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Making history: UTSA women down Northern Colorado 80-62 in the WNIT first round

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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

Jordyn Jenkins produced 27 points and seven rebounds as the UTSA Roadrunners routed the Northern Colorado Bears 80-62 in the first round of the Postseason WNIT. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA reached another milestone Thursday night during its best season of women’s basketball in 15 years. The Roadrunners hosted a postseason game in a national tournament and won it, both firsts program history.

With Jordyn Jenkins leading the way with 27 points, the Roadrunners took control against the Northern Colorado Bears in the second quarter and then finished them off in the fourth, claiming an 80-62 victory in the first round of the Postseason WNIT.

Karen Aston. 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

Karen Aston’s Roadrunners shot 47 percent from the field and scored 80 points in a game for the first time since Jan. 14 when they beat Charlotte 81-80 in double overtime. – Photo by Joe Alexander

A rowdy crowd at the Convocation Center (announced at 873) thoroughly enjoyed it at the end as the Roadrunners started to pull away into double-digit leads. With the win, UTSA improved to 18-14 and advanced to the second round against the Wyoming Cowgirls.

UTSA is scheduled to play on the road at Wyoming of the Mountain West Conference on Sunday at 2 p.m. Northern Colorado of the Big Sky finished its season at 15-16. Hannah Simental led the Bears with 18 points.

In the postgame press conference, UTSA coach Karen Aston said the team’s first postseason win (outside of a conference tournament) feels “amazing.”

“We talked about this before the game,” the coach said. “I didn’t even realize it until yesterday. They mentioned that we had never won a postseason game. So, just a little bit of motivation to give the girls.”

In 43 years of UTSA women’s basketball, the team had played in a national tournament only twice before, once in 2008 against Texas A&M (at Baton Rouge, La.) and once in 2009 against Baylor (at Lubbock).

The Roadrunners lost each game in the NCAA tournament’s round of 64.

This season, in Aston’s third year at the helm of the program, the Roadrunners fell short of the NCAA tourney, but they overcame adversity to secure a winning record for the first time since 2015.

Kyra White. 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

Senior guard Kyra White produced 10 points, nine assists and four rebounds.- Photo by Joe Alexander

Their 18 victories also represent a milestone, of sorts, as they are the most in a season for the Roadrunners since they won 24 in 2009.

Now, after experiencing heartache at the American Athletic Conference tournament, where they lost in the semifinals to bow out of NCAA contention, they have discovered in the WNIT a new path to travel on their road to respectability as a program.

Only three years ago, the Roadrunners won only two games. Two years ago, in Aston’s first season in San Antonio, they won seven. Then, last year, they boosted the victory total to 13 and made a run to the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament.

A year later, as a member of the American, they lost in the semis again but won enough games to earn an invitation to the 48-team WNIT, a second-tier tournament behind the 68-team NCAA and the 32-team WBIT.

“That’s really what we’ve been talking about all this time, is to try to set a new standard and do things that maybe haven’t been done before,” Aston said. “I couldn’t be happier for them.”

Jenkins started for the first time this season in only her 11th game back following a 10-month rehabilitation from knee surgery. She responded by hitting 11 of 16 shots from the field. Jenkins also augmented her prolific scoring with seven rebounds.

“Just finding gaps in the zone,” Jenkins said, “(and) getting easy buckets.”

Aysia Proctor. 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

Aysia Proctor supplied energy off the bench and 13 points on fve of six shooting. – Photo by Joe Alexander

In addition, UTSA enjoyed solid performances among several others, an element that had been missing at times during the crunch of conference play in February and March.

Freshman Aysia Proctor, an energizer, came off the bench to score 13 points. Senior point guard Kyra White had 10 points, nine assists and four rebounds.

Sophomore guard Sidney Love, who became extremely aggressive on offense in the second half, had 10 points and five assists. Senior Hailey Atwood scored nine on four of six shooting from the field in only 16 minutes.

White, who played in high school in the San Antonio area at Judson, said it feels great to win in the postseason.

“Just super grateful and blessed that we have this opportunity to play in front of the home crowd,” White said. “I’m just glad we were able to go out there and get it done.”

Records

Northern Colorado 15-16
UTSA 18-14

Coming up

WNIT second round: UTSA at Wyoming (16-14), Sunday, 2 p.m. (Central).

Notable

A moment of levity emerged late in the third quarter when the Roadrunners made a stop on the defensive end and threw a long pass that sailed high over Jenkins’ head and out of bounds. As Jenkins was running, she wasn’t looking at the passer and didn’t see the pass or the ball as it was flying high overhead. The crowd apparently tried to let her know it was coming, shouting as it was in the air. Jenkins could only smile when the ball bounced out of bounds.

