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Tulane connects on a school-record 19 threes to rout the slumping UTSA men

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Kaidon Rayfield. Tulane beat UTSA 85-52 in American Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman forward Kaidon Rayfield played with energy, contributing nine points, four rebounds and two blocks, to earn the praise of UTSA coach Austin Claunch after the Tulane Green Wave rolled past the Roadrunners, 85-52. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The frustration has deepened for the slumping UTSA Roadrunners.

After staying even with Tulane for about nine minutes in the first half Saturday afternoon, the Roadrunners watched as the Green Wave buried them in an avalanche of three-point baskets.

Led by guards Rowan Brumbaugh and Curtis Williams Jr., the visitors from New Orleans knocked down a school-record 19 triples en route to an 85-52 victory at the Convocation Center.

Brumbaugh and Williams made six threes apiece for the Green Wave (12-4, 3-0), who have won five in a row.

As a 6-4 guard from Washington, D.C., Brumbaugh entered the season with considerable hype as the preseason player of the year in the American Conference.

Tulane's Rowan Brumbaugh. Tulane beat UTSA 85-52 in American Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Tulane’s Rowan Brumbaugh finished with a game-high 23 points, to go along with seven assists, five rebounds and four steals. – Photo by Joe Alexander

He lived up to the billing against the Roadrunners, producing 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Brumbaugh also had four steals. Williams had a big day, as well, with 22 points and four assists.

“I’m glad we’re 3-0,” Brumbaugh said. “Still a lot of work to do. But it’s a good feeling being 3-0.”

The Green Wave have been hot and cold from the three-point arc this season, making only 31 percent coming into San Antonio. Against UTSA, they connected on 19 of 42 for 45.2 percent.

“We’ve had games where we haven’t really shot well, but we all know we’re a good shooting team,” Brumbaugh said. “You see it every day in practice. So it feels good to have a game like that where you make 19 threes. I think that’s a school record, so it’s a great feeling for sure.”

For UTSA, it was the team’s ninth straight loss, including eight by double figures. The Roadrunners (4-12, 0-4) haven’t lost this many in a row since the spring of 2023 when they dropped 11 straight.

Austin Nunez led the Roadrunners with 12 points, and Jamir Simpson pitched in with 10. Tulane limited UTSA to 35 percent shooting and 23 percent from the arc.

The Roadrunners hit only five of 21 attempts from three as they finished with a point total in the 50s for the third straight game and for the sixth time overall.

Austin Nunez. Tulane beat UTSA 85-52 in American Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Guard Austin Nunez scored 12 points to lead the Roadrunners, who have finished with point totals in the 50s for the past three games. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Their total of 52 was the second lowest of the season next to the 50 they posted in a 61-50 loss to Abilene Christian on Nov. 24.

The play of freshman Kaidon Rayfield caught the eye of UTSA coach Austin Claunch. Rayfield, who came off the bench, had nine points, four rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes.

Claunch said he liked Rayfield’s aggression, “just put his head down and go play.”

In a high-energy second half, the freshman would drive, draw contact and get to the line. Rayfield made only five of nine, but Claunch was encouraged by the effort.

“We need more of that,” the coach said. “It’s hard to coach … There’s got to be something that we can do to encourage that a little more. I don’t know if it’s encourage or drill.

“I don’t what it is. But obviously it’s my job. That’s what I get paid to do. I got to figure out how to do that better.

“But I thought Kaidon did a good job of that when he got in. He played with some spirit. He plays hard. He’s got to get better at a lot of things. Obviously, he’s a young player, with a really bright future.”

Records

Tulane 12-4, 3-0
UTSA 4-12, 0-4

Tulane coach Ron Hunter. Tulane beat UTSA 85-52 in American Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Tulane coach Ron Hunter won the 546th game of his 32-year career as a college head coach. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Coming up

Rice at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

First half

The Tulane Green Wave constructed a 39-21 halftime lead against the UTSA Roadrunners after romping on a 26-10 run in the last 11 minutes.

Brumbaugh scored 14 points in the half for the Green Wave, who shot only 13 of 33 from the field but worked the 3-point line efficiently, knocking down eight of 22 from long distance.

By contrast, UTSA hit only two of 13 from three in the half against a tricky Tulane zone. The Roadrunners were eight of 31 from the field for 26 percent.

Notable

The Roadrunners, who opened a three-game homestand with losses to Charlotte (74-58) and Tulane (85-52), are prepaing to host the Rice Owls Wednesday night.

Even though the Green Wave arrived in San Antonio seven games over .500 for the season, including a 93-90 overtime victory over the ACC’s Boston College Eagles on a neutral site, their NET ranking was 203 out of 365 teams in NCAA Division I. UTSA came in at 330.

The Roadrunners’ last victory at home was Nov. 18 against Southwestern Christian. Their last victory was Nov. 25 in Florida against Georgia Southern.

Matheo Coffi. Tulane beat UTSA 85-52 in American Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman Matheo Coffi totaled six points and 11 rebounds. It was his third double-figure rebounding game of the season. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Basketball doubleheader set for Saturday at UTSA

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA will host an American Conference basketball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center, with the women playing the Charlotte 49ers at noon and the men taking on the Tulane Green Wave at 4 p.m.

Women’s game

Coming up — Charlotte at UTSA, Saturday, noon
Records — Charlotte 8-8, 2-1; UTSA 7-6, 2-0
NET rankings – Charlotte 155; UTSA 126.

