ankle, finished with 15 points. He hit three of seven from the 3-point arc. Marcus Millender scored 11.

Defensively, Smith finished with three steals and three blocks to lead the Roadrunners, who have posted a 4-3 record in their last seven AAC games.

For North Texas, forward Grant Newell scored a team-leading 14 points on six-for-six shooting. Guard Atin Wright, who scored 22 points against UTSA in the first meeting, was held to 10 on three of 12. Forward Brenan Lorient added 11 points.

Records

UTSA 10-11, 4-5
North Texas 16-5, 7-2

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Milestone

Claunch is in his first season at UTSA, but he is in his sixth overall in NCAA Division I, which includes five at Nicholls State. The coach posted a 90-61 record at Nicholls, a Southland Conference school in Thibodaux, La. He’s now 10-11 with the Roadrunners, which makes him 100-72 in his career after knocking off North Texas.

Notable

For UTSA, the win was significant on several levels. North Texas entered the game on a six-game winning streak, undefeated at home and tied for first in the American Athletic Conference. UTSA, meanwhile, was tied for ninth.

The Mean Green were 46th nationally on the NCAA’s Evaluation Tool, or, the NET, trailing only Memphis at No. 40 among AAC teams. Meaning, that this was UTSA’s highest-rated victory of the season.

Few could see it coming. Down to only eight scholarship players, UTSA had been pounded 94-74 on Wednesday in Boca Raton, Fla., and came in at No. 222 on the NET. The Roadrunners’ ranking was third to the last among AAC teams on the computer.

Moreover, the Mean Green journeyed to San Antonio on Jan. 18 and walloped the Roadrunners, 72-57. So, as expected, Claunch was feeling good about the outcome of the rematch as he talked to UTSA radio voice Andy Everett in the postgame.

The coach’s defensive scheme seemed to flummox the Mean Green. “We decided to go to some switching (on screens),” he said. “We were just saying, ‘Switch and compete.’ All week. You know, and just kind of man on man.

“They’re a hell of a team. You have so much respect for what they’ve built here. This crowd today, I mean, it was a really, really tough environment.”

The Roadrunners essentially won the game in the first half when they held the Mean Green to 13 points on five of 22 shooting from the field, including zero for 11 from three.

Remarkably, it was a half that resembled the game in San Antonio, except that in the first meeting, UTSA was held to 18 points.

UTSA entered the second half up 27-13.

“You’re giving yourself a cushion because you know they’re making a run,” Claunch said. “You know, similar to the game at our place. We were just able to make a couple of tough plays and shots.

“I think they’re as tough as anybody in the league, and I challenged our guys the last couple of days to embrace that. Embrace the pace. Embrace the physicality, and I think we did that.”

Defense-minded North Texas men defeat UTSA, 72-57

UTSA lost to North Texas 72-57 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Teammates help UTSA guard Marcus Millender off the floor Saturday in a 15-point home loss to the North Texas Mean Green – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The North Texas Mean Green came into the UTSA Convocation Center Saturday with dozens of their own raucous fans in attendance and with a reputation for playing stifling defense. With their fans cheering them on, the Mean Green more than lived up to their billing.

They held the Roadrunners 23 points below their scoring average and walked away with a 72-57 victory in the American Athletic Conference.

Guard Atin Wright, a transfer from Drake, scored 22 points to lead the Mean Green. Wright hit five of eight from beyond the three-point arc.

Austin Claunch. UTSA lost to North Texas 72-57 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Roadrunners coach Austin Claunch praised his team’s effort in the second half and said it’s something to build on. – Photo by Joe Alexander

North Texas basically won the game in the first half, when it limited UTSA to 25 percent shooting. As a result, the Mean Green carried a 40-18 lead into the dressing room.

In the second half, the Roadrunners played their best basketball, forcing turnovers with pressure defense and making a run that brought their own fans to the edge of their seats.

A Marcus Millender layup with 3:27 remaining pulled UTSA to within seven points. Afterward, the Roadrunners couldn’t sustain the momentum, allowing the Mean Green to win for the sixth time in their last eight trips to San Antonio.

North Texas, one of UTSA’s chief in-state rivals in all sports, improved to 22-14 in the series overall and to 10-9 at the Convocation Center.

First-year UTSA coach Austin Claunch applauded second-year North Texas coach Ross Hodge and pointed the finger at himself in the opening statement of his postgame media session.

“First off, give them credit,” Claunch said. “They were prepared. Ross had them ready to play, and I did not. When you get down against a great team, it’s hard to crawl back out of that hole we were in. I was extremely proud of (the Roadrunners) in the second half, to show our fight.

