Tag Archives: UTSA Roadrunners

Puerto Rico Clasico: UTSA women power past Towson, 71-40

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

On the second day of the Puerto Rico Clasico, the UTSA Roadrunners on Friday scored the first 10 points and then cruised to a 71-40 victory over the winless Towson Tigers. After the dominant performance, the UTSA women will leave with a 2-0 record in Puerto Rico, a six-game winning streak overall and loads of confidence going into the month of December.

UTSA, on the defensive end, forced 25 turnovers and held Towson to 30.4 percent shooting from the field. Offensively, the Roadrunners flowed with 18 assists on 29 field goals. Shooting much better than they did on Thursday, they hit 46.8 percent from the field.

From the outset, the Roadrunners seemed to have all the energy. Jordyn Jenkins started the game with an 18-foot jumper and followed it with a 3-point basket. Maya Linton pitched in with a steal and then went coast to coast for a layup. After a Towson timeout, UTSA’s Nina De Leon Negron followed with a three, boosting the Roadrunners into a 10-0 lead.

Jenkins led the Roadrunners with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting. De Leon Negron, a Puerto Rico native, had 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds. The 5-foot-6 UTSA grad senior also punctuated her homecoming with three steals. Cheyenne Rowe led the UTSA reserves with 10 points on five of nine shooting.

For Towson, India Johnston knocked down five 3-point baskets and scored 19.

Records

UTSA 6-1
Towson 0-7

Coming up

Sam Houston State at UTSA, Saturday, Dec, 7, 1 p.m.

Third quarter

Players off the UTSA bench combined to score the last nine points during a 13-0 run to end the third period, vaulting UTSA into a commanding 58-29 advantage. Cheyenne Rowe hit a couple of baskets. Damara Allen contributed one basket and Taylor Ross hit a three.

First half

The Roadrunners kick-started a fast-paced transition game and surged into a 39-22 lead at halftime. They dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Tigers 19-8.

Notable

Coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons, the Towson Tigers entered this year with high hopes. Now they’re 0-7 and reeling. The schedule has been tough on the Tigers as they played their first five games on the road, including two against Top 25 teams in West Virginia and Maryland. On Sunday, in their first home game, they dropped a 64-57 decision to the Liberty Flames.

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

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Records

Houston Christian 2-5
UTSA 2-3

Coming up

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

Notable

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spears-led UTSA rallies to knock off Merrimack, 76-74

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Guard Primo Spears exploded for 15 of his season-high 29 points in the last three minutes Wednesday as the UTSA Roadrunners rallied from a late 14-point deficit to beat the Merrimack College Warriors, 76-74, in a neutral site game at Troy, Ala.

“A huge win,” Roadrunners coach Austin Claunch said later. UTSA needed 20-4 runs at the start of the game and at the end to claim its first victory of the season against an NCAA Division I opponent.

The Warriors didn’t flinch when they fell behind early, executing a rally that pushed them, ultimately, into a 70-56 lead with 3:31 remaining.

After that, UTSA stepped up the defense, and Spears took over on the other end. In a remarkable two-minute sequence, the Florida State transfer hit a 3-pointer, scored on a traditional three-point play and then rained in two more triples.

Spears’ last three in the outburst trimmed the Warriors’ lead to 73-68 with 1:19 remaining.

From there, UTSA applied a full-court press. Walk-on freshman guard Baboucarr Njie, in his first game for the Roadrunners, responded by forcing a turnover and hitting a free throw. After another Merrimack turnover, UTSA point guard Marcus Millender followed with a 3-point bucket of his own out of the corner.

When Millender’s shot went down, the Roadrunners had pulled to within one, trailing 73-72. On the other end, the Warriors missed two free throws, which set up the final chaotic 40 seconds of the game.

First, Spears dribbled through traffic and threw in a runner to give the Roadrunners the lead. He was fouled on the play and went to the free throw line to knock it down with 25 seconds left, giving UTSA a two-point edge. On the other end, the Warriors misfired from three.

UTSA’s Jonnivius Smith, who dominated the defensive glass all day, rebounded and was fouled. He went to the line and missed his first free throw but made the second for a 76-73 edge. Fouling immediately on the inbounds, the Roadrunners put Adam Clark on the line with four seconds remaining.

He made the first one and missed the second.

Spears rebounded, drew a foul and went to the line. But he missed both with 2.4 seconds left, giving Merrimack one last chance. With 94 feet to travel, the Warriors inbounded to Clark, who tried to race it up for a game-winning attempt. But he lost the handle and couldn’t get off a shot.

Smith, a transfer from Buffalo, finished the game with 11 points and 20 rebounds. Spears hit 11 of 22 shots from the field and five of nine from 3-point distance, For Spears, it was his first big moment with the Roadrunners.

The Florida State transfer entered the game having scored 27, 20, 15 and 20 in UTSA’s first four games. Regardless, UTSA had lost lost three straight since an opening-night victory over Division III Trinity, and the team had dropped three in a row to Division I schools, all by double-digit margins.

The Roadrunners needed a Division I victory in the worst way, and they got it courtesy of Spears, who scored 17 in the last four minutes. Clark finished with 28 points for the Warriors, who lost their sixth straight.

Told on the team’s radio broadcast that his team had outscored Merrimack 20-4 in the final three minutes, Claunch said, “Is that what it was?