Charlotte at a glance: The 49ers played Wednesday night in Houston and lost their first game in conference, falling to the Rice Owls, 84-59. Last week, Charlotte opened league play at home with double-digit wins over Memphis and UAB. Princess Anderson, Zoe Best, Tanajah Hayes, Asianae Nicholson, Ja’Navia Gage and Imani Smith highlight the 49ers’ rotation. Coach Tomekia Reed led Jackson State to three NCAA tournaments before taking the Charlotte job. In her first season with the 49ers last year, the team finished 11-21.

UTSA at a glance: Slowed by injuries to several players in the early going, the defending regular-season champion Roadrunners have started fast in conference, winning games by single-digit margins at home against Tulane and on the road at Temple. Forward Cheyenne Rowe had a blockbuster 14-point, 18-rebound performance at Temple. Emilia Dannebauer has been starting at the other inside position in the absence of Idara Udo, who has sat out three games with a lower leg injury. Damara Allen plays on the wing, with Ereauna Hardaway and Adriana Robles at guards.

Men’s game

Coming up — Tulane at UTSA, Saturday, 4 p.m.
Records — Tulane, 11-4, 2-0; UTSA 4-11, 0-3
NET rankings — Tulane 203; UTSA 330.

Tulane at a glance: The Green Wave come to San Antonio on a four-game winning streak. They opened conference on New Years Eve with a 79-70 victory at East Carolina and followed it on Sunday at home by beating Florida Atlantic, 69-66. Tulane’s zone defense was at its best against FAU by holding the Owls to 17 points below their average. Guard Rowan Brumbaugh, the conference’s preseason player of the year, scored 20 to lead the Wave. Other key players are Curtis Williams Jr., Asher Woods, Tyler Ringgold and Scotty Middleton. Coach Ron Hunter is 492-367 in his 28th season. He’s in his seventh season at Tulane.

UTSA at a glance: The Roadrunners are riding an eight-game losing streak, the longest in the program since an 11-game skid in the 2022-23 season. Five of the losses in the slide have come on the road and three at home. Seven have been by double figures. UTSA hasn’t won a game at home since Nov. 18 against Southwestern Christian (Okla.) UTSA hasn’t won a game, period, since Nov. 25 in Jacksonville, Fla., against Georgia Southern. UTSA guard Austin Nunez is playing well, scoring a combined 50 points in his last three games. Guard Dorian Hayes broke out of a slump Wednesday at home against Charlotte, scoring 15 points.

UTSA women open conference play by holding off Tulane, 65-63

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Ereauna Hardaway. UTSA beat Tulane 65-63 in their American Athletic Conference women's basketball opener on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Ereauna Hardaway continued her inspired play with 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds against Tulane. The senior transfer from North Texas leads the team in scoring over the last five games, averaging 14.6 points on 46 percent shooting. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Even before the American Conference women’s basketball season tipped off Tuesday afternoon, the defending champion UTSA Roadrunners took the lead in one statistical category — most players on the inactive list (seven).

Among the missing was injured all-conference forward Idara Udo, a third-year veteran leader, who came out to watch warmups in a walking boot.

To make it even more challenging, the Roadrunners lost another veteran just before halftime against the Tulane Green Wave when guard Damara Allen took a blow to the face while playing on the defensive end.

She sat out the second half with an ice bag on her forehead, leaving UTSA with only eight active players. As it turned out, eight was enough, as the Roadrunners made a defensive stop in the last two seconds to hold off the Green Wave in a tense, 65-63 victory.

Cheyenne Rowe. UTSA beat Tulane 65-63 in their American Athletic Conference women's basketball opener on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Cheyenne Rowe produced a double double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, helping UTSA to its 10th straight win in the American dating back to last season. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Afterward, UTSA coach Karen Aston was joined in the postgame news conference by two of her most dynamic players, guard Ereauna Hardaway and forward Cheyenne Rowe. Both were instrumental as the Roadrunners won their 10th straight, and their 12th straight at home, in the American.

“I thought this was just an extremely gutty performance by our team,” Aston said. “We’ve had kind of blow after blow of injuries and setbacks, (like) losing Damara during the middle of the game.

“I just thought we plugged along, and these two beside me I think were the solid rocks for the team.

“Again, (we had) lots of contributions from the young guys and a game that was extremely gritty on our part. Really, really, really proud of this team.”

Extending to five a string of outstanding individual performances, Hardaway finished with a team-high 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds. She led four UTSA players in double figures, including Rowe with 13, freshman Adriana Robles with 11 and junior transfer Jayda Holiman with 10.

Rowe also pulled down 12 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, for her second double double of the season.

Tulane had a chance to tie it at the end, but Jayda Brown misfired on a 16-foot turnaround at the buzzer. Kanisha Daniel led the visitors with 12 points and Mecailin Marshall added 11.

In the final analysis, the Green Wave made two more field goals (25-23) than UTSA, but the Roadrunners made up the difference with one more three-pointer (9-8) and with five more free throws. At the line, UTSA hit 10 of 12 to five of eight for Tulane.

Free throws were critical at the end as Daniel knocked down two to bring the Green Wave to within one point with 10 seconds left. On the other end, Mia Hammonds made the second of two for the Roadrunners with two seconds remaining for the final point of the game.

Jayda Holiman. UTSA beat Tulane 65-63 in their American Athletic Conference women's basketball opener on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Junior transfer Jayda Holiman scored all 10 of her points in the second half after starting guard Damara Allen had come out of the game with an injury. – Photo by Joe Alexander

On the last play, coming out of a timeout, Tulane inbounded from the side, in front of its own bench. The pass went to Brown, who turned and missed off the rim as time expired.