Sidney Love. 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

Sophomore guard Sidney Love scored six of her 10 points in the second quarter when the Roadrunners rallied into the lead. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Quotable

Jenkins grinned at the question in the postgame interviews and acknowledged that, yes, she was having a good time all night.

“We haven’t played in awhile,” she said. “It feels like a new season, and I’ve never had a postseason in my career. So, just the fact that it’s a new game and we’ve had a lot of days off.

“It was just funny because the crowd, honestly, like, (they) helped me out. Because I wouldn’t have known. I knew they were screaming. So, then I was like, ‘Ok, it’s somewhere up here.’ But, yeah, it was fun.”

First half

Moving without the ball and posting up aggressively, Jenkins scored eight points in the first quarter and seven in the second as the Roadrunners rallied for a 40-35 lead at intermission.

Initially, they struggled. They trailed most of the first quarter and fell behind by nine with a minute left. Trailing 23-19 entering the game’s second 10-minute segment, the Roadrunners started to click.

Hailey Atwood. 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

Hailey Atwood started and played 16 minutes, during which she scored nine points on four of six shooting. – Photo by Joe Alexander

They hit four 3-pointers in a rally that saw them come from behind and seize the momentum. A Jenkins triple gave them the lead at 28-26 with 6:45 remaining.

Love also figured prominently in the outburst, hitting two from beyond the arc in the last few minutes.

For the Bears, Simental enjoyed a productive half with 13 points. She knocked down four of eight from the field and three of three from distance.

With 1:52 remaining in the first quarter, the Bears held their largest lead of the game at 22-13 when Lilah Moore hit a pair of free throws.

Four straight points by Jenkins and a field goal by Cheyenne Rowe allowed the Roadrunners to get back into contention.

Third quarter

The Roadrunners continued to click in the moments after halftime. Elyssa Coleman nailed a three from the top of the circle on the first play of the third period. Jenkins followed with seven straight points in less than two minutes.

UTSA led 49-42 with 6:53 left.

For the Roadrunners, a positive sign emerged when Jenkins went to the bench for a rest. In her absence, UTSA perimeter players started to come alive.

First, Atwood took it to the basket for a two-pointer. Kyra White scored inside on a drive, and then Proctor nailed a three from the top. White followed with another bucket on a drive.

The Roadrunners, in an important stretch, were keeping pace with the Bears with their best player on the bench resting. When Jenkins returned, she scored, giving UTSA a seven-point lead. Aniah Hall finished the quarter with a bucket for the Bears.

UTSA led 60-55 going to the fourth.

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 sank 11 of 16 shots from the field and even hit two of three from 3-point distance in scoring 27 points, two off her season high. – Photo by Joe Alexander

East Carolina pitching to test UTSA’s hot hitters this weekend

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA, playing its inaugural weekend series as a member of the American Athletic Conference, will face one of the top teams in the nation Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Roadrunner Field.

The Roadrunners (10-11) will host the 10th-ranked East Carolina Pirates (15-4) in a series that promises some intriguing matchups.

For the Pirates, they placed six players on the AAC’s preseason all-conference team, including three pitchers in junior Trey Yesavage, sophomore Zach Root and senior bullpen ace Danny Beal.

Those three players lead a staff that ranks first in the conference in ERA at 3.60. The Roadrunners will counter with the No. 1 squad in batting average.

Paced by Caleb Hill, Mason Lytle and Alex Olivo, UTSA was hitting .302 to lead the American before stroking 14 hits and four homers Tuesday night at Texas State.

Yesavage is rated as one of the top pitchers going into the 2024 draft. UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said Thursday that the 6-foot-4 righthander throws four pitches, including a 93-to-97 mph fastball.

“It’s every bit of 93 to 97 mph,” Hallmark said. “Four pitches. Two different breaking balls. He can throw the righthanders a lot of sliders. He’s going to throw the lefthanders a lot o changeups. He’ll mix in some curveballs to both sides.”

Yesavage, from Boyertown, Pa., could be one of the most highly-regarded prospects that UTSA fans have ever seen.

“He’s the real deal,” Hallmark said. “Everything I read and everything I see, he’s a first-round draft pick. If he stays healthy he’ll probably pitch in the big leagues one day.”

UTSA women reach for ‘re-set’ in the Postseason WNIT

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Elyssa Coleman. UTSA beat Rice 60-52 in American Athletic Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, March 5, 2023, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Elyssa Coleman and the UTSA Roadrunners will host the Northern Colorado Bears tonight in the first round of the Postseason WNIT. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA women’s basketball players will try to hit the re-set button on their emotions Thursday night when they host the Northern Colorado Bears in the first round of the Postseason WNIT.