“Listen,” he added, “that was an interesting two hours, or however long it was. We obviously came out really ready to go and kind of jumped on them … (But) we knew it was going to be a dogfight.”

Claunch lamented the 20-4 UTSA lead at the start of the game that vanished with sloppy play and poor execution on both ends.

The Warriors’ zone defense had something to do with it, but, still, by the middle of the second half, the Roadrunners seemed a little bit lost.

With UTSA going through a seven-minute drought without a field goal, Merrimack’s Clark seemed to have the game on a string, dribbling through traffic and scoring almost at will. His bucket inside with 3:31 remaining lifted the Warriors into a 70-56 advantage.

Spears said the UTSA defense rose to the challenge at the end.

“We talk about getting kills, getting stops three times in a row,” Spears told broadcaster Andy Everett, “and in the last three minutes I thought we did a hell of a job with that.”

Given the opportunities to make something happen, the Roadrunners’ offense came to life.

“We have some incredibly talented people in that locker room on offensive end,” Spears said. “If we get in transition, if we get to run, we play our best basketball … Once we got downhill … and the late got more open, we were able to attack the rim.”

Claunch singled out the effort of Njie, the younger brother of Roadrunners center Mo Mjie.

“I thought Bob Njie, the true freshman, came in and gave us a huge spark,” the coach said. “Again, you just keep playing. It’s stuff you drill in practice and you emphasize. But until your guys see it (in a game) … this is a huge win.”

Records

UTSA 2-3
Merrimack 1-6

Coming up

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

First half

Smith forced a turnover and drove the length of the floor to hit a layup in the last few minutes as the UTSA Roadrunners took a 37-36 lead on the Merrimack Warriors.

Coming off the bench, Smith led the Roadrunners in the half with eight points and 11 rebounds. Three of his boards were snared off the offensive glass. Damari Monsanto also had eight points, hitting a couple of threes to boost his total.

For Merrimack, Clark scored 12 in the half and Devon Savage eight.

Forcing turnovers and running efficient offense in a near empty gymnasium, the Roadrunners raced to a 16-point lead in the first six and a half minutes. UTSA held a 20-4 lead when Naz Mahmoud hit a three.

In response, Merrimack surged on a 27-11 run to tie the game. A driving layup by Bryan Etumnu knotted the score at 31-all with five minutes remaining.

Notable

The game was being played at Troy, Ala., the home of the Sun Belt Conference’s Troy Trojans. It was UTSA’s second and final game in the Trojan Turkey Tipoff. Both UTSA and Merrimack entered the game on losing streaks. UTSA had lost three in a row, while Merrimack had dropped five straight.

Jonnivius Smith pulled down 20 rebounds, five shy of the UTSA school record, to become one of only three players in UTSA history with 20 or more.

Lennell Moore holds the record with 25, establishing the mark on Jan. 5, 1987 against the Centenary Gentlemen in Shreveport, La. Clarence McGee had 20 for the Roadrunners on Feb. 27, 1988 at home against the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys.

For Smith, it may be a game he remembers for awhile. A native of Selma, Ala., he pulled down his career-high in a game played in his home state.

Playing for the University of Buffalo the past two seasons, he had his previous high game of 19 boards on Nov. 6, 2023, at home in Buffalo, against Farleigh Dickinson.

UTSA freshman guard Baboucarr Njie, the younger brother of UTSA center Mo Njie, made his UTSA debut by substituting into the game with a little less than 13 minutes remaining in the half. Baboucarr Njie, a walk-on, finished with five points and four rebounds.

Not available to play were forward Jaquan Scott and guards Paul Smith and Tai’Reon Joseph. Scott and Smith are nursing injuries. Joseph is ineligible.

Homeward bound: Nina De Leon Negron prepares to play for UTSA in Puerto Rico

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Nina De Leon Negron. The UTSA women's basketball team beat St. Mary's 90-38 in an exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA graduate senior Nina De Leon Negron is averaging 11.8 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. She’s also making 53.3 percent from three going into two games this week in her hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Ever since Nina De Leon Negron signed with the UTSA Roadrunners last spring, she has been excited for a chance to travel home and see family and friends on Thanksgiving.

The journey is happening, indeed, as UTSA (4-1) will take on the UNC Greensboro Spartans (6-1) on Thursday and the Towson Tigers (0-6) on Friday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Karen Aston. 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

UTSA coach Karen Aston has credited her team’s play at point guard this year for her team’s improvement on offense. Nina De Leon Negron and Sidney Love both start and alternate in bringing the ball up as playmakers. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Earlier this week, the Roadrunners’ graduate senior point guard sat and talked at the Convocation Center about how far she has come since she left home five years ago to live in the United States.

As a kid, she once was just another Puerto Rican ball player with dreams.

“It was fun,” she said. “It’s definitely different than the United States. I feel like kids here start training (early) with skills trainers. They’re young and they develop a lot of stuff. Like, they get good when they’re younger. They lift weights and stuff like that.

“In Puerto Rico, we don’t have those big facilities. So it’s kind of like, harder.”

Even though De Leon Negron took a different route to a starter’s role than most athletes in NCAA Division I, she made the most of it.

After a year at Montverde Academy in Florida, she began her college career with two seasons at Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn.