Hardaway said the emphasis in a tight fourth quarter centered on playing soundly on the defensive end. “At one point in the game, we were trading buckets,” she said. “Stops matter the most down the stretch, especially when it’s a close game.”

In the closing seconds, Rowe said it was important “for everyone to put everything out on the court” and that winning “was very important to all of us.”

Rowe acknowledged that she was indeed thinking about the team’s legacy of winning at home during the hectic fourth quarter, in which she produced six points and four rebounds. “This is our house,” she said. “We don’t want to get beat here.”

Records

Tulane 5-8, 0-1
UTSA 6-6, 1-0

Coming up

UTSA at Temple, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

First half

With UTSA scrambling to get off a shot in the waning seconds, Robles caught a pass from forward Emilia Dannebauer and knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer, lifting the Roadrunners into a 31-26 halftime lead.

Hardaway and Robles, two natural point guards, started the game together and ended up combining for 17 points in the half. Hardaway produced nine points and also three rebounds and two assists.

Robles, a freshman from Puerto Rico, scored eight on three of six shooting. She made two of three from long distance.

Adriana Robles hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer at the end of the first half. UTSA beat Tulane 65-63 in their American Athletic Conference women's basketball opener on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Adriana Robles celebrates after hitting a long three pointer at the first-half buzzer. Robles finished with 11 points and made three of UTSA’s nine buckets from long distance. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Tulane, one of the highest-scoring offenses in the American Conference, led for a few minutes in the first quarter until UTSA’s defense started to clamp down.

The Roadrunners led for most of the rest of the way, holding the Green Wave to 15 points in the first quarter and 11 in the second.

The game turned at the end when Marshall drove for a layup with 1:47 remaining to tie the score, 26-26.
Marshall was called for a flagrant foul on the move as she apparently hit Allen in the face.

As a result, UTSA was awarded two free throws and possession. Hardaway made both free throws to boost UTSA into a 28-26 lead.

UTSA held Tulane scoreless the rest of the way, with Robles making the last shot on a high-arc jumper from the left wing.

Notable

UTSA finished 17-1 in conference last season, with its only loss on Jan. 29, 2025 at South Florida. Its last conference loss at home came the previous season on Feb. 22, 2024 against Temple. UTSA has won four out of five on its home court this season and 20 of its last 21.

Pregame

Starting in 2025-26, the American has elected to make public on game days lists of athletes who will be held out. The conference started the practice during the football season, and it will continue with women’s and men’s basketball.

Siena Guttadauro. UTSA beat Tulane 65-63 in their American Athletic Conference women's basketball opener on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Guard Siena Guttadauro hasn’t played a game all season after the birth of her son in July, but she did participate in warmups before tipoff against Tulane. – Photo by Joe Alexander

As a result, UTSA’s list of inactive players was posted on the conference’s website a few hours before tipoff. The Roadrunners’ seven inactive included starting forward Idara Udo, who would not play in the league opener against the Green Wave.

Udo was on the floor in warmups wearing a walking boot on her right foot. Her absence from the lineup for the second straight game meant that sophomore Emilia Dannebauer would start in the frontcourt along with Cheyenne Rowe.

Players listed as out for the season included forwards Nyayongah Gony, Taylor Ross and Sema Udo, according to the American’s new player availability notes.

Players listed as out for the game included Idara Udo, Maya Linton, Saher Alizada and Siena Guttadauro.

Idara Udo is the only one of the seven on the inactive list who has played this season. The 6-foot junior from Plano last suited up on Nov. 15 against Texas A&M-Kingsville. She is averaging 8.1 points and 7.2 rebounds.

Of the UTSA players on the list who haven’t played, Guttadauro was the only one of them on the floor during pre-game warmups. Her activity was a first for her at home games this season, indicating that it’s possible she is readying herself to play in the last few months.

Guttadauro gave birth to a son, Dante, on July 24. In the days leading into the regular season, UTSA on its own announced that Sema Udo and Taylor Ross would be out for the season with injuries. The others on the inactive list are also presumed to be injured.

Gony, a 6-foot-4 forward, has not been in attendance at home games this season but has attended other sporting events on campus.

As for Tulane, the Green Wave announced that guards Jaylee Womack and Sadie Shores were out for the season.

Amira Mabry. UTSA beat Tulane 65-63 in their American Athletic Conference women's basketball opener on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Amira Mabry, a Tulane junior from San Antonio area Judson High School, enjoyed a moment before tipoff Tuesday against UTSA. – Photo by Joe Alexander

NCAA tournament looms after UTSA falls to Tulane in the AAC semifinals

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

For the 44-13 UTSA Roadrunners, it’s now a waiting game. Feeling good that they’ve secured a spot in the 64-team NCAA tournament, they’ll find out on Monday at 11 a.m. where they are going and who they’ll be playing.

“I don’t know,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said. “Historically they try to keep people regionally close. But again, sometimes you see people where we are head west. I think we’ll stay in Texas, or we’ll head west. But I’m totally guessing, right?”

Hallmark made his remarks Saturday on a zoom call with the media after his Roadrunners were ousted from the American Athletic Conference tournament, falling 6-3 to the Tulane Green Wave in the semifinals.

Regardless, hopes are high for taking the next step into national competition. UTSA hasn’t played in the NCAA tournament since 2013, when they reached a regional in Corvallis, Ore.

No matter their seeding, destination or opposition, they want to build on the team’s program record for victories and on the respect they earned in claiming their first regular-season championship in 17 years.

Their season win total coming out of the tournament ranked among the best in the AAC’s 12-year history. Only East Carolina in 2023 and Louisville in 2014 had more victories (45) than the Roadrunners and the 2014 Houston Cougars (both 44) entering the NCAA regional round.