“You know, they do that a lot of teams. They bury teams with physicality and toughness, and we showed our ability to play in those games. You know, it’s hard. I think we got it to seven with a chance to cut it to five.

“And at the end, you got to kind of run around and you end up losing by 15. But, again, our fight to get back in the game and cut it to a couple of possessions — that’s something we can build on.”

North Texas coach Ross Hodge. UTSA lost to North Texas 72-57 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

North Texas coach Ross Hodge says his players like to work, and, as a result, have made improvements since they first gathered last summer. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Right now, the Mean Green appear to have what it takes to contend for the title in the American Athletic Conference.

They’re 13-4 overall and 4-1 and tied for first in conference with the UAB Blazers and the Tulane Green Wave. Memphis and Temple are a half game back at 3-1.

“We love this group, man,” Hodge said outside the visitors dressing room. “From the moment they’ve gotten here in the summer, they really like each other, and they like to work, and they allow us to coach them very directly. They don’t take it (personally), and they’ve gotten a lot better as a group.”

The Roadrunners are 8-9 and 2-3, in a four-way tie for seventh place.

On good nights, they’re capable of putting up big offensive numbers, as evidenced by their 80 points per game average for the season, including an average of 89 in back-to-back victories over Wichita State and Rice in their last two outings.

All of which speaks to the nature of what the Mean Green did to the Roadrunners in the first half, holding them to five of 20 shooting from the field.

North Texas hounded UTSA leading scorer Primo Spears, making him work for everything. Same story for Marcus Millender. Spears hit only one of seven from the field in the first half and Millender one of four.

“I think a lot of what you saw in the first half was the respect level our players and staff have for what coach Claunch has done here at UTSA,” Hodge said. “How explosive Primo is, and Smurf (Marcus Millender). I felt like our game-plan discipline that first half was about as good as it’s been.

“We really took care of the ball, took them out of transition and just tried to make it as hard as we could (on their offensive threats).

Raekwon Horton. UTSA lost to North Texas 72-57 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Raekwon Horton finished with 15 points, three assists and three steals. UTSA lost to North Texas 72-57 in American Athletic Conference. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“I thought they flipped it in the second half, and they kind of imposed their will on us. Started turning us over. Started getting the game (in a faster pace) up and down. They’re really, really good in that type of game.”

Millender, coming off back-to-back, 20-plus points performances, was held to 13 for the game. Spears, averaging 21.7 for the season, tied a season-low with six points. He shot one for 14 from the field, including zero for seven in the second half.

Guard Tai’Reon Joseph led the Roadrunners with 19 points on seven-for-11 shooting. Forward Raekwon Horton had 15 points, three assists and three steals. Forcing turnovers and a faster pace, the Roadrunners shot 46.7 percent in the second half and 38 percent for the game.

For the Mean Green, forwards Moulaye Sissoko and Brenen Lorient contributed on both ends of the court, clogging up the middle on defense and also scoring 13 points apiece.

Sissoko, one of the North Texas holdovers from last year, had eight rebounds, including three offensive. Playing off the bench, Lorient contributed seven boards, three blocked shots and a steal.

Point guard Jasper Floyd scored only two points but seemed to make a significant impact, passing for six assists against only one turnover. Backcourt mate Johnathan Massie had 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Records

North Texas 13-4, 4-1
UTSA 8-9, 2-3

Coming up

UTSA at UAB, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

A challenging schedule awaits the Roadrunners in the next two weeks. Next week, they play at UAB on Tuesday and at home against Temple on Saturday. The week after that, they’re on the road at Florida Atlantic on Jan. 29 and at North Texas on Feb. 1.

Rivalry weekend: Upset-minded UTSA men to host North Texas

Austin Claunch. UTSA beat North Dakota 80-76 in non-conference men's basketball on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Austin Claunch’s UTSA Roadrunners are averaging 89 points in their last two games going into Saturday’s date with the North Texas Mean Green. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Like reddened eyes irritated by pollen blowing in the wind, the gnashing of teeth among UTSA basketball fans over the impending arrival of the North Texas Mean Green seems like a natural phenomenon.

“I haven’t been here long, but I’ve been here long enough,” first-year UTSA men’s coach Austin Claunch said Friday. “Any of the Texas teams we play, there’s a little extra edge to it. It certainly seems we have a little extra spice to it when it comes to North Texas.

“But that makes it fun, right?”

Well, it seems fun today, at least, because Claunch’s team has been playing well and seems capable of springing an upset when they host the Mean Green at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center.

But, lately, North Texas has been hogging most of the fun, having won 10 of the last 13 meetings between the teams, including five of seven in San Antonio, since the 2015-16 season.