The former U17 player on the Puerto Rican national team then transferred to the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio for another two seasons. Now she’s a key player for the Roadrunners, who are among the favorites in the American Athletic Conference.

Combining with junior Sidney Love to give the Roadrunners a talented dual point-guard look, De Leon Negron has sparked the team to three wins in a four-game streak going going into San Juan.

As the first Puerto Rico native in UTSA women’s basketball history, she’s averaging a robust 11.8 points and 3.8 assists. After sitting out the second game of the season with a heel injury, the 5-foot-6 spark plug has found her offensive groove with games of 14, 13 and 16 points.

Not bad for someone who grew up, basically freelancing, as a young player on the Caribbean island.

“It was fun, but we were mostly playing instead of training,” De Leon Negron said. “You’re playing more than you’re training, which, I don’t think that’s the correct way. But, that’s kind of how it works there. But it was always fun. I always had my parents’ support. They were always like, you want to go shoot? You want to do this? I’ll take you. They were always there for me.

“So I’m definitely excited to go back and play for them.”

For De Leon Negron, another obstacle to achieving success in the college game came in overcoming the language barrier. It was a challenge for the Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican to learn English on the fly, starting in 2019 when she moved to Florida.

“I was not fluent (in English),” she said. “I barely knew (it). I moved to Montverde and, in Florida, there are a lot of Hispanic people in the schools. So I would speak Spanish, and then just English on the court. When I went to my first school, Austin Peay, there were no Hispanics there. I just knew one person who was Hispanic. So, that’s where, like, I learned English.

“I had to. I had no other choice.”

At Austin Peay, De Leon Negron played 55 games, starting all 33 as a sophomore when she led the team in assists (3.4) and ranked second in the Ohio Valley Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.95). Moving on to San Antonio, De Leon Negron took off as a player at UIW.

She averaged 11.7 points in 58 games over a two-year period, at one time scoring 25 in a victory over the Roadrunners as a junior.

Twice, she made all-Southland Conference. De Leon Negron was placed on the SLC second team as a junior and first team last season. Looking for “something new,” she entered the transfer portal last spring and hoped for the best. De Leon Negron found a new home with UTSA.

Initial workouts at the Convocation Center with grad assistant (now assistant coach) Angel Almaguer led to her introductions with all her new teammates.

“I would come in here with him and see the other girls, so I was already creating that bonding,” she said. “And then everyone was really welcoming. Like, the coaches and players … We’d always talk about the goals, to win the championship.

“It was really good, an easy transition,” she said. “Like, I’d been in San Antonio for two years, so it was easy. I like San Antonio, So I really feel comfortable. It was like a home.”

UTSA coach Karen Aston said the team’s appearance at the multi-team event in Puerto Rico was set up more than a year ago, well before De Leon Negron entered the portal.

“Was not aware of her being available or anything like that,” the coach said. “Obviously it ended up being maybe a good recruiting tool for us, because when we started recruiting her, we had the schedule. But it was a stroke of luck, for her, you know. She’s never played in front of her family. Just a wonderful, wonderful opportunity for a young lady … It’s well-deserved.”

When players visit their home locales on road trips, sometimes the emotion of a homecoming can be a distraction for them. But Aston said she’s not concerned about that with De Leon Negron.

“I don’t worry much about Nina,” the coach said. “She came here for legitimate reasons. She wanted a different experience, and she wanted to make the most of her experience, whatever that was. If that was learning something new, learning how to lead a different team, you know, Nina is all in.”

Aston said she doesn’t think De Leon Negron will feel any pressure. Rather, she said she thinks her playmaker will love the experience.

Puerto Rico native Jhivvan Jackson (left) is the all-time leading scorer for UTSA men’s basketball and recently signed to continue his professional career in Germany for the Wuerzburg Baskets. Jackson scored 2,551 points in his UTSA career (2017-2021) to become the all-time leading scorer from Latin America in NCAA Division I. His grandfather, veteran international coach Flor Melendez (right), traveled to San Antonio and attended a few UTSA practices during his grandson’s freshman year. – File photo, by Jerry Briggs.

“She has the opportunity to go down there and play in front of probably family and friends,” the coach said. “Her intention is to go right back to Puerto Rico when she finishes her season here and start her professional career. So I think this is just, kind of, a feather in her cap. It wasn’t expected.

“It’s not why she came here. But it’s a little bit of icing on the cake for her last year in college basketball.”

De Leon Negron’s face lights up when she’s asked about playing a college game on her home turf for the first time in her career.

“Yes sir, the first time, and I can’t wait,” she said. “I have all my family and my friends ready to go and watch me and support the team. I don’t know, I’m just so excited for it. I’ve been looking forward to it since coach told me.”

Coming up

UTSA vs. UNC Greensboro, Thursday, 10 a.m.
UTSA vs. Towson, Friday, 1 p.m.
Both games at San Juan, Puerto Rico

Records

UTSA (4-1)
UNC Greensboro (6-1)
Towson (0-6)

UTSA game by game

Nov. 7 — At Texas A&M, L, 51-55
Nov. 9 — UTRGV, W, 74-69
Nov. 14 — At New Mexico State, W, 75-61
Nov. 16 — At UTEP, W, 78-73
Nov. 20 – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, W, 62-43

UTSA men lose again but hope to snap a three-game skid against Merrimack

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The Troy Trojans built a 13-point lead at intermission and then shot 64 percent from the field in the second half Monday night in Alabama, rolling to an easy 86-72 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

Forward Myles Rigsby scored 17 points, while guard Tayton Conerway and forward Jerrell Bellamy added 15 as Troy (4-2) won on opening night in the Trojan Turkey Tipoff. Guard Cooper Campbell scored 10.