Incidentally, the other three teams outside of UTSA in that group all played in the NCAA tournament, and Louisville made it through to the College World Series.

Records also indicate that, since the AAC’s first season in 2014, every team that has won a conference regular-season title or a title share has at least reached the NCAA regionals. Moreover, the Roadrunners’ had the best in-conference record of any AAC team in history at 23-4, five games ahead of their nearest pursuer.

During their 2-2 run in Clearwater, the Roadrunners eclipsed the conference record in runs scored in a season. With the three more scored on Saturday, their total is now 502 in 57 games and counting. Asked on his postgame zoom conference to address his team’s milestone achievements, Hallmark hesitated.

He expressed mixed emotions, considering UTSA fell short of the conference’s postseason title after coming in to Clearwater seeded No. 1.

“It’s probably a little too early to dwell on (the season milestones) or get the most out of it,” the coach said. “Obviously we just played and just lost, so my mind’s still on what I could have done better. What we could have done better. Where the preparation maybe could have been better.”

Trailing by one run, the Green Wave scored once in the fifth, twice in the sixth and once more in the seventh to take charge of the game.

Relievers Carter Benbrook and Taylor Montiel closed for the two-time defending tournament champions, combining to shut out the Roadrunners over the final five and two thirds innings.

“I mean, we did think they’d go to Benbrook and Montiel, so we were totally prepared for those guys,” Hallmark said.

At that point, the coach digressed in his thoughts, returning to address the UTSA season as a whole.

“I don’t want to dodge the question,” Hallmark said. “We’re proud of what we done, but we want to keep playing. I hope we’re the last team that gets to play baseball (this season). That would be awesome.”

Speaking in the aftermath of the loss, the coach said he just wanted to get together with his players and congratulate them.

“Right now we wait to see what happens,” he said. “But I’m going to tell the guys to eat some lunch and go have a good time the rest of this afternoon. They’ve earned that. I hope they grieve a little bit and get over this loss.

“We’ll have a couple days off. We won’t practice tomorrow, for sure. We’ll travel. We might not even practice Monday. Find out what’s going on and where we’re going (in the NCAA postseason). Hopefully we’re going somewhere, and we’ll probably get back to work on Tuesday.”

Records

Tulane 33-24
UTSA 44-13

Notable

Plans for the NCAA bracket reveal on Monday aren’t settled, Hallmark said. “The team will definitely be together,” he said. “I don’t know if there’ll be any outsiders. These guys are pretty tight. I’ve already heard some rumblings that they want it pretty close-knit. So I’ll talk to my bosses and I’ll talk to the players, and I hope it’s the players’ decision.”

AAC tournament semifinals: Tulane advances to the finals after ousting top-seeded UTSA

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Good morning from San Antonio

I’m up early this morning, following the American Athletic Conference baseball tournament on ESPN +. The top-seeded UTSA Roadrunners enter the day needing to play and win two games against the Tulane Green Wave to advance to Sunday’s finals. Tulane only needs to win once. Furthermore, UTSA is in a bind, having used all three of their front-line starting pitchers this week, so Sam Simmons is on the mound to open the game. Tulane jumps on him immediately, scoring one run on three hits in the top of the first. Mattias Haas delivered an RBI single to right center, scoring Jason Wachs from third base. Wachs led off with a single and Connor Rasmussen followed with a one-out hit, another single, to put runners at first and third. Haas made it 1-0 with the third hit of the inning.

Roadrunners take the lead

It’s the top of the third inning, and the Tulane Green Wave are rallying again. This time, against UTSA pitcher Gunnar Brown. Brown replaces Sam Simmons and made it through the second inning unscathed, only to find trouble in the third. It starts with a leadoff walk to Jason Wachs and continues with a single by Gavin Schulz. On the hit, Wachs moves to third. From there, he scores on a Connor Rasmussen sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the third, the Roadrunners start to percolate. With a couple of runners on base against Trey Cehajic, Mason Lytle grounds to short on what appeared to be a routine play. But Kaikea Harrison, off balance, throws it away at first base. Both runners score and Lytle moves to second. James Taussig follows with an RBI single to right to take a 3-2 lead.

Green Wave come back to tie

In the top of the fifth, Roadrunners reliever Gunnar Brown hangs a breaking pitch and Green Wave hitter Kaikea Harrison drills it into the right field corner for a leadoff double. Later, Harrison moves to third base on a ground ball and scores to tie the game 3-3 on an RBI single by Gavin Schultz. Tulane continues to create momentum in the bottom half when reliever Carter Benbrook retires three straight, including an inning-ending strikeout against UTSA slugger James Tassig. Going back to the third inning, Benbrook has retired five straight batters. In the sixth inning, UTSA pitching falters. Brown walks two straight, prompting UTSA coach Pat Hallmark to make a change. Braylon Owens enters to pitch, only to issue another walk. With the bases loaded, Tanner Chun bounces a two-run single through the left side to make it 5-3. Owens, who started and pitched five and two thirds inning on Tuesday, settles down and struck out two straight to end the threat.

Tulane opens a three-run lead

Gavin Schulz and Connor Rasmussen continue to torment the UTSA Roadrunners. Facing UTSA’s Braylon Owens, Schulz opens the sixth with a double and moves to third on Rasmussen’s single. When Matthias Haas hits into a double play, Schulz scores from third base to make it 6-3. Carter Benbrook continues to pitch well for the Green Wave. He works around a Ty Hodge single to keep UTSA scoreless in the bottom of the seventh. Benbrook’s numbers are impressive so far, with three and two thirds innings scoreless, allowing only one hit.

