Former UTSA great Devin Brown (left) was on the television broadcast Thursday when his son, LJ Brown, made his debut for the Roadrunners. – Photo by Jerry Briggs
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Emotions flowed freely toward the end of UTSA’s 117-58 blowout victory Thursday over the Southwestern Adventist Knights, with much of the happiness generated by a walk-on guard by the name of LJ Brown, who made his debut for the Roadrunners a memorable one.
With 7:33 left in the game, Brown saw a lane open up and took it to the basket for a layup, his first field goal in a UTSA uniform.
After he hit it, players on the UTSA bench jumped up and cheered, with one, Primo Spears, running onto the floor to offer a hearty chest bump.
Meanwhile, at press row, Brown’s father was in tears. Former UTSA great Devin Brown, who was on the television broadcast as a color commentator, talked about the moment later, his eyes reddening as he was asked about his son’s first bucket as a Roadrunner.
“Well, you know, you prepare yourself for moments like that,” Devin Brown said. “But when it actually happened, obviously I was live on the broadcast, and I lost it. I started crying. Just very happy for him.”
The Roadrunners toyed with a non-NCAA Division I opponent for the first minutes Thursday and then turned it to win in a blowout for their third straight victory.
With the win, UTSA improved to 5-2 in their last seven games and to 6-5 on the season.
Byron Fields knocked down two free throws with 15 minutes left in the first half to bring the Knights to within 17-9 of the Roadrunners, who play in the Division I American Athletic Conference.
After that, the first game of a holiday basketball doubleheader at the Convocation Center turned into a runaway, with UTSA coach Austin Claunch emptying his bench.
The crowd became energized at the end by a few dunks from 6-9 forward Jonnivius Smith and also the debut of Brown, whose father Devin reached the NBA after a college career at UTSA. Devin Brown, one of the program’s leading scorers, paced the Roadrunners to the NCAA tournament in 1999.
LJ Brown, who attended Johnson High School in San Antonio, played 9 minutes and 51 seconds at the end of the game against the Knights. He scored five points on two of seven shooting from the field.
“Felt really good,” Brown said, who knew before-hand that there was a chance he could play. “Felt really good getting out there. Emotions were high, but they were easy to control.”
Southwestern Adventist, from Keene, Tex., in the Fort Worth area, plays in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association.
The UTSA women were scheduled to play the second game of the double dip later Thursday afternoon against the UT Arlington Mavericks.
Damari Monsanto led the UTSA men with 22 points. He hit six of 12 from 3-point distance, his fifth game of the year four or more makes from beyond the arc. Skylar Wicks had 20 points and eight rebounds Wicks was four of seven from three. Meanwhile, Primo Spears, one of the nation’s leading scorers, contributed 16 points in 25 minutes. Smith finished with 13 points, 17 rebounds and three steals.
Orlando Goodwin and Domonique Wilkins scored 19 points apiece to pace the Knights.
First half
UTSA played without regular rotation players Raekwon Horton and Tai’Reon Joseph, who were both on the bench but did not get into the game. Starting guard Marcus Millender left the court with 14:27 remaining in the half with what looked like an ankle injury. He didn’t return in the half. Damari Monsanto led the Roadrunners with 16 points by hitting six of 11 from the field and four of eight from three-point territory. UTSA led 61-24 at intermission.
Notable
The game was an exhibition for Southwestern Adventist, from Keene, Tex., in the Fort Worth area. The Knights play in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association. Southwestern was playing back-to-back games. On Wednesday, they lost 117-63 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Records
Southwestern Adventist 1-8
UTSA 6-5
Coming up
UTSA at Army, Dec. 29
x-UTSA at Tulane, Jan. 4
x-AAC opener