For UTSA, guard Primo Spears scored 20 points. Guard Damari Monsanto hit six 3-point baskets and finished with 19 as the Roadrunners (1-3) lost their third straight game. Forward Raekwon Horton produced a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

With the loss, UTSA fell to 0-3 against NCAA Division I competition this season, all by double figures.

The Roadrunners will play again on the Trojans’ home court Wednesday at noon, when they are scheduled to meet the Merrimack College Warriors (1-5).

First-year UTSA coach Austin Claunch lamented how his team has started off playing well in losses to Bradley, Little Rock and Troy, only to allow its opponent to seize the momentum with a flurry of baskets.

“Right now there’s just four- to five-minute spurts in the first half, where teams are going on hellacious runs, 10-0, 12-2, whatever the case may be, and it’s causing these deficits,” Claunch told Andy Everett on the team’s radio broadcast. “Now I was much more pleased with the second half … and how we responded. We got it back to seven.”

Coming off three 20-plus loss seasons in a row under a previous coaching staff, UTSA entered the season picked to finish tied for 11th in the American Athletic Conference. Troy entered picked third in the Sun Belt. Right now, the Roadrunners seem to struggle with consistency at the first hint of adversity.

“We knew this would be a tough test, and certainly we did some good things,” Claunch said. “But there’s an element of basketball toughness that we have to improve on.”

A major change in momentum in Troy’s favor came about five minutes into the second half.

Just as the Roadrunners produced a Horton putback, a steal and then a fast break layup by Spears, pulling to within seven points, the Trojans answered with an 11-2 run.

Campbell, a freshman, sparked the streak with two 3-point buckets. Campbell’s second triple in the sequence pushed Troy in front by a score of 59-43 with 11:27 remaining.

UTSA made another run later in the game, with forward Jo Smith stepping out to knock down a three. After a turnover on the other end, UTSA forward Sky Wicks scored on a breakaway.

When it hit the bottom of the net, the Roadrunners were within 70-60 with 5:10 remaining.

In response, Troy answered with a 3-point bucket by Conerway. Following a UTSA miss, the home team advanced the ball and finished with a resounding dunk by Bellamy. The stuff lifted the Trojans into a 75-60 advantage with 4:26 left.

For the game, the Trojans shot 55 percent from the field and 55 percent (11 of 20) from three. UTSA, by comparison, hit 44 percent afield and 46 percent from behind the arc. The Roadrunners made 13 of 28 triples, with seven players making at least one.

With UTSA missing three players, two injured and one ineligible, Troy dominated in bench scoring (40-16) and points in the paint (34-18).

First half

The Trojans, playing the passing lanes and forcing mistakes, broke open a close game midway through the first half and raced to a 42-29 lead at intermission.

In the early going, the Roadrunners attacked the Trojans with Monsanto hitting threes and Spears popping jumpers.

The third of four first-half threes from Monsanto lifted UTSA into an 18-17 lead with 10:58 remaining. From there, Troy started to become more aggressive. The Trojans kept forcing errors and surged on a 25-11 run to the halftime buzzer.

Myles Rigsby led the Trojans at the half with eight points and three steals. Jerrell Bellamny had seven points and Victor Valdes and Tayton Conerway six. Conerway emerged as a menace defensively with four steals.

The Trojans finished the half with 12 steals and forced 14 UTSA turnovers. They also hald UTSA to 40.7 percent shooting. Monsanto led the Roadrunners with 13 points, hitting four of five from beyond the 3-point arc. Spears had nine points.

Records

UTSA 1-3
Troy 4-2

Coming up

UTSA vs. Merrimack College, Wednesday, noon, at Troy, Ala.

Notable

UTSA starting forward Jaquan Scott and reserve guard Paul Lewis didn’t play against Troy because of injuries, a spokesman said.

Scott averaged 7.7 points and three rebounds through the first three games. Lewis averaged 3.5 points in the first two. He has missed the last two with a foot injury.

Guard Tai’Reon Joseph, who is practicing but is ineligible to play, sat out his fourth game to start the season. He’s expected to be eligible sometime before the start of the AAC phase of the schedule.

In losses to Bradley, Little Rock and Troy, UTSA is giving up an average of 84 points per game while yielding 53 percent shooting from the field and 48.4 percent from the 3-point arc.

Merrimack (1-5) played Monday night on the road and lost its fifth straight, falling 81-74 to the University of Massachusetts Lowell. After winning at home against Vermont on opening night, Merrimack has dropped games to Virginia Commonwealth, Princeton, 24th-ranked Rutgers, Butler and UMass Lowell.

Merrimack is starting a new era in the program’s Division I history. The Warriors will be playing their first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Merrimack is coming off two straight regular-season titles in the Northeast Conference. The Warriors’ coach is Joe Gallo, who likes to play zone defense.

Against the Roadrunners, the Warriors will be making their debut in the Trojan Turkey Tipoff. The Warriors, based in North Andover, Mass., will play Troy on Friday afternoon.