Last week, the Roadrunners had their hearts broken when they lost in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth.

After giving up an 11-point lead and losing by one to the East Carolina Pirates, their dreams of a trip to the NCAA tournament were crushed.

UTSA coach Karen Aston acknowledged Wednesday that her players still may be experiencing the disappointment of the near miss in Fort Worth.

In that regard, she suggested that they might need to “re-set” emotionally before tipoff against Northern Colorado.

“I think they’re excited about the opportunity to play in the postseason but also trying to figure how to get over a disappointing loss, and maybe a missed opportunity,” Aston said. “So, it’s been a bit of a process to be happy and excited — and proud — about what they’ve done and what kind of year they’ve had.”

The Roadrunners already have achieved a milestone in clinching their first winning season since 2015. They’ve already made their mark with the first national postseason appearance since 2009, when they reached the NCAA tournament.

Now, if they can beat the Bears of the Big Sky conference, they can notch the first national postseason victory in the 43-year history of the program.

“You know,” Aston said, “that’s a good thing in a lot of ways, (that) they weren’t OK with what happened (last week). I appreciate that about them, so, to answer your question, (we just need) to get our competitive juices going again and get back to being who we can be.”

On Monday afternoon, Aston stopped practice at one juncture and let the players have it verbally. In so many words, she said she was troubled by the lack of focus and that she didn’t feel like they were giving their best effort.

The players apparently have responded. Aston said the workouts have been better and better as the week progressed.

“Today was a good day,” the coach said. “I feel good about us being ready to play tomorrow.”

UTSA center Elyssa Coleman said her teammates are thankful and excited to get to play again, and they hope to push past whatever feelings they may have had about last week.

She said it was “weird” because in years past players knew that a loss in the conference tournament definitely meant that the season was over.

“So, once we lost … knowing that we could, maybe, be picked for postseason, it was kind of like, you go through heartbreak,” she said. “But then you may or may not have any games after that, especially for our seniors, it was just really weird and uneasy.

“Thankfully, we got this opportunity.”

Coming up

Postseason WNIT, first round, Northern Colorado at UTSA, Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
Winner plays Wyoming in the second round, site and date TBA

Records

Northern Colorado 15-15, 10-8, tied for fourth, Big Sky Conference
UTSA 17-14, 10-8, tied for fourth, American Athletic Conference

Key players

UTSA averages, points/rebounds and other — Forward Jordyn Jenkins (15.1 / 7.3); Elyssa Coleman (10.9 / 7.7, 1.5 blocks); Kyra White (10.2 / 5.1, 4.7 assists); Aysia Proctor (10 / 4.9); Sidney Love (9.5 / 3.6, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals), Idara Udo (7.9 / 6.2).

Northern Colorado averages, points/rebounds and other — Forward Delaynie Byrne (13.6 / 8.0); guard Hannah Simental (12.4 / 3.6, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals); forward Aniah Hall (10.0 / 5.7) guard Seneca Hackley (9.0 / 3.0, 2.2 assists, 1.1 steals); Tatum West (7.8 / 4.6).

Coaches

UTSA — Karen Aston took a program that was 2-18 the year before her arrival and built steadily, going 7-23, 13-19 and 17-14. Under Aston, who made a name for herself as a head coach at the University of Texas, the Roadrunners have reached a national postseason event for the first time since the 2008-09 season. The winning record is UTSA’s first since 2014-15. The 17 wins is the most since the ’08-’09 team, an NCAA tournament entry, finished 24-9.

Northern Colorado — Kristen Mattio has strung together records of 15-16, 13-18 and 15-15 in three seasons at Northern Colorado, which is based in Greeley. In her first season, her team went 9-11 in the Big Sky and reached the tournament semifinals. Last year, she went 5-13 and bowed out in the quarters. This year’s 10-8 record in conference was her team’s best, but the Bears lost again in the quarters, falling 47-44 in overtime to Montana State.

Baseball: Roadrunners to open AAC play against the defending champion East Carolina Pirates

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Caleb Hill scores in the seventh inning on a hit by Matt King. UTSA scored four runs in the seventh inning to rally past Rice 9-7 in Conference USA baseball on Friday, May 5, 2023, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Caleb Hill and the UTSA Roadrunners will test the nationally-ranked East Carolina Pirates in a three-game series starting Friday at Roadrunner Field. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Defeated 14-13 on the road at Texas State on Tuesday night, the UTSA Roadrunners will prepare in the next few days for their historic first game in the American Athletic Conference. They’ll play Friday night at home against the 11th-ranked East Carolina Pirates.