Green Wave advance

Tulane wins, 6-3.

Tulane wins 10-6 to cool off top-seeded UTSA at the AAC tournament

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The two-time defending tournament champions in the American Athletic Conference have worked their postseason magic once again. Fifth-seeded Tulane bashed a season-high five home runs Thursday in a 10-6 victory over No. 1 UTSA in a winners’ bracket game at Clearwater, Fla.

With a 2-0 record this week, the Green Wave have now won eight straight at this event dating back to 2023. As a result, they will advance into Saturday’s semifinals.

The Roadrunners, now 1-1 in the American Baseball Championship, will play Friday at noon (Central time) in an elimination game against the Florida Atlantic Owls. The winner will move into Saturday’s semis needing two wins against the Green Wave to advance to Sunday’s finals.

For the third straight year, Tulane has started the tournament with two straight wins. It’s one of the reasons their players call the BayCare Ballpark their home away from home.

“I would like to think of that as a body of work,” Tulane coach Jay Uhlman said. “It doesn’t always work out the way we’ve wanted it to work out in terms of volumes of wins. But I think the thing we do is, we teach through the wins. We teach through the losses. We teach through the tough times. Our guys believe.

“We’re like family. We have arguments and fights and disagreements. I don’t give everyone what they want all the time, and that’s a hard pill to swallow. But I think the body of work as you go through a season, the trust even in times when they don’t get what they want, that we’re doing everything we can the right way.

“It’s really important.”

James Agabedis III, a Tulane junior from Sudbury, Mass., hit two of the Green Wave’s homers. He blasted solo shots in the fourth and eighth innings. All the slugging backed the pitching of left-handed relief specialist Taylor Montiel, who worked three and two thirds scoreless innings to close the game.

Monteil (5-2) allowed only one hit and one walk while striking out four. Connor Kelley (3-1) was the losing pitcher for the Roadrunners.

Trailing for most of the game, the Roadrunners came to life in the sixth with three runs to tie. UTSA strung together four hits, including an RBI single by Caden Miller and a two-run single by Lorenzo Morresi.

Morresi’s liner with the bases loaded landed safely in center field, bringing in Miller from third and James Taussig from second to tie the score, 6-6. A key play unfolded when Nathan Hodge beat out a fielder’s choice, only to be erased on double play when Moressi was called for interference on a slide at second base.

The eighth inning was the undoing for the Roadrunners, who entered with a 14-1 record in their last 15 games. First, Agabedis homered off UTSA’s Kelley to break a tie and give the Green Wave a one-run lead. After Kelley was pulled for Rob Orloski, Jason Wachs blasted a two-run shot to make it 9-6.

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark tipped his cap to Monteil, a redshirt junior from Brentwood, Tenn. At one point, Monteil struck out four batters in a row.

“He’s good,” the coach said. “He’s been doing that all year. If you look at his numbers, he doesn’t get hit. I think it’s something like, it’s well less than a hit an inning … He’s got that fastball that moves. A little bit on the frontside where he hides the ball. He throws hard.

“I didn’t expect to hit him real good. But I did think if we kept it tied or within one run that anything’s possible. The two-run homer (in the eighth) after the solo hurt us a little bit. That was a bad call. Rob executed the pitch. The call was a mistake. We called a high fastball – to a high fastball hitter.”

Hallmark said UTSA is one of the few teams in the nation that have the catchers call the pitches and that Andrew Stucky and Morresi do a great job in that part of the game.

“We just happened to make a mistake there,” Hallmark said. “(The high fastball) is Rob’s best pitch. So I knew why Stucky called it. He called his pitcher’s best pitch. So, I don’t know that it’s a mistake. But, Wachs is a good high fastball hitter.”

The coach said he’s more frustrated with the pitches early in the game from starter Zach Royse that were thrown in the middle of the plate. Royse gave up six runs on seven hits, including three home runs.

Records

Tulane 32-24
UTSA 43-12

Notable

If UTSA comes up short of the title this week in Clearwater, the Roadrunners remain a strong candidate to gain an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament based on their record (43-12), their regular-season title (23-4 in conference) and their No. 22 standing in the national rating percentage index coming into Thursday.

Since the AAC baseball conference formed for the 2014 season, each team that has won or shared a regular-season title has received a bid to an NCAA regional, either with an at-large or an automatic bid. UTSA clinched a share of the AAC regular-season title on May 4 after it swept a three-game road series at South Florida. It clinched the title outright on May 9 with a road victory at East Carolina.

When UTSA swept Rice last week in San Antonio to close the regular season, it secured victories in all nine AAC series on its schedule. Five of them were three-game sweeps. Moreover, they won the AAC by five games over second-place Charlotte.

By hitting the 40-win plateau on May 15 and reaching win No. 42 after the regular-season finale last Saturday, UTSA became only the seventh AAC team in history to take 40-plus victories into the conference tournament. The previous six all eventually received NCAA bids.

NCAA selections will be announced Monday.

Thursday’s results

Tulane 10, UTSA 6
East Carolina 6, Charlotte 5

Friday’s games

FAU vs. UTSA, elimination game, noon
South Florida vs. Charlotte, elimination game, 47 minutes after the first game

Saturday’s games

Semifinals
Tulane vs. FAU or UTSA, 8 a.m.
East Carolina vs. South Florida or Charlotte, 47 minutes after the first game
Tulane vs. FAU or UTSA, if necessary, TBD
East Carolina vs. South Florida or Charlotte, if necessary, TBD

Sunday’s game

Finals
Semifinals winners play in the title game, 11 a.m.