UTSA turns up the defensive pressure and downs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 62-43

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Nina De Leon Negron. UTSA beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 62-43 in non-conference women's basketball on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Graduate senior Nina De Leon Negron tied Jordyn Jenkins with 16 points as the Roadrunners won their fourth straight game. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With most of their shots clanging off the rim, the UTSA Roadrunners turned to a couple of old staples — defense and rebounding — to down the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders 62-43 in women’s college basketball Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.

As a result, the Roadrunners improved to 4-1, winning four of their first five games in a season against Division I opponents for the first time since 2007-08. That year, the Roadrunners went 23-10 and reached the NCAA tournament.

Karen Aston. UTSA beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 62-43 in non-conference women's basketball on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Karen Aston’s Roadrunners play next week in Puerto Rico, on Thursday against UNC Greensboro and on Friday against Towson. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Islanders, with early road wins over Texas A&M and Texas State, lost their second straight and fell to 3-2.

Afterward, Roadrunners coach Karen Aston talked about her respect for the Islanders and coach Royce Chadwick, who led his team to the NCAA tournament last year. She also said she felt like the Roadrunners played “really solid” defensively.

“Didn’t shoot the ball great,” Aston said. “I think we’ve been shooting it better and we are a lot better shooting team than we shot tonight. But I think sometimes that happens. I was most proud of the way we buckled down defensively.

“You know, you have to do that sometimes when the ball’s not going in the hole. We offensive rebounded really well. Pretty good team effort.”

On a night when the UTSA offense went cold with 31.9 percent shooting, Nina De Leon Negron and Jordyn Jenkins led the Roadrunners with 16 points each. De Leon Negron also had three assists and two steals. Jenkins, held to six of 15 from the field, had seven rebounds, four blocks and five steals.

Jenkins entered the game averaging 23.5 points, good for a tie for 11th in the nation. She averaged 28.5 points in wins last week at New Mexico State and UTEP but couldn’t get it going offensively until late in the game.

In the first half, Jenkins missed her first six shot attempts and finally hit one at the end. In the third quarter, she shot two for four from the floor. In the fourth, when the game’s pace quickened as UTSA forced the tempo, she was three for four.

“Whenever shots aren’t falling for me, or whatever, I try to just not let it get in my head and just know that they’re eventually going to fall,” Jenkins said. “Like, you can’t go zero percent unless you stop shooting.

“So I just have to think more and be more logical with my shots whenever I’m being doubled. Maybe catching in the post and throwing out or just try to get more assists and more rebounds. That’ll also get me points.”

De Leon Negron, a newcomer who transferred in the offseason from Incarnate Word, won the “Cash In” gold chain, a team award for playing well and reaping the fruits of your hard work in practice.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 62-43 in non-conference women's basketball on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Jordyn Jenkins, who on Monday earned national player of the week mention from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, scored 16 points against the Islanders. She also had seven rebounds, four blocks and five steals. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“This is fun,” she said. “It’s really different to where I was at. I can say that for sure. It’s a different environment … Our teammates, they make the game so much (more fun). When we’re down, we’re like, ‘Let’s pick it up. We’re better than this.’ I don’t know. It’s just fun.”

Defensively, the Roadrunners humbled the Islanders in the second half, holding the visitors to 12 points on 5 for 21 shooting. A&M-Corpus Christi, leading 31-30 at intermission, was promptly stifled in the third quarter and held to three points.

UTSA dominated the rebounding battle all night, sending Idara Udo and Maya Linton to the glass and finishing with a 54-29 advantage. The Roadrunners out-rebounded the visitors 30-8 on the offensive glass. Udo had 10 rebounds, nine on the offensive end. Linton finished with eight rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Forward Paige Allen led the Islanders with 10 points and six rebounds.

Third quarter

Stepping up the defense and crashing the boards, the Roadrunners held the Islanders to 1 of 11 shooting, forced 10 turnovers and carried a 48-34 lead into the final period.

With Idara Udo and Maya Linton on the boards, Sidney Love scored six points and Jordyn Jenkins five in the quarter.

First half

Trailing by 11 points in the first six minutes of the game, the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders packed in their defense, forced the UTSA Roadrunners to take outside shots and watched them, mostly, clang harmlessly off the rim. As a result, the Islanders gained momentum and rallied into a 31-30 advantage at intermission.

Guard Jaeda Whitner led the Islanders offensively with nine points on three treys. Forward Paige Allen shook off a slow start and scored six points. Mireia Aguado, playing the role of distributor, passed for four assists.

Defensively, the Islanders did an admirable job on Jordyn Jenkins and limited the Roadrunners to 30.3 percent from the field and 18.8 percent from the 3-point arc.

Jenkins, who received national player of the week recognition on Monday, missed her first six shots from the field and finished one for seven. She managed only four points. Nina De Leon Negron, who had 10 first-half points, did most of her damage early as UTSA took a 14-3 lead.

Records

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3-2
UTSA 4-1

Coming up

UTSA vs. UNC Greensboro, Nov. 28, at Puerto Rico
UTSA vs. Towson, Nov. 29, at Puerto Rico

Notable

UTSA entered the game on a hot streak, shooting 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range. They shot 23 of 72 from the field for a season-low 31.9 percent against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a veteran team that won 23 games last year and played in the NCAA tournament. UTSA’s previous low field goal percentage game came in the season opener at College Station, against Texas A&M, when the Roadrunners shot 33.9.