East Carolina (15-4) will arrive at Roadrunner Field for a three-game series as the most accomplished baseball program in the AAC. The Greenville, N.C.-based Pirates have won four straight AAC regular-season championships.

Led by 10th-year coach Cliff Godwin, East Carolina has qualified for five straight NCAA tournaments, playing in the national event every year since 2018. During their streak, they stayed home only in 2020 when most of the season and the tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.

In the final analysis, the Roadrunners will have their hands full as they play their inaugural AAC weekend series following 10 seasons in Conference USA. While the Pirates have won eight straight games, the Roadrunners (10-11) have struggled to find consistency.

Matched against certain teams, their pitching has been vulnerable. Texas State, for instance, sent 16 batters to the plate and scored nine runs in the first inning Tuesday night in San Marcos. Roadrunners pitching walked 11 batters against the Bobcats.

The Roadrunners’ offense, in turn, always seems to give them a chance. Trailing by five runs after the first inning and by six runs after the third against the Bobcats, they battled back with 14 hits, including four home runs.

Tye Odom, Caleb Hill and Matt King sent balls over the fence in the second inning and freshman Diego Diaz added another in the ninth. A two-run blast by Diaz pulled the Roadrunners to within one run before the Bobcats shut down the rally.

Hill leads with a .419 batting average and seven home runs. Lytle, a transfer from Oregon, has made a major impact in his first season. Outside of starting in center field and leading the team in stolen bases with nine, he ranks among the team’s leaders in average (.359), home runs (four) and RBIs (19).

As a team, they’re hitting .305.

Records

East Carolina 15-4
UTSA 10-11

Notable

The Pirates are ranked 11th in the nation by D1 Baseball and 12th by Baseball America. Pirates pitcher Trey Yesavage is the No. 36 prospect for the 2024 MLB draft, according to MLB.com. This season, the 6-foot-4 righthander, a second-team All-American last year, is 4-0 with a 1.20 earned run average. He has struck out 49 and walked nine in 30 innings.

UTSA women set to host Northern Colorado in the Postseason WNIT

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Karen Aston. UTSA beat Charlotte 81-80 in double overtime in American Athletic Conference women's basketball on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Third-year UTSA coach Karen Aston has guided the program to its first berth in a national tournament in 15 years.- File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

For the first time since 2009, the UTSA women’s basketball team will play in a national postseason tournament.

The Roadrunners learned Sunday that they had been accepted into the Postseason WNIT. By Monday afternoon, it came to light that they would tip off the tournament at home. They’ll host the Northern Colorado Bears on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

To put it in perspective, most of the Roadrunners were in grade school the last time the program played beyond a conference tournament.

“I think I was seven and on the playground,” center Elyssa Coleman said.

Division I women’s basketball programs all over the country start offseason workouts in the summer in hopes of earning a bid to the 68-team NCAA Tournament, the most prestigious of all postseason destinations.

Beyond that, the 32-team WBIT is considered the next best destination, followed by the 48-team WNIT. Programs need to post winning records to be eligible, and the Roadrunners qualified on that front at 17-14, including 10-8 in the American Athletic Conference.

Last week, in the AAC tournament at Fort Worth, the Roadrunners won in the quarterfinals against South Florida and then lost by one in the semifinals to the East Carolina Pirates.

Even though the loss knocked UTSA out of contention for the AAC’s automatic bid to the NCAAs, UTSA coach Karen Aston says the WNIT invitation is “a huge step” for her program.

“The biggest reason that you play and you train, and (put in) all those hours starting in June is that you have a chance to experience postseason,” Aston said. “I know our players were a bit disappointed in how the conference tournament ended, a game that we thought we let get away, and it’s been kind of hard to get ’em out of that doldrum.

“But I think the excitement of knowing that they earned a chance to play in postseason is a big deal to them.”

It’s also a big deal for die-hard fans, who haven’t seen the Roadrunners in a national tournament in March since both the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Both years, UTSA lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament, meaning the team has a chance to make history with a victory that would be the program’s first.

Aston applauded UTSA athletic director Lisa Campos for putting up the bid to host a game.

“You know, that’s why I came here,” she said. “Because I think Dr. Campos is extremely committed to the whole athletic program. I think she’s committed to basketball. I think that she wants us in our program to grow, and this is a growth step..

“I told the players yesterday, as disappointed as I know they were in the outcome of the conference tournament, this is a required step.