For the Roadrunners to transfer some of the joy to their own fans, they’ll need to be on top of their game from the outset against one of the better teams in the American Athletic Conference, ranked No. 57 nationally.

The Mean Green are led by Ross Hodge, in his second season as head coach after moving up to replace Grant McCasland, who is now at Texas Tech.

“Obviously, they have a really good program,” Claunch said. “You look at what they’ve been able to do the last six or seven years…I have a ton of respect for those guys. Kind of similar to what happened at Nicholls (State) when coach (Richie) Riley was there and I was an assistant.

“Coach (Riley) built it and we were able to keep going. Ross has done an unbelievable job. Last year I think he was a national coach of the year finalist. When you’re playing North Texas, you’re playing a program that’s not just about personnel. Obviously, they have a good winning pedigree over the last couple of years.

“So, I’m excited … because we feel like we’re playing well. We’re making shots. We’re not near where we need to be. But tomorrow’s a great opportunity to take a huge step.”

UTSA (8-8, 2-2 in the AAC) has won two games in a row and five of its last eight. The Roadrunners have had double-digit leads in each of their last three. Buoyed by the resurgent shooting of guard Marcus “Smurf” Millender, they’ve scored 178 points combined against Wichita State and Rice in their last two.

“We’re confident,” Claunch said, “but we know tomorrow is going to be a rock fight.”

North Texas (12-4, 3-1) has won two straight games and six of its last seven. The Mean Green’s only loss in that stretch came on the road at nationally-ranked Memphis.

Anchored by 6-foot-9 center Moulaye Sissoko, North Texas plays a man-to-man defense that ranks among the best in the nation, yielding an average of 58.8 points. Opponents shoot only 42.1 percent from the field and 33.1 percent from three against the Mean Green.

“First and foremost, it’s their mentality,” Claunch said. “It’s how they recruit. It’s how they built their program. I’m not at their practices or their summer, but I would imagine it starts with that. I mean, you go to North Texas knowing what you’re going to do. You’re going to guard and get stops.”

North Texas will face one of the hottest offenses in the AAC when they contest the Roadrunners, who have a number of players who are currently in a good rhythm. Primo Spears is fifth in the nation in scoring at 21.7 points per game.

But Millender is coming on, and so is Raekwon Horton, who is averaging 15.6 points and 7.8 rebounds over his last five. Millender has come off the bench in his last two games, a wrinkle in the rotation that likely will stick as long as the Roadrunners stay hot.

Asked if UTSA is hitting on all cylinders now just because the newcomers have had time to mesh since the summer, Claunch said the answer is yes and no.

“I know this team has had it in us, to be able to score and share the way we’re doing it,” he said. “But, it’s decision making. You got to do it every day. It’s not just something that’s going to be there. When you start doing it, you got to embrace it. You got to understand that’s what makes us a really good team.

“We’re not scoring points because we’re playing really fast or anything. We’re scoring points because we’re taking good shots and we’re making better decisions.”

Millender, a sophomore transfer from South Alabama, sparked a second-half surge at Rice with 12 points in the last nine minutes of a 90-84 victory. Claunch said he “just tried something a little different to give our team a spark” in his decision to bring the Houston-area native off the bench.

“Clearly it worked, stayed with it against Rice. We’ll stick with it tomorrow,” the coach said. “But, for us, I don’t get too caught up in who’s starting. Like I say, we’re one of two teams in the league with five guys in double figures, so whether you start or not, in this program, it shouldn’t matter.”

Records

North Texas 12-4, 3-1
UTSA 8-8, 2-2

Coming up

North Texas at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.
UTSA at UAB, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

Claunch declined to discuss a timetable for the return of power forward Jaquan Scott, who has played only six games and has missed seven of the last eight. Scott has been away from the team for the past three attending to a family matter, a spokesman has said.

Center Mo Njie has sat out the past five with a foot injury, and his return date is uncertain, as well. “It’s not going to be anytime soon,” Claunch said. Guard Paul Lewis, also down with a foot injury, won’t return this season after playing only twice in early November. “He’s redshirting,” the coach said.

With forward Skylar Wicks sitting out Friday’s practice, UTSA is down to nine scholarship players going into the North Texas game. “It’s that time of the year, man,” the coach said. “Everybody’s kind of banged up, and we just got to figure how to make it work.”