UTSA baseball continues its conference tournament title quest in Florida

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The top-seeded UTSA Roadrunners will take on the No. 5 Tulane Green Wave today at noon (Central time) in the winners’ bracket at the American Baseball Championship.

Later today, sixth-seeded East Carolina will play No. 2 Charlotte. While the losers will play on Friday, the winners will move into the semifinals scheduled for Saturday. The tournament is double elimination through the semifinals, while the a winner-take-all game in the finals is set for Sunday.

All games are being held at the BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.

Both Tulane and UTSA scored victories on Tuesday on the opening day of the tournament. After Tulane beat Florida Atlantic, 6-3, UTSA took the field and rallied for a 4-2 victory over Rice. Now they play today for a chance to move into the semifinals.

The champion of the American Athletic Conference’s postseason event in Clearwater will be rewarded with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. If UTSA comes up short, the Pat Hallmark-coached Roadrunners remain a strong candidate to gain an at-large NCAA bid based on their record (43-11), their regular-season title (23-4 in conference) and their No. 22 standing in the national rating percentage index.

Since the AAC baseball conference formed for the 2014 season, each team that has won or shared a regular-season title has received an at-large bid to an NCAA regional. UTSA clinched a share of the AAC regular-season title on May 4 after it swept a three-game road series at South Florida. It clinched the title outright on May 9 with a road victory at East Carolina.

When UTSA swept Rice last week in San Antonio, it secured victories in all nine AAC series on its schedule. Five of them were three-game sweeps. By hitting the 40-win plateau on May 15 and reaching No. 42 after the regular-season finale last Saturday, UTSA became only the seventh AAC team in history to take 40-plus victories into the conference tournament. The previous six all eventually received NCAA bids.

NCAA selections will be announced Monday.

Tuesday’s results

(Opening day)
Tulane 6, FAU 3
UTSA 4, Rice 2
Charlotte 7, Wichita State 1
East Carolina 9, South Florida 4

Wednesday’s results

FAU 8, Rice 6 (Rice eliminated)
South Florida 4, Wichita State 3 (Wichita State eliminated)

Thursday

(Winners’ bracket, times are Central)
UTSA vs. Tulane, noon
East Carolina vs. Charlotte, 47 minutes after the first game

Friday

(Elimination games, times are Central)
FAU vs. Tulane or UTSA, noon
South Florida vs. East Carolina or Charlotte, 47 minutes after the first game

Saturday

Semifinals
UTSA or Tulane vs TBA, 8 a.m.
East Carolina or Charlotte vs. TBA, 47 minutes after the first game
Games to follow (if necessary) to complete double elimination

Sunday

Finals
First pitch, 11 a.m.

Baseball: First-place UTSA hits four homers, routs Tulane, 25-7

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Update: UTSA’s Tuesday night game at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has been called off because of poor field conditions brought on by inclement weather.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The first-place UTSA Roadrunners bashed four home runs in an 11-run second inning Saturday en route to their 30th win of the season, a 25-7, run-rule victory in seven innings over the Tulane Green Wave.

For the Roadrunners, the bottom of the second was uniquely productive in that they hit for a home-run cycle of sorts, meaning that they crushed balls out of the park in all four variations — solo, two-run, three-run and grand slam.

Norris McClure hit two of the homers, a two-run shot to center and also a three-run blast to right, and Diego Diaz sliced a ball into the screen in left field for a grand slam. Mason Lytle added a solo shot in the inning. Both McClure and Diaz finished with eight RBI on the day.

After losing at home for only the second time this season on Friday, UTSA rebounded on a day that Tulane’s pitching collapsed, issuing 15 walks, not to mention hitting four batters and throwing three wild pitches.

UTSA took full advantage of the situation by stroking 16 hits, following its 11-run second inning with three runs in the third, four in the fourth and six in the fifth.

With the victory, the Roadrunners (30-10, 12-3) won two of three in the series against the Green Wave and increased their lead in the American Athletic Conference to two games over the South Florida Bulls.

Records

Tulane 24-17, 8-7
UTSA 30-10, 12-3

Coming up

UTSA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (non conference), Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Friday, April 25, 6 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Saturday, April 26. 4 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Sunday, April 27, noon

Notable

The Roadrunners have won 30 games for the fourth straight season under Coach Pat Hallmark. They won 38 games in both 2022 and 2023 and 32 last season.

The streak matches a run from 2006 through 2009 under Sherman Corbett for consecutive seasons of 30 or more wins.

The Roadrunners have 15 games remaining in the regular season, which includes three-game AAC series against Memphis, South Florida, East Carolina and Rice.

AAC leaders

UTSA 12-3, 30-10
South Florida 10-5, 22-15
Florida Atlantic 9-6, 27-12
East Carolina 9-6, 27-14
Charlotte 9-6, 22-17
Tulane 8-7, 24-17

UTSA women clinch share of AAC regular-season title

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Update: The UTSA women’s basketball team has clinched at least a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title. The Roadrunners can finish no worse than a tie for first after Tulsa won at home and beat second-place South Florida 66-58 Wednesday night. UTSA can clinch the title outright, along with the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament, with a victory Saturday at home against the Florida Atlantic University Owls.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Jordyn Jenkins made three steals in the last two minutes, and Sidney Love knocked down four straight free throws in the last 24 seconds Tuesday night as the record-setting UTSA Roadrunners rallied to defeat the Tulane Green Wave, 77-73, in New Orleans.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA women's basketball beat UAB 67-56 in an American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds against Tulane. She also had two blocks and four steals.