“It is a step where you hang a banner and we get to look at that banner all year next year and know that, you know, we’ll remember the reasons why we didn’t make the NCAA. Those are required (steps). Some of our freshmen, their seasons last year (in high school) ended in the first of February and mid-March.

“That’s a good month’s experience that you have to have so that you know what it feels like.”

For most of the past decade, the Roadrunners were a sub-.500 program, in one stretch registering single-digit victory totals for five straight years. In 2020-21, the Roadrunners finished 2-18 and 0-14 in Conference USA.

Aston took over in 2021-22 and guided the team to a 7-23 record. Last season, with Jordyn Jenkins and Kyra White transferring in from Southern Cal, UTSA improved to 13-19. This year’s 17-win total is the most for the program since the 2008-09 team won 24 games.

White, a UTSA senior from Judson, said “it means everything” to help raise the standard of play.

“It’s just a testament to everybody in this gym right now,” she said. “From last April until now, just putting in the work, grinding day in and day out, and honestly just not taking no for an answer.”

Coming up

First round: Northern Colorado at UTSA, Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
Second round: Northern Colorado-UTSA winner vs. Wyoming, date and site TBA

Records

Northern Colorado 15-15
UTSA 17-14

UTSA basketball job ‘a dream come true’ for Austin Claunch

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The University of Alabama men’s basketball program has made a new fan in San Antonio. It’s Lisa Campos, the athletic director at UTSA.

As Campos on Sunday announced the hiring of 34-year-old Alabama assistant Austin Claunch as the next head coach of the Roadrunners, the plan for the coming weeks came into sharper focus.

Claunch will continue to work with the Crimson Tide for as long as they can stay alive in the NCAA tournament. Afterward, he will report to work in San Antonio.

Fourth-seeded Alabama opens play on Friday against No. 13 Charleston in an NCAA West Regional Round of 64 game at Spokane, Wash.

“There’s some positive pressure,” Campos said in a Zoom news conference. “We want him to go as far as he can with Alabama because that’s great for UTSA, as well. So we’ll be rooting. We’ll be Roll Tide fans here in the tournament.

“But, really, can’t wait for him to be in San Antonio, for ya’ll to meet him and feel his energy in person.”

Claunch, who talked to reporters on Zoom from Alabama, laid out some of his plans for the Roadrunners and admitted to feeling a rush of gratification.

“Honestly, what an incredible few days it’s been for me,” he said. “It truly is a dream come true.”

The whirlwind started last Thursday when it was announced that Steve Henson would not return as coach. That his contract, which expires on March 31, would not be renewed. That his eight-year tenure with a 110-144 record was over.

Campos said she started work on the search for the new coach almost immediately. In fact, she called Claunch later that day. It took basically 72 hours for the two sides to agree on a five-year deal worth $550,000 annually.

“Real excited for Austin,” Campos said. “He checks all the boxes that we’re looking for. He’s got Division I head coaching experience. He’s had success and has been around successful programs. He knows what (success) looks like.”

As evidenced by his first meeting with the San Antonio media, Claunch also showed off a personal touch that likely will go a long way in South Texas.

After each reporter announced their name and affiliation and then asked questions, the new UTSA coach addressed each one of them by their first names.

Claunch also revealed a disarming sense of humor.

In one give-and-take, the coach was asked what he most wanted to do after the tournament, after he arrived in San Antonio and settled into his new role. Claunch said he just wanted to meet his players, the athletic staff, the school administration.

Also, the students.

“I’m a big believer in being a team player,” he said. “You will see me at every other sporting event (on campus). You’ll see me just walking around campus, talking to people. You know, sometimes it’s hard for me to shut up. I love just getting to know people.”

Claunch, who was born in Argentina, grew up in Houston and attended Strake Jesuit College Preparatory. After playing basketball in high school, he moved on to play four years for Division III Emory University in Atlanta.

Almost immediately after he left school, his star started to rise in college basketball coaching circles. He worked at George Mason and at Clemson and then took an assistant’s job at Nicholls State in tiny Thibodaux, La., south and west of New Orleans.

At Nicholls, Claunch initially worked two years as Richie Riley’s assistant, once helping the Colonels win the 2018 Southland Conference regular-season title.

When Riley left for South Alabama after the season, the young assistant moved up and, at age 28, took over the Colonels’ program as head coach. He would win back-to-back Southland Conference regular-season titles (2021 and 2022) and would post a 90-61 record in five seasons.

Claunch traced his Nicholls teams’ success to relationships he built with his players, a task that may have been easier to accomplish because of his age.