Jenkins scores a season-high 29 as the UTSA women beat first-place North Texas, 66-63

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Fast-improving forward Jordyn Jenkins scored 12 of her season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter Sunday as the UTSA Roadrunners defeated another first-place team in the American Athletic Conference women’s basketball race, downing the North Texas Mean Green 66-63 at the Super Pit in Denton.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat Florida Atlantic 77-61 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins scored a season-high 29 points Sunday afternoon in her third game back after sitting out the first 21 in rehabilitation for a knee injury. – Photo by Joe Alexander

With the victory, UTSA (13-11, 7-6) split a two-game AAC road trip and swept a two-game, regular-season series against North Texas (19-6, 9-4).

UTSA, aided by 16 points from freshman guard Aysia Proctor and nine points and nine rebounds from junior center Elyssa Coleman, also improved to 4-0 on the season against first-place AAC teams. The Roadrunners are 3-0 at home and 1-0 on the road against squads leading in the standings.

The Mean Green were in first place both times they played the Roadrunners and were turned away twice in close games. On Jan. 31, UTSA won in its on-campus arena, downing North Texas 75-67 in overtime.

In that game, Jenkins had not yet been cleared to play. She sat out the first 21 games this season while rehabilitating a knee injury. Since her return, the Roadrunners have won two out of three, claiming the two victories against AAC contenders Alabama-Birmingham and now North Texas.

UTSA’s road win against its in-state rivals, at the Super Pit in Denton, may have been the team’s best of the season. The Mean Green had been 10-0 at home this season. They were also 5-0 in AAC games at home — until Jenkins, a high-scoring forward from Kent, Wash., showed up to play.

Jenkins hit 11 of 17 shots from the floor, including three of five from three-point distance. In the fourth period, she was at her best, hitting four for four from the floor and knocking down her only three-point attempt.

On one of her shots, she had the ball on the right side of the floor, about eight feet from the basket, when she turned and flipped in a left-handed scoop shot. The bucket gave UTSA a three-point lead with 40 seconds remaining.

Coming out of a time out, North Texas guard Dyani Robinson hit a shot to cut the UTSA lead to one. On the other end, Jenkins was fouled and sank two free throws with 27 seconds left for the game’s final points.

North Texas called time with 20 seconds left needing a three to tie. The Mean Green failed to get off a clean shot, as Shamaryah Duncan’s three from the right wing was deflected by UTSA’s Kyra White, clinching the victory for the Roadrunners.

Six-foot forward DesiRay Kernal paced North Texas with 16 points and 12 rebounds. As UNT’s top offensive threat, she wasn’t as effective as she has been, making five of 12 from the field. Another Mean Green threat, center Tommisha Lampkin, was hindered by foul trouble and played only 20 minutes. She finished with six points and six rebounds.

In the second and third quarters, the Mean Green started to play better team basketball. They hit six of 11 from the field and eight of nine at the free throw line in the second, outscoring the Roadrunners 21-16 in the period and taking a 34-30 lead at the intermission. After halftime, they came out energized and once again got the better of the visitors, opening the advantage to 52-46.

North Texas guard Jaauckland Moore made a three with three seconds remaining in the third, lifting the Eagles into their six-point lead.

Records

UTSA 13-11, 7-6
North Texas 19-6, 9-4

Coming up

Temple at UTSA, Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

After missing so much of the season, Jenkins is fast improving her conditioning. In her first two games, she played 11 minutes against UAB and 14 in a Wednesday-night loss at Tulsa. Against both UAB and Tulsa, she scored 11 in each game. Combined in those two games, she hit seven of 25 shots from the field. Jenkins followed with 24 minutes against North Texas and finished 11 of 17 from the floor. Her 29-point performance left the Mean Green faithful with long memories dismayed, as she scored 40 in the Super Pit last February in UTSA’s 68-67 overtime victory. The two games were played nearly one calendar year apart — from Feb. 20, 2023 to Feb. 18, 2024.

UTSA women take down another first-place team, beating North Texas, 75-67, in OT

Idara Udo made a basket and was fouled 3:36 left in OT put UTSA up 60-59 and gave the Roadrunners the lead for good. UTSA beat North Texas 75-67 in overtime in American Conference women's basketball on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman Idara Udo shouts at the fans after she hits a basket that turned into a three-point play in overtime. As Udo finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, the Roadrunners stopped a seven-game winning streak by the North Texas Mean Green.- Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After a month of women’s basketball games in the American Athletic Conference, Coach Karen Aston’s UTSA Roadrunners have started to build sort of a dual identity.

On the road, they play with maddening inconsistency, sometimes on both ends of the floor. At times, their play results in blowout losses.

At home in the Convocation Center, they seem to take on a different personality altogether — hungry, focused, confident — even against the best teams in the AAC.