Banner reminder: UTSA women aiming for greater heights

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

Maya Linton and the UTSA Roadrunners host the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, a 23-win NCAA tournament team from last year, tonight at the Convocation Center. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Maya Linton, one of Coach Karen Aston’s third-year UTSA veterans, said Tuesday that she looks at the program’s new 2024 WNIT banner hanging on the north wall of the Convocation Center as a sign of progress.

A reminder that hard work pays dividends.

But as the Roadrunners prepare to host the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders tonight, she said the banner unfurled earlier this month has become more of a reminder to her that the team still needs to keep grinding away to achieve the ultimate goal.

Jordyn Jenkins. UTSA beat Northern Colorado 80-62 in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Jordyn Jenkins averaged 28.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in two road wins last week to earn mention as a national player of the week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. – File photo by Joe Alexander

“It’s like, ‘OK, so we can play (in the) postseason,’ ” Linton said. “But, we want to get to where we want to be … and that is in the (NCAA) tournament. We want to go bigger (than the WNIT). We want to go up another level.”

After a season-opening road loss to Texas A&M, the Roadrunners (3-1) have won three in a row to stir their long-range dreams, while the Islanders (also 3-1) have won enough games this season and in the last few to know they can play the role of spoiler.

Last season, the Roadrunners beat the Islanders, 66-59, in overtime in Corpus Christi. It was a game that the Islanders led by 15 points in the third quarter and by 11 entering the fourth, only to see it slip away.

So, tonight’s visitors in San Antonio will have plenty of reasons to play hard.

They also probably have the firepower to win, as well, with the likes of Mireia Aguado and Paige Allen returning from last year’s Southland Conference postseason champions.

Aguado and Allen led an Islanders team that forged a 23-9 record, won the SLC postseason crown and claimed the conference’s coveted NCAA berth.

The two have also sparked early-season victories over Texas A&M and Texas State on the road. The only loss for the Islanders has come in another road test against the 17th-ranked Baylor Bears.

UTSA, behind redshirt senior forward Jordyn Jenkins, is also playing well. After losing by four at A&M, the Roadrunners have knocked off the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros at home, followed last week by road victories against the New Mexico State Aggies and the UTEP Miners.

Jenkins, named as one of five athletes to share national players of the week honors by the U.S Basketball Writers Association, is averaging 23.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. Her supporting cast is also coming on strong.

On Saturday, the Roadrunners trailed by 11 at halftime and went on a 26-10 run in the third quarter. In the 10-minute period, Jenkins scored 11 points. Also coming alive was Linton, who averaged 3.9 points last season. She had eight in the quarter, including a pair of three-pointers.

Playing small forward this year after working as a post player the past two seasons, she finished the game with 12 points, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Linton hit five of eight from the field, including two of three from outside the 3-point arc.

Saying she is “way more confident than last year,” she has embraced the change in position.

“It’s very different, just because I’m getting more touches,” she said. “It’s just how I capitalize off them. Defensive-wise, I’m guarding more guards, faster people. So, it’s different for me. But it’s fine. I’m gritty. I like playing defense.”

UTSA coaches preached defense and rebounding this week, hoping to shore up a couple of areas of concern. Perimeter defense, in particular, has been a problem as opponents are shooting 46 percent from the 3-point arc against the Roadrunners.

So far, it hasn’t hurt the team too much, just because Jenkins has been so dominant, and because the UTSA offense is hitting high percentages, as well. The point guard play of Sidney Love and Nina De Leon Negron has helped the team shoot 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from three.

De Leon Negron said Jenkins is deserving of the national accolades.

“I feel like not everyone sees how good she can be,” she said. “I know she scores and everyone goes, ‘Whoa, she’s a really good scorer.’ But she does little things that people don’t see, like defensively, when she talks.”

De Leon Negron, a transfer from Incarnate Word, said hearing Jenkins’ calling out keys on the court is important. “Just having that voice as a post player, like, not every team has that,” she said. “We have that. (And) if we keep getting better at it, we can be elite. Playing with her is so good. It makes everyone’s life so much better.”

Records

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3-1
UTSA 3-1

Coming up

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA vs. UNC Greensboro, Nov. 28, 10 a.m., at San Juan Puerto Rico
UTSA vs. Towson, Nov. 29, 1 p.m., at San Juan, Puerto Rico

Notable

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a member of the Southland Conference, has won 19, 19 and 23 games over the past three seasons, respectively. Last year, the Islanders finished in a tie for second in the SLC regular season at 14-4 and then won the postseason title to reach the NCAA tournament. Royce Chadwick is in his 13th year as coach.

Little Rock clamps down defensively in an 81-64 victory over short-handed UTSA

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Marcus Millender. UTSA men's basketball lost to Little Rock 81-64 on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Marcus ‘Smurf’ Millender had 12 points and three steals Saturday against the Little Rock Trojans. — Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The Little Rock Trojans entered the UTSA Convocation Center Saturday coming off two straight unsightly road losses.

They made sure it didn’t happen again, rolling to second-half leads as large as 20 and 22 points, before holding off the Roadrunners 81-64.

Arguably, Little Rock won the game on the defensive end, limiting UTSA to 30 percent shooting, blocking nine shots and forcing 17 turnovers.