“I really just want to get to know these guys and build authentic relationships with them, which is sort of my strength, building relationships,” he said. “As a young head coach, when I took the job (at Nicholls), I didn’t have a ton of experience. I believe we won because we built those true, trustworthy relationships.”

Claunch left Nicholls last spring to join Nate Oats’ staff at Alabama.

“Austin is one of the hardest working guys in the business,” Oats said in a statement. “His work as a head coach at Nicholls was unbelievable, with one of the lowest budgets in the country.”

Clemson coach Brad Brownell, also in a statement, emphasized his former staffer’s communication skills and personal touch.

“People enjoy being around Austin,” Brownell said. “He’s a fun guy. He’s also very bright and knows how to get his message across if there’s work to be done. He can handle his business, but he’s also one of those guys that relates to people and enjoys people.”

Claunch’s interpersonal skills may be put to the test pretty soon.

Jordan Ivy-Curry and Christian Tucker, the Roadrunners’ top two guards, have already announced that they will enter the transfer portal. For the fans, it’s an eerie feeling after 10 players left the team last fall.

Claunch said he only hopes the players with eligibility stay long enough to talk to him because he thinks they can become part of a championship foundation.

“I want to get down there and talk to our guys face to face,” he said. “Because, they committed to UTSA for a reason, and I still believe that they can be big parts of winning a championship in the American. So, I would tell them just to hang tight. I’ll be down there soon and look forward to talking to them in person.”

Austin Claunch named to lead the UTSA men’s basketball program

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Editor’s note: Alabama assistant Austin Claunch has been hired as head coach of the UTSA men’s basketball program, it was announced Sunday afternoon. Here’s my story from yesterday:

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Multiple media outlets are reporting that the UTSA Roadrunners are targeting University of Alabama assistant Austin Claunch to become their next head coach in men’s basketball.

Claunch, who has roots in Texas, has worked under Alabama head coach Nate Oats for one season.

The story was broken early Saturday afternoon by Alamo City Hoops. Officials in the Alabama men’s basketball program couldn’t be reached. A UTSA spokesman said in a text, “We have no news regarding our men’s basketball coaching search at this time.”

If a deal can be worked out, Claunch apparently would arrive at UTSA as the youngest men’s basketball head coach in school history (34) and only the third to take the job in their 30s, following Brooks Thompson who was 35 when he was hired in 2006 and Ken Burmeister (38) in 1986.

At the same time, Claunch would bring with him the most victories in Division I of any previous UTSA coach except for one. Stu Starner won 110 games at Montana State before he was hired at UTSA in 1990. Claunch won 90 games at Nicholls State from 2018-19 through 2022-23.

Claunch would become the only man hired for the UTSA job with as many as two Division I regular-season titles on his record. He won Southland Conference titles at Nicholls in 2021 and 2022. Starner won one Big Sky title at Montana State in 1987.

Born in Argentina, Claunch grew up in Texas and played basketball at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston. He also attended and played for Emory College in Atlanta.

In his coaching career, he has worked at George Mason (2012-13) and Clemson (2013-16) and Nicholls State (2016-23). In his first two years at Nicholls, he served as an assistant coach. He was promoted to head coach in 2018.

In five seasons, Claunch went 90-61 overall, including 58-28 in conference.

The UTSA job came open Thursday when coach Steve Henson was told his contract would not be renewed. Henson posted a record of 110-144 in eight years. Most recently, he had suffered three consecutive seasons with 20 or more losses.

UTSA opens search for a new basketball coach; Henson’s contract not renewed

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UTSA announced Thursday that a national search for the next head coach of the men’s basketball program is underway.

Steve Henson. Temple beat UTSA 84-82 in the Roadrunners' final home game of the men's basketball season on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Steve Henson is out as head coach of the UTSA men’s basketball program after eight seasons. Henson brought Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace to UTSA in the early years, but his last three teams lost 20 or more games. – File photo by Joe Alexander

The announcement came in a news release saying that eighth-year head coach Steve Henson would not return.

Henson’s contract expires on March 31 and Lisa Campos, vice president of intercollegiate athletics, said it would not be renewed.

Henson’s teams posted a record of 110-144.

“I want to thank Coach Henson for his commitment to UTSA basketball and to this university,” Campos said in the news release.

Campos described Henson as “a first-class representative” of the university.

“We wish coach Henson and his family the very best in the future,” Campos said.

Henson’s best year came in 2017-18 when the Roadrunners finished 20-15. Despite the loss of leading scorer Jhivvan Jackson to a knee injury at the end of the regular season, the Roadrunners reached the quarterfinals of both the Conference USA and CollegeInsider.com tournaments.

He was named C-USA Coach of the Year.