Kyleigh McGuire. UTSA beat North Texas 75-67 in overtime in American Conference women's basketball on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Kyleigh McGuire defends the basket as Madison Cockrell drops down to crowd a North Texas offensive player. The Roadrunners held the Mean Green to 28.9 percent shooting. North Texas came in shooting 47.6 percent. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners showed off their winning form in front of the home fans again on Wednesday night, knocking off the North Texas Mean Green 75-67 in overtime.

With the victory, they successfully defended home court in conference play, running their record to 4-0 at the Convocation Center in AAC games.

Moreover, two of those victories have come against teams that were in first place in conference when they arrived in San Antonio — Charlotte, and now North Texas.

“Obviously, our team likes playing at home,” Aston said. “We like the confines of the Convocation Center, and we like playing in front of our fans.

“Just super proud of our defensive effort tonight, just our resilience.

“It was one of those games where nothing was perfect and everything didn’t go our way all the time, but I loved our attitude — particularly in overtime. It was just a very focused group tonight. Very proud of ’em.”

Two freshman helped UTSA win the game in the five-minute extra period. Aysia Proctor scored seven points and Idara Udo had five.

The Roadrunners surged late in the overtime behind Proctor, Udo and others.

Undeterred, the Mean Green made a game of it, cutting down a nine point lead to four when Jaauckland Moore drained a long three with 25 seconds left.

Sidney Love. UTSA beat North Texas 75-67 in overtime in American Conference women's basketball on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sent to the bench in foul trouble early, Sidney Love rebounded to finish with 13 points and six boards. Love is a sophomore from San Antonio area Steele High School. — Photo by Joe Alexander

On UTSA’s next possession, the Roadrunners stayed solid against the Mean Green’s pressure and got the ball to Proctor, who hit two free throws at 0:11 to put it out of reach.

UTSA’s defense was the story.

The Mean Green entered the game averaging 75 points per outing, with their two post starters — DesiRay Kernal and Tommisha Lampkin — averaging 32 points between them.

In the end, the two weren’t much of a factor, combining for only 12 points and 3 of 23 shooting from the field. Kernal, a Player of the Year candidate, was 0 for 9 and scored only three points.

Asked how it happened, Aston said, “Honestly, just some determination (by) our entire team. I thought we had special moments where we helped each other. But just the determination of our post players to beat them to spots and make their shots tough.

“They’re really, really good. I think we knew that and respected that and we played like we respected it.”

On Jan. 14, Udo played a major role in UTSA’s 81-80 double-overtime victory against Charlotte. Not only did she score a career-high 26 points, but she also hit the game winning shot with 2.3 seconds remaining.

Udo’s presence again was a factor in an overtime game against a contender, as she rebounded her own miss, followed it with a layup and drew a foul with 3:36 remaining against North Texas.

Alexis Parker. UTSA beat North Texas 75-67 in overtime in American Conference women's basketball on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore Alexis Parker from San Antonio’s Brandeis High School had a solid game with six points and four rebounds in 17 minutes. – Photo by Joe Alexander

After a UTSA home crowd announced at 942 stopped screaming, she knocked down the free throw to give the Roadrunners a two-point lead.

“Just doing what I can to get stops, get rebounds, putbacks,” Udo said. “Whatever I can.”

Clearly in the running for an all-freshman team designation in the AAC, Udo led the Roadrunners in scoring with 14 points on five of nine shooting. She also had a team-leading 12 rebounds, with six of them on the offensive end. From the backcourt, Sidney Love scored 13 and Proctor had 11, while 6-foot-3 center Elyssa Coleman was a steady force throughout, notching nine points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots.

Coleman, UTSA’s all-time leader in blocks with 129, seemed to save her rejections for the most opportune times for the Roadrunners. She had one near the end of the second quarter, one at the end of the third and another right at the start of the overtime period.

“Since I’m the last line of defense, in my head, it’s a dire need to get a stop,” Coleman said, in discussing what it’s like to swat away a shot. “I’m pretty lanky, and I time things pretty well. I’ve been getting away from that these past two games, but I think I’m back.”

Records

North Texas 17-4, 7-2
UTSA 11-9, 5-4

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Sunday, 2 p.m.

Notable

UTSA coach Karen Aston went deep into her bench in the second quarter and it paid off with solid performances from Alexis Parker, Kyleigh McGuire, Cheyenne Rowe and others. When it was over, the Roadrunners were leading at halftime, 35-28.

Parker came alive with five points in the period, including a drive that turned into a three-point play with about a minute remaining. Rowe and McGuire played well on the defensive end and Rowe, at one point drove it into the teeth of the Mean Green defense and scored.

In the last five minutes of the half, the Roadrunners dominated the top team in the conference, running off on a 15-4 run to the buzzer. UTSA his six of seven shots from the field in the sequence.