With the victory, UTSA (24-3 overall, 15-1 in the American Athletic Conference) tied a 16-year-old school record for victories in a season and moved to within one win or a South Florida loss of clinching at least a tie for the league’s regular-season title.

The Roadrunners would clinch a tie if South Florida (20-8, 13-2) loses Wednesday night at Tulsa. But if South Florida wins — and the Bulls have won nine in a row — then UTSA can clinch a share on Saturday in their last home game against the FAU Owls.

UTSA’s momentum is undeniable at this juncture of the season. Not only are the Roadrunners on a seven-game winning streak, they’ve also recorded a 17-1 record in their last 18. On top of that, they are undefeated at home at 12-0.

The 2008-09 UTSA team finished 24-9. That year, the Roadrunners tied for first in the Southland Conference West Division with UT Arlington at 14-2, won the SLC’s postseason title and then lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Baylor.

In terms of regular-season championships, UTSA tied for first in its division in both 2011 and 2009 in the SLC. The 2011 team posted a record of 16-15 overall and 11-5 in conference to claim a share of the SLC West before dropping a second-round game in the tournament to McNeese State.

Records

UTSA 24-3, 15-1
Tulane 16-11, 9-7

Coming up

FAU at UTSA, Saturday, noon
UTSA at East Carolina, Tuesday, March 4, 5 p.m.
(end of regular season)

How it happened

For much of the game Tuesday night, the Green Wave played loose and free and kept making three-point shots, holding leads of five over the Roadrunners at halftime and by four at the end of the third quarter.

The Owls continued to play well deep into the fourth, opening a 65-62 advantage at the 3:29 mark on a driving layup by Dyllan Hanna. From there, the Roadrunners’ veteran presence emerged to turn the game in their favor.

After an Aysia Proctor miss, Jenkins scored on a put back to pull the Roadrunners to within one.

Karen Aston. UTSA beat Wichita State 76-60 in American Conference women's basketball on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Karen Aston has led her team to the brink of a regular-season title and also a possible No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Then, when the Green Wave bobbled the ball out of bounds on one end, UTSA attacked on the other with Love on a driving layup that missed. Continuing the possession, forward Idara Udo rebounded the ball, put it back and converted a three-point play.

The sequence lifted UTSA into a 67-65 lead, and the Roadrunners would not trail again. Afterward, UTSA coach Karen Aston acknowledged the effort of the Tulane players, who put up a battle, knocking down 12 three-point shots.

“You don’t want to just nit-pick your own team,” Aston told the team’s radio broadcast. “You want to give a lot of credit to the opponent, and I thought Tulane played really well today. Shot the ball great. We just found a way to win.”

Jenkins, who played one of her better games of the season, led the way with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Three of the steals came in the last two minutes to blunt Tulane possessions. Love also had a major impact with 14 points and seven assists.

The junior guard from San Antonio-area Steele High School also had four steals and four rebounds. Love had eight points in the fourth quarter, making two free throws twice in the last 24.4 seconds to keep it a two-possession game.

As Aston detailed her thoughts to team radio voice Neal Raphael in the postgame, she made it clear that she wasn’t happy with the team’s first-half performance.

“We were very, a little uncharacteristic of ourselves in the first half,” Aston said. “But I thought we rebounded well, rebounded back into who we are. We were better (after intermission). We withstood a lot of adversity, and that’s what this team is about.”

In their last two games, both on the road, the Roadrunners had to battle into the final minutes to pull out victories. On Saturday in Houston, they went scoreless for more than five minutes and 45 seconds before making a late free throw to Rice, 57-55.

On Tuesday, they had to come from behind in a faster-paced, higher-scoring game, and emerged with the victory, just the same. Aston was upset with what she saw from her players in the first half against the Green Wave, who effectively switched defenses to cause confusion.

Aysia Proctor. UTSA men's and women's basketball teams at Rowdy Jam at the Convocation Center on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. - photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore Aysia Proctor scored 16 points off the bench, including five in the fourth quarter. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Then, when the Roadrunners did get the ball to an open shooter, they couldn’t convert. On the other end, they gave the Green Wave too many open looks at the basket. When Tulane forward Amira Mabry made a three at the buzzer, the home team had momentum going into the dressing room, leading 37-32.

Aston said she told her players in the dressing room that she didn’t like what she had just seen. “You know, I haven’t been hard on these guys at all,” she said. “I think they have given me everything that they possibly have, but I didn’t like who we were in the first half.

“I thought we were disconnected. Didn’t look like ourselves at all. We had a little attitude about us. I don’t know if it was the pressure, or, I don’t know. But we talked about that. I said, ‘If we’re going to get beat, let’s get beat with who we are. Let’s not turn into something we’re not.’

“And I thought they responded to that.”

At the end, Jenkins quieted the crowd with three standout defensive plays. For the redshirt senior known most for her offensive prowess, the best may have been the last steal when she stole a pass near midcourt and raced uncontested for a layup and a six-point lead with 33.4 seconds left.

True to form, the Green Wave answered with a quick three by Victoria Keenan to make it a three-point game with 29 seconds left. Love answered the call at the end by getting to the free-throw line twice and making all four to seal it.

“Jordyn was solid the whole game,” Aston said. “Idara came in and gave us some big buckets late, but I thought Sidney Love was the difference in the game.”

Tulane’s ball handling against UTSA’s defense was another major factor. The Roadrunners forced the Green Wave into 25 turnovers and scored 35 points off those miscues. Tulane forced UTSA into 17 turnovers but converted them into only 15 points.