Henson will be known as the coach who brought Jackson and Keaton Wallace to UTSA. Both joined the team as freshmen in the fall of 2017. When they departed after the spring of 2021, Jackson ranked as the No. 1 scorer in school history, with Wallace No. 2.

The Roadrunners struggled after Jackson and Wallace turned pro. Henson’s last three teams finished 10-22, 10-22 and 11-21.

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AAC men’s tournament: UTSA’s season comes to an end with a first-round loss to Temple

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Trailing by 14 points at halftime, the UTSA Roadrunners rallied to contest an American Athletic Conference first-round tournament game, battling with the Temple Owls into the final minute. But in the final seconds, they couldn’t get a three-pointer to fall, missing twice, and their season came to an end.

Christian Tucker. Temple beat UTSA 84-82 in the Roadrunners' final home game of the men's basketball season on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Christian Tucker produced a team-high 15 points and passed for four assists against the Temple Owls. – File photo by Joe Alexander

The Owls escaped with a 64-61 victory.

A poor first-half performance doomed the Roadrunners. They couldn’t get their offense rolling, hitting only 24 percent from the field and shooting only 1 for 13 from three-point distance. They were playing without injured leading scorer Jordan Ivy-Curry, so nothing came easily.

UTSA played hard in the second half, winning the 20-minute segment, 40-29. Christian Tucker led the charge with his floor leadership, ball-handling and passing. They had a couple of opportunities to take the lead down the stretch and were denied each time.

The final minute was hectic. Hysier Miller drained a three for Temple with 49.6 seconds remaining, boosting the Owls into a 64-58 lead. The Roadrunners answered almost immediately, with PJ Carter hitting a three of his own with 41.9 seconds left.

At the end, UTSA’s defense kept Temple from scoring, eventually forcing Miller into an over-and-back violation at halfcourt with 18 seconds left. With the ball on the side, the Roadrunners worked it first to Carter, who fired a three that was rebounded under the bucket by Carlton Linguard, Jr.

Linguard Jr. flipped it out to Tucker, who passed to Isaiah Wyatt at the top of the circle. With Miller contesting, Wyatt’s shot was off the mark, ending the Roadrunners’ season with an 11-21 record.

It was the third straight 20-loss season for the Roadrunners.

The Owls, who went 3-0 against the Roadrunners this season, will move on to play the sixth-seeded SMU Mustangs Thursday night. All games are being played at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

Steve Henson. Rice beat UTSA 80-76 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Steve Henson said after the game that he expects to speak with athletic director Lisa Campos soon. His contract expires at the end of the month. – File Photo by Joe Alexander

Afterward, UTSA coach Steve Henson addressed questions about his future. Since his contract expires at the end of the month, it’s been a topic of discussion in his last two post-game news conferences. He said Wednesday that he hasn’t talked to his athletic director about the contract.

Even though the stakes were high for the Roadrunners in the tournament, Henson said Ivy-Curry just couldn’t play.

“Juice injured his arm/shoulder against SMU, very end of the (SMU) game (on March 2),” he said. “It was extremely swollen. We had a week off after that one, I think. We had several day days off, anyway, and he tried to get a ton of treatment and tried to practice a little bit. We put him in the game on Sunday (at home against Temple) and he was pretty immobile.

“His arm’s extremely swollen up, and he just couldn’t contribute the way he wanted to and the pain was continuing to increase. It’s really hard to get the swelling out of there, so he just wasn’t able to play.”

Noting that the first-half performance just wasn’t good enough, Henson nevertheless said he was proud of his players.

“In the first half, just offensively we couldn’t get anything going,” he said. “We really struggled on the offensive end. We held ’em to 40 percent from the field. We won enough battles on that end. We just couldn’t get anything going. They were physical with us.

“And then at halftime we kind of flipped it. We started executing better, we started defending much better, and kind of turned the tables on ’em a little bit, made a nice run there.”

In each of the last two seasons, the Roadrunners have lost close games in their conference tournament openers. Last year in Frisco, it was a one-point loss to the Rice Owls at the Conference USA tournament. Japhet Medor hit a shot at the end that would have won the game, but it was waved off on review. This year, it was an equally gut-wrenching one-possession game at the end against the Temple Owls.

“Just extremely disappointed,” Henson said. “The nature of post-season play, it just ends. You’re out there and you’re fighting your tails off and guys are in the huddle playing with a lot of emotion, talking with a lot of emotion, rallying each other, pumping each other, and then that horn goes
off and it’s over. So it’s a very disappointing feeling.”