Aysia Proctor, a freshman from San Antonio-area Clemens, drills a three that puts UTSA ahead by nine points with 1:24 left in overtime. Proctor had seven points in the extra period. – Video by Jerry Briggs

First-place Mean Green to test Roadrunners’ homecourt magic

Kyra White. UTSA beat Abilene Christian 76-70 on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2022, at the Convocation Center in the Roadrunners' first women's basketball home game of the season. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Senior Kyra White has stepped up the intensity in her last six games, averaging 12.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists during that stretch. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The race for the women’s basketball title in the American Athletic Conference has been turned upside down, in a sense, thanks to the efforts of the North Texas Mean Green.

Pegged for a 12th-place finish out of 14 teams in the AAC’s preseason poll, the Mean Green have surged into the lead nearing the halfway point of the regular season.

The UTSA Roadrunners will try to add their own special twist to the narrative when they host the Mean Green on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.

“They play a lot of people and everyone they have that comes in (the game) has high motor,” UTSA guard Kyra White said Tuesday afternoon. “They defend. They run their offense well. They push it in transition and they rebound. They’re a very tough, competitive team, and we’re going to have to bring it … to compete with them.”

Led by first-year coach Jason Burton and transfer DesiRay Kernal, who has been touted as a conference Player of the Year candidate, the Mean Green (17-3, 7-1) have won seven in a row and have registered a record of 15-2 since Nov. 16.

The Roadrunners (10-9, 4-4) had been pretty hot themselves, winning four straight, including wins over Charlotte and South Florida. But then they stumbled in their last two, both on the road, falling to the UAB Blazers and the SMU Mustangs.

SMU poured it on UTSA late in the game last Saturday afternoon in Dallas, running away for a 78-55 victory.

“Your confidence always wavers a little bit when you lose,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “There’s no question about that. It’s higher when you’re winning.

“But I do think we like playing at home … We’ve enjoyed the home crowd. I’d like to think we’re going to show up and compete against a really good team tomorrow.”

UTSA played two of its best games of the season in its last two at at the Convocation Center.

Against Charlotte, on Jan. 14, the Roadrunners went into double overtime and downed the 49ers 81-80 behind freshman Idara Udo and her career-high 26 points and nine rebounds. It was Charlotte’s first conference loss. Two days later, the Roadrunners held the defending regular-season champion South Florida Bulls to 21 percent shooting and romped to a decisive 65-42 victory.

UTSA is undefeated at 3-0 at home in conference this year and 5-2 overall.

Records

North Texas 17-3, 7-1
UTSA 10-9, 4-4

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Sunday, 2 p.m.

Notable

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins practiced five-on-five, full court, with contact on Tuesday, a sign that she is getting healthier. Jenkins, the 2022-23 Conference USA Player of the Year, didn’t appear to be at full speed but she did play on the scout team. The 6-foot forward hasn’t played in a game yet this season after injuring a knee in the offseason, last April. No decision has been made on whether she will try to play in games this spring.

Former Judson High School standout Kyra White has been on quite a run over the last six games, a stretch in which she has produced 76 points, 52 rebounds and 41 assists.

Freshman Aysia Proctor has emerged as one of the most pleasant surprises of the season for the Roadrunners, averaging 10.1 points on 47.6 percent shooting from the field. The former Clemens High School athlete has notched eight double-figure scoring games, including a season-high 20 at Oregon and 19 at home against South Florida. Proctor scored nine points at UAB and four against SMU …

North Texas hasn’t won a conference title in women’s basketball since 1986, which was also the last time that that it reached the NCAA tournament.

Burton worked for nine seasons at Texas A&M-Commerce before taking the North Texas job. He previously served as an assistant at Texas State. Kernal also played last year in A&M-Commerce’s first season in NCAA Division I as a member of the Southland Conference.

Shooting 54.6 percent from the field, the 6-foot forward is averaging 17 points and 7.9 rebounds with the Mean Green. Six-foot-two Tommisha Lampkin (15 points, 7.2 boards) and guard Jaaucklyn Moore (10 points) are also major players for the Mean Green. Moore once played at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.

UTSA milestones: Jenkins scores 40 as Aston wins her 300th game

By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

UTSA coach Karen Aston opened her postgame news conference five nights ago with a wry smile and a joke.

“My first thought is, we just need to play at home, and just skip going on the road,” Aston said. “(Playing at home) makes a huge difference for our team, for some reason.”

Her point was clear.

For the most part, the Roadrunners have been a much better team at home this season than they have been on the road.

But her message also carried another, more subtle, message. Ever the competitor, Aston has grown weary of losing on the road.