Austin Claunch. UTSA men's basketball lost to Little Rock 81-64 on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Austin Claunch’s Roadrunners played Saturday without starters Raekwon Horton and Damari Monsanto. Without explaining why they didn’t play, Claunch said the team has ‘a standard’ to uphold. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Ante Beljan led Little Rock with a career-high 21 points and guard Mwani Wilkinson scored 19. Also, guards Isaiah Lewis scored 16 and Johnathan Lawson had 15.

Primo Spears finished with 15 to lead the Roadrunners. Marcus Millender added 12, while Naz Mahmoud and Sky Wicks contributed 10 each. The Roadrunners played without forward Raekwon Horton and guards Damari Monsanto and Tai’Reon Joseph.

Joseph is ineligible at the moment, having sat out all three of the Roadrunners’ games. It’s believed he might be out at least another four games before he can return. But the absence of Horton and Monsanto, two starters, came as a surprise.

“We had a couple of guys out,” first-year UTSA coach Austin Claunch said. “Listen, at the end of the day, they’ll be back. We expect all of them back, come Monday. You know, it is what it is. There’s things we want to uphold. There’s a standard we want to uphold.

“Those guys have done it, and at the end of the day, when you don’t do it, there’s certain things (that will happen). You know, it’s a privilege to play at UTSA.”

Claunch didn’t go into detail on why he apparently took actions that left his team short-handed. Instead of specifics, he spoke in his postgame news conference in generalities about how his players “are trying to do something that’s hard … and it gets so frustrating.”

Seated in the interview room flanked by Millender and Mahmoud, Claunch continued, “Sometimes, (players) want to win so bad. These guys sitting next to me and all those guys in the locker room, it takes time, to get to where they want to (go and to realize) the dreams they want to talk about. We talk about winning and cutting down these nets and all that.

“(But) it’s hard to win one game. It’s hard to win one college basketball game.

“And then when you get used to it and you start to get a feel, it becomes a little bit easier each time. But we just got to keep chipping, man. It’s the stone cutter. Right? You don’t ever know. You don’t ever know when the last blow, the last hit, (when) you’re going to find gold over there.”

Records

Little Rock 2-2
UTSA 1-2

Coming up

UTSA at Troy, Ala., Nov. 25
UTSA vs. Merrimack, at Troy, Nov. 27

Halftime

Little Rock entered the game with UTSA coming off losses at Winthrop, S.C., 82-67, and at Arkansas State, 80-63. Sparked by Wilkinson and Beljan, the Trojans surged on a 16-0 run late in the first half to take charge against the Roadrunners.

Primo Spears. UTSA men's basketball lost to Little Rock 81-64 on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Primo Spears led the Roadrunners with 15 points. He’s averaging 20.7 points to lead the team through three games. – Photo by Joe Alexander

After giving up five points to the Roadrunners in the closing few minutes, the Trojans went into the dressing room with a 36-26 intermission lead.

Beljan started the streak, innocently enough, with a free throw. But after that, Little Rock started to roll.

First, Wilkinson hit a three and then Beljan sank a layup. Wilkinson knocked in another three and Beljan followed with another inside move.

Lewis broke loose for a fast break layup and was fouled, and then he hit the free throw. Creed Williamson, the son of former NBA player Corliss Williamson, added a layup with 2:40 remaining for a 36-21 advantage.

Little Rock’s defense limited UTSA to 19 percent shooting (5 of 26) in the first half. UTSA hit 2 of 12 from three. At that juncture, Millender led the Roadrunners with seven points.

For the Trojans, who shot 45 percent from the floor in the half, Lewis had nine points and Lawson eight. Primo Spears, who had scored 47 points combined in the team’s first two games, finished the half with six.

Notable

Little Rock has been without injured star guard Khaleen “KK” Robinson since mid-October and another starter, Jordan Jefferson, sat out against UTSA.

Skylar Wicks. UTSA men's basketball lost to Little Rock 81-64 on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Skylar Wicks produced 10 points and seven rebounds against the Trojans. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The loss of Robinson, a first-team, all-conference player in the Ohio Valley last year, will hurt the Trojans moving forward. He is out indefinitely with a knee injury.

“It happened about two weeks before the season started, we lost our best player,” Trojans coach Darrell Walker said. “We’re still trying to figure our team out, but this was a good road win for us tonight. It really was.”

Walker, in his seventh season at Little Rock, recently received a three-year contract extension. “It’s good to have it, starting off a new season,” he said. “I’m happy that the athletic director had enough belief in me to get it done.”

The Roadrunners started the season on Nov. 4 with a 103-77 victory at home over Division III Trinity University. Their next game, another home date set originally for Nov. 9, was postponed when the visiting the North Dakota Fighting Hawks encountered weather- and travel-related issues.

The two sides have agreed to try and play the makeup on Dec. 13 in San Antonio, but it’s not on the UTSA schedule yet because a contract hasn’t been formalized.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday night, the Roadrunners played their first road game of the season and lost 85-72 to the Bradley Braves. Now, after the loss to the Trojans, UTSA remains winless against NCAA Division I competition at 0-2.

Quotable

“Give Little Rock a lot of credit,” Claunch said. “They out-played us. Out-toughed us. You know, we did some good things early on, again, similar to the Bradley game. And then at some point, they went on that run. We got to be able to withstand those a little bit better.”