UTSA lost 10 players to the transfer portal last spring and replaced them with 10 more signees. As a result, coaches started work last summer with almost an entirely different group. The Roadrunners were good at times on the offensive end. But on the defensive end, they were erratic, though they did play well defensively in a four-game stretch at the end of the regular season.

But then on Sunday, they took to their home floor in the regular-season finale against Temple with a less-than-100 percent Ivy-Curry, and got beat 84-82. The loss was costly. If they had won, they would have had another day to rest before they started the tournament. Instead, they had to play on the first day, and now it’s over.

“Our whole thing this last three weeks has been believe, and we didn’t give up (today),” said Tucker, who finished with 15 points and four assists. “We knew that we (could) compete with this team. We didn’t do enough of it in the first half and we knew we had to bounce back in the second half, so we just came out fighting. I mean, we won the second half, but we dug ourselves into too deep of a hole.”

Freshman guard Zion Stanford paced Temple with a game-high 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting.

Halftime

Taking advantage of an injury to UTSA’s leading scorer, the Temple Owls built a double-digit lead in the first six minutes of the game, hiked the advantage to 16 with 3:20 remaining and then went into the dressing room with a 35-21 edge.

UTSA’s Jordan Ivy-Curry, a 17.1 points per game scorer, was on the bench in a T-shirt to start the game. Ruled out for the game with a shoulder injury, his status for the remainder of the tournament is unclear.

Regardless, the Roadrunners missed his presence. They opened the game hitting only 1 of their first 11 shots. Late in the half, they misfired on 10 in a row. For the first 20 minutes, the Roadrunners were 9 of 37 from the field for 24.3 percent.

The Owls, one of the worst teams in the AAC all season, started fast with a 13-3 lead.

But in the middle of the half, their own poor shooting allowed the Roadrunners to stay in the game. Finally, the Owls put some things together and scored seven straight points. With the burst, they opened a 33-17 lead with with 3:20 remaining.

Guard Zion Stanford led the Owls with three of five shooting for a team-high eight points in the half. Jordan Riley and Matteo Picarelli had six points apiece. Point guard Hysier Miller, a high-level scorer, played mostly in a set-up role.

He finished the half with three points and four rebounds, scoring only four points.

With Ivy-Curry sidelined, the Roadrunners needed PJ Carter to step up his game. But the Owls knew they needed him, as well, blanketing him with coverage even on the perimeter. Carter was 2 for 9 in the half for five points.

Pre-game

The UTSA Roadrunners men’s basketball team opened play in the American Athletic Conference tournament today without injured Jordan Ivy-Curry, the team’s leading scorer.

Fourteenth-seeded UTSA and No. 11 Temple just got underway at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth.

The Roadrunners started the tournament without both Ivy-Curry (shoulder) and Adante’ Holiman (lower leg).

Temple defeated UTSA twice this season. The Owls won 83-77 on Feb. 18 in Philadelphia and won again 84-82 in the regular season finale Sunday in San Antonio. Both finished with 5-13 records in conference play.

Records

UTSA 11-21
Temple 13-19

Notable

Eighth-year UTSA coach Steve Henson is facing questions about whether he might have coached his last game with Roadrunners. His contract expires at the end of this month, and he’s had three straight 20-loss seasons.

Henson said he hasn’t had any contract discussions with athletic director Lisa Campos.

“We’ve just been — had our heads down, grinding away, trying to get better. Loved the way our guys played at the end of the season. Lisa and I always talk at the conclusion of the season, so I’m sure we’ll do that again in this case.”

For Henson, it was the second time in his UTSA career that he entered a postseason game without an injured leading scorer. In 2018, guard Jhivvan Jackson sat out four games — two in the Conference USA tournament and two in the CollegeInsider.com tournament — with a knee injury.

Even with Jackson out of the lineup at the end, the Roadrunners finished off a 20-15 season, and Henson was named the C-USA Coach of the Year.

Temple played UTSA twice within the last week under a cloud of suspicion.

Gaming monitors at U.S. Integrity flagged the Owls’ 28-point home loss to UAB on March 7 for irregularities on the betting line in the hours before the game.

Owls coach Adam Fisher side-stepped a question about whether he has addressed the situation with the team, telling reporters in Fort Worth, “I know our university has put out a statement. My focus is on my players.

“I love my guys. We’ve been just trying to prepare for each game and just making sure we do exactly what we’ve done to prepare for each one.”

East Carolina rallies late to down UTSA in AAC semifinals

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Frustrated for most of the game by poor shooting, the ninth-seeded East Carolina Pirates rallied behind guard Danae McNeal in the fourth quarter to stun the No. 4 UTSA Roadrunners