Her players heeded the message Monday night in Denton, downing the North Texas Mean Green 68-67 in overtime and handing the coach a milestone 300th career victory.

Responding to social media posts about a career 40-point, 11-rebound performance from junior forward Jordyn Jenkins, Aston applauded the effort with a post on her Twitter feed.

“Front row seat for this one,” she said simply.

Aston had to like another aspect of her team’s showing in Denton, as well.

The Roadrunners put on a rebounding clinic, winning the boards, 46-28, as the coach improved to 300-187 in her career.

Jenkins had her ninth double-figure rebound game of the season, while center Elyssa Coleman snared eight boards and guard Kyra White seven.

With the victory, the resurgent UTSA women completed a three-games-in-five-days stretch with a 2-1 record. They also improved to 4-3 over their last seven games, including a 2-2 record on the road.

In the fourth quarter, the Roadrunners led the Mean Green by nine points with eight minutes remaining, only to see the home team rally to tie and force overtime. Guard Quincy Noble scored eight points in the quarter for North Texas.

UTSA had a chance to win but couldn’t get off a shot on its last possession in the final seconds.

As the game transitioned to overtime, UTSA responded. Jenkins scored eight points, six of them on three buckets going toward the basket and two on free throws with five seconds left that boosted the Roadrunners into a four-point lead.

Jordyn Carter hit a three for North Texas for the final points. The Mean Green were led in the game by Noble, who scored 27 points. Tommisha Lampkin had 13 points and seven rebounds.

Jenkins, a first-year player for the Roadrunners, has stacked multiple eye-opening performances in her first season in Conference USA after playing two years in the Pac-12 for the USC Trojans.

With her 40 points, she was one off Tesha Smith’s school record set six years ago. She did it by hitting 12 of 20 from the field and three of five on 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, she was 13 of 16.

Jenkins, from Kent, Wash., also has scored in the 30s twice and in the 20s eleven times. She has nine double doubles, with double-figure points and rebounds.

Jordyn Jenkins
Top three scoring games at UTSA
40 on the road at North Texas on Feb. 20, 2023. UTSA won 68-67 in overtime.
37 at home vs. UTEP on Jan. 11, 2023. UTEP won 74-67.
35 on the road at Houston on Dec. 19, 2022. Houston won 93-89 in overtime.

UTSA single-game record
41 points by Tesha Smith vs. Florida Atlantic, Feb. 25, 2017.

Coach Aston’s milestone

In defeating North Texas, a program that she once coached, UTSA coach Karen Aston improved to 300-187 in 15 years, good for a winning percentage of .616. Aston has worked previously at Charlotte, North Texas and Texas.

Records

UTSA: 8-18, 6-11
North Texas: 10-17, 7-10

Notable

Aston is in her second season at UTSA, improving ever-so-gradually a program that finished 7-23 and 3-14 in the C-USA in 2021-22, her first year at the school. UTSA hasn’t won as many as eight games overall and six games in conference in five years. In 2017-18, UTSA finished 9-21 and 6-10.

Coming up

Florida Atlantic at UTSA, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Florida International at UTSA, Saturday, noon.
UTSA at Charlotte, March 2, 5 p.m.
End of regular season

Conference USA tournament

March 8-11 at Frisco

A student defeats her teacher as North Texas downs UTSA

UTSA coach Karen Aston. North Texas beat UTSA 51-48 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Karen Aston surveys the action Thursday night against the North Texas Mean Green, who are coached by one of Aston’s former assistants, Jalie Mitchell. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Veteran UTSA Roadrunners women’s basketball coach Karen Aston knew that her counterpart, University of North Texas coach Jalie Mitchell, would have her team prepared coming into San Antonio.

Aston was right.

North Texas coach Jalie Mitchell. North Texas beat UTSA 54-51 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Jalie Mitchell’s North Texas Mean Green improved to 7-13 overall and to 4-6 in conference. – Photo by Joe Alexander

One of Aston’s closest allies in the profession, Mitchell devised a defensive plan that her players executed well for four quarters in a 54-51 Conference USA victory.

“I have a lot of love and respect for Jalie,” Aston said.

Twenty five years ago, Aston, then an assistant at North Texas, recruited Mitchell to play for the Mean Green.

Mitchell accepted the offer but never got to play under a coaching staff that included Aston, who left Denton in 1998 to take an assistant’s job with the Texas Longhorns.

As it turned out, Mitchell did well as a player, playing four years for a program that went 77-39, including 42-4 at home.

The Mean Green made back-to-back appearances to the WNIT in 2001 and 2002, and in that last season, Mitchell was honored as Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year.