Nazar Mahmoud. UTSA men's basketball lost to Little Rock 81-64 on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Nazar Mahmoud scored a career-high 10 points and pulled down six rebounds, including five off the offensive glass. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Once again, shooting woes plagued the Roadrunners, who are hitting 38 percent from the field through their first three games.

“I just thought in the first half we missed some shots that we normally make, and that sort of got us out of rhythm. I mean, we were 10 of 31 from two(-point range). We probably made a couple late. At one point, we had nine field goals with like 15 minutes left in the game. They’re a good shot-blocking team. You look, percentage-wise, they’re top 20 in the country. I just thought we missed a couple of chippies that we normally make.”

In addition, the Trojans hit 52.7 percent from the field, meaning that UTSA is now yielding 51.1 percent per game for the season.

“I was really proud of these guys, coming out today short-handed and battling the way that they did,” Claunch said. “We had to battle through some things today, and when you’re trying to build and work on things, that’s part of it. You know, you got to go through tough days. There’s going to be high days. You don’t get there without the low days. This is certainly not how we wanted to perform at home, in front of our fans.

“Now, the good news is, we have some time, and we get a little over a week to go to Troy and play two really good teams. We didn’t do ourselves any favors (today). It’s not going to get any easier. Troy obviously is picked top two in the Sun Belt (Conference). Merrimack (transitioning into its first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) has won that (Northeast) league a couple of years. So, we got to be ready to go.”

Jenkins-led UTSA rallies from 11-point deficit to down UTEP, 78-73

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Jordyn Jenkins erupted for 28 points in the second half Saturday as the UTSA Roadrunners, down by 11 at intermission, rallied for a 78-73 victory over the UTEP Miners.

Jenkins, a senior from Kent, Wash., produced a season-high 30 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for her third double double in four games.

With the victory, the Roadrunners swept a two-game road trip. They beat New Mexico State on Thursday night and then came into El Paso for a morning tipoff on Saturday to win again.

The Miners played with a passion in the first half, registering a strong second-quarter performance to take a 38-27 lead at intermission.

Ivane Tensaie led the Miners with 27 points, including seven three-point baskets. The Miners were 9 of 14 from three.

“We didn’t look locked in, in the first half,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said on the postgame radio broadcast. “This reminded me of our exhibition game where we got so many hand-checks (fouls). We just didn’t adjust.

“The refereeing was what it was. I didn’t think, first half, like anybody on the team adjusted. I’d put one in and they’d make the same mistake as someone that was coming out.”

Aston said the Roadrunners played early like a team “that was tired of being on the road trip, ready to get home and thought it was going to be easy. I think it was a lesson learned. Hopefully we’ll be better next time we get into this type of a situation.”

Guard Nina De Leon Negron and forward Maya Linton played well. De Leon Negron had 13 points and eight rebounds. She hit five of 10 shots from the field. Linton scored 12 points on five of eight shooting.

In the third quarter, Jenkins scored 11 points and Linton had eight as the Roadrunners surged on a 26-10 spree that put the Miners on their heels.

Records

UTSA 3-1
UTEP 2-1

Coming up

Texas A&M Corpus-Christi at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.

UTSA women prepare for early tipoff in El Paso against UTEP

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA women’s basketball team faces a quick turnaround from its last game as it prepares to meet the UTEP Miners today in El Paso at the Haskins Center.

Less than 48 hours ago, the Roadrunners polished off the New Mexico State Aggies, 75-61, in Las Cruces. Now they’re suiting up to play the Miners in the second game of a road trip. Tipoff is at noon central time at UTEP.

The Roadrunners (2-1) started practicing this summer thinking that they might have a deep pool of talent to meet the challenge of their fourth season under head coach Karen Aston.

After three games, their depth is paying off in solid play from several players.

Everyone knew senior Jordyn Jenkins would be good coming into the season, and she has been. A preseason first-team all-American Athletic Conference selection, she’s averaging 21.3 points and 8.7 rebounds.

Jenkins has been a model efficiency on the offensive end, shooting 51.3 percent from the field and 80 percent at the free throw line. In Las Cruces on Thursday night, she was at her best, producing 27 points and 11 rebounds.

But just as the Aggies started to feel the brunt of Jenkins’ play in the paint — she scored 12 in the first quarter — everyone else started to click, as well.

New Mexico State attacked with Molly Kaiser, but UTSA responded with play from the likes of Nina De Leon Negron and Sidney Love. De Leon Negron had her best game of the season with 14 points. Love had eight points and seven assists. As a team, the Roadrunners hit nine of 18 from three-point distance.

In all, six UTSA players hit threes.

Today in El Paso, the Roadrunners’ depth will be tested again. The Miners (2-0) are a grind-it-out style team that has played well defensively in victories over Tarleton State and Morehead State. They’re holding opponents to 45 points per game on 29.9 percent shooting from the field.

The Miners’ offensive threats include 5-7 guard Ivane Tensaie, who averages 15 points. Others are 5-6 guard Portia Adams and 6-1 forward Luisa Vydrova. Both are averaging 11 points. The Miners are in their 20th season in Conference USA and in their second under head coach Keitha Adams.

Records

UTSA 2-1
UTEP 2-0

Coming up

UTSA at UTEP, today at noon
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at UTSA, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.