Individuals

UTSA – Jordyn Jenkins had 26 points, without shooting a free throw, and 10 rebounds for her seventh double double. On one end, she hit 11 of 19 field goals. On the other, she had four steals and two blocks. Guard Aysia Proctor made seven of 12 shots from the floor and scored 16 points off the bench. Starter Sidney Love contributed 14 points and seven assists. Also, four rebounds and four steals. Forward Idara Udo finished with 10 points and eight rebounds after missing her first seven shots from the field.

Idara Udo. UTSA beat UT-Rio Grande Valley 74-69 in non-conference women's basketball on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Idara Udo missed her first seven shots from the field, but she finished strong, totaling 10 points and eight rebounds. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Tulane – Forward Kyren Whittington led the Green Wave with 22 points. She knocked down nine of 14 from the field and four of six from three. Sherese Pittman and Victoria Keenan both contributed 13 points while hitting three three-point baskets. Freshman point guard Kendall had nine points and six assists but turned it over nine times.

First half

The Tulane Green Wave picked up the pace in the second quarter and started running on UTSA. Down by one after the first quarter, they built a seven-point lead with 2:18 remaining.

UTSA retaliated with five straight points, but Tulane responded at the end. Amira Mabry, a Green Wave junior from San Antonio-area Judson High School, hit a three at the halftime buzzer for a 37-32 advantage.

Handling switching defenses that went from man-to-man looks, to zone and back again seemed to fluster the Roadrunners in the first half.

Jenkins shot five for nine from the field, and Proctor hit four for six. But other UTSA players struggled to make shots, some of them with open looks. The rest of the UTSA players were a combined five for 20.

Tulane had a more balanced attack with Whittington leading the scoring with nine. The Green Wave hit 40 percent from the field and 50 percent from three. Pittman hit a couple of threes for the Green Wave.

Looking to generate momentum, the UTSA men host the Tulane Green Wave

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Editor’s note: The UTSA Roadrunners are on the floor, going through shooting drills as they warm up for a meeting with the Tulane Green Wave. Primo Spears, the team’s leading scorer, is seated at courtside. Spears is wearing a walking boot on his left ankle/foot.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

As the UTSA men’s basketball team turns the corner to the second half of the American Athletic Conference schedule on Wednesday night, the Roadrunners host the Tulane Green Wave, hoping to build on momentum and move up in the standings.

Last week, they had one of those crazy college basketball experiences, first traveling to Florida, where they took a 94-74 loss to the FAU Owls. Still on the road, they headed to Denton, and the resulting 54-50 victory over North Texas was a major morale and confidence boost for a team that has been up and down all season.

At the time, the Mean Green were tied for first place in the American, undefeated at home and 16-4 overall.

“Life on the road, every day is a new day,” first-year UTSA coach Austin Claunch said, reviewing last week’s journey. “It was certainly a tale of two different games.”

Against the Owls, the Roadrunners stayed close for the first 10 minutes, only to take a major hit at the end of the half.

“They make a big three and go on a huge run … and we weren’t able to recover,” the coach said. “Second half, (Owls guard) KyKy Tandy really lit it up from three and (they) sort of pulled away. But I was of course really pleased with the poise and resiliency to regroup, go to Denton and get a huge win.”

With the road split, UTSA comes home to face Tulane Wednesday night and East Carolina on Saturday night. The Roadrunners need to keep it going if they hope to get a break in seeding at the AAC tournament, when it comes around in March.

“So these are two really big games,” Claunch said. “It feels great to be home, but it’s not going to feel great if we don’t play great. We’ve got to really lock in this week and understand what it’s going to take to win these games. If we do that, we’re going to put ourselves in a good position.”

Records

Tulane 12-10, 6-3
UTSA 10-11, 4-5

Coming up

Tulane at UTSA, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
East Carolina at UTSA, Saturday, 7:08 p.m.

AAC standings

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

Notable

Both the women’s and men’s AAC tournaments will be played at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. The women’s tournament runs from March 8-12. The men’s event is March 12-16.

In both cases, a first-round game between the Nos. 12 and 13 seeds will be played on the first day, meaning those two teams will need to win five games in five days to win the tournament title trophy. Teams seeded fifth through 11th will start play on Day Two, and will need to win four in four days. The top four seeds will get a double bye through to the Day 3 quarterfinals, meaning they will need three wins in three days.

Given all that, it’s critical for the UTSA men, who are playing with a seven-man rotation. The fewer games they need to win in Fort Worth, the better their chances of going deeper into the tournament or winning it. With UTSA tied for seventh in the AAC going into tonight, the team finds itself only two games in the loss column behind the teams tied for fourth — Temple and Tulane.

Is it possible, if UTSA can get hot down the stretch, to rise up and snag a top-four seed?

“I have looked at it a little bit,” Claunch said on his Monday morning zoom call. “Certainly, I think we’re capable of going on a run here in these last nine games. But not if we don’t have a great practice today. You know, it’s not something I’m really talking to our team about.

“We certainly feel that Saturday (against North Texas) was a huge step forward. At the halfway point, to get that win, and kind of put yourself right in the middle with some games coming up against teams that are sort of jockeying for those same positions. But our focus is on today. Right? We’ve said it all year. We want to dream big and focus small.”

Tulane beat UTSA 92-63 on Jan. 4, so Claunch’s focus at the moment centers on how to slow down the Green Wave.

“We’ve got a team (coming in) on Wednesday that really handed it to us at their place,” Claunch said. “We’re a completely different team than we were in New Orleans. But they do a great job defensively. They’re extremely long and active and they have good offensive players.

“So, this is going to be a really challenging game on Wednesday. Not a lot of time to think about the tournament right now. We’ve got to lock in on what’s in front of us.”