Five years later, she was inducted into the North Texas Athletic Hall of Fame, along with former teammate Rosalyn Reades. Transitioning into coaching, Mitchell later worked on staffs led by Aston at both North Texas and Texas.

“She’s had an unbelievable career at North Texas,” Aston said. “She’s a dear friend, but she’s a competitor. There’s a reason why her jersey is up in the rafters up at North Texas, because of how competitive she is.

Jordyn Jenkins. North Texas beat UTSA 54-51 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins rebounded from a slow start to finish with 27 points and 12 rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“Once the ball is tipped, you kind of forget about all that. But I’m proud of her. I’m really, really proud of what she’s been able to do there. She went to the (WNIT as coach) last year. She’s one of our own.”

Mitchell, in her eighth season as head coach at her alma mater, acknowledged that it’s always poignant to coach against someone she has known and admired for decades.

“She’s my mentor and has been for a very long time,” said Mitchell, who played in high school at Duncanville. “As you say, she recruited me (to college). We’ve had a relationship for over 20 years. She’s a great coach, and I learned a ton from her.

“Just about everything I know, I learned from Karen Aston.”

The latest game coached by Mitchell and Aston went down to the final few possessions. North Texas guard Quincy Noble sank a driving layup with 1:30 remaining, and the Mean Green held on in the final minute to stop a skid that included four losses in their last six games.

In all, Noble scored 16 points to lead the Mean Green (7-13, 4-6),while Tommisha Lampkin came up big at the end, scoring six points on three buckets in the paint over the last five minutes.

Trailing by the eventual final score, UTSA (4-15, 2-8) had a chance to tie on its last possession but couldn’t get off a three-point attempt.

“We wanted to make sure they couldn’t get a three off, which, I thought we defended really well,” Mitchell said. “They put it on the floor for the drive and obviously you don’t want to foul in that situation and give up an and-one. I’m thankful we did not.”

Sidney Love. North Texas beat UTSA 54-51 in Conference USA women's basketball on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman guard Sidney Love, considered one of UTSA’s bright prospects, suffered through a cold-shooting night. The Steele High School graduate made only one of 10 from the field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners never were able to get any type of rhythm going against a variety of looks that the Mean Green presented defensively.

With players packed inside, UTSA didn’t have much success early going to forward Jordyn Jenkins, though the UTSA junior did come alive in the middle quarters and finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Jenkins was strong at the end, finishing the fourth period with 12 points and six boards.

Overall, UTSA’s all-conference candidate hit seven of 16 shots from the field and 12 of 13 at the free-throw line.

Other than Jenkins, Elyssa Coleman and Kyra White scored six apiece, and that was about it. Faced with a full-court press part of the time, the Roadrunners turned it over 25 times and shot 30.2 percent from the field.

White and Sidney Love, two starters in the backcourt, were a combined three of 22 from the field. Even though the Roadrunners hit a couple of triples in the fourth quarter to make it interesting, they finished three of 16 from beyond the arc.

“Our slow start, I don’t know that I have an explanation for it,” Aston said. “I thought we seemed really ready to play in the locker room. Maybe not being able to score a couple of buckets early, we let the ball not going in dictate our demeanor and how hard we play, and that just can’t be the case.”

North Texas led 15-7, 25-21 and 39-32 after each of the first three quarters. The Mean Green’s biggest lead was 10 points with 9:41 left in the fourth quarter.

Forward Hailey Atwood started and finished with five rebounds. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Hailey Atwood started and finished with five rebounds, including four off the offensive glass. – Photo by Joe Alexander

First half analysis

Jordyn Jenkins led a 12-4 run in the first eight minutes of the second quarter, helping the Roadrunners get back into the game. When Jenkins sank a driving layup with 3:36 left in the half, UTSA pulled into a 19-19 tie with North Texas.

At that point, the Mean Green pushed back. Consecutive baskets by Kendall McGruder and Jaaucklyn Moore allowed North Texas to fend off the home team. Later, with 1:15 remaining, freshman Ereauna Hardaway nailed a pull-up jumper in the paint.

As a result, North Texas carried a 25-21 lead into the third quarter.

UTSA finished the half shooting 9 of 29 from the field, including zero for eight from three-point distance. The Roadrunners also committed 13 turnovers, some of them forced in the back court against pressure or at the end of disjointed journeys to advance the ball.

Records

North Texas 7-13, 4-6
UTSA 4-15, 2-8

Coming up

UTSA at Louisiana Tech, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Western Kentucky at UTSA, Feb. 4, 7 p.m.
Middle Tennessee at UTSA, Feb. 6, 2 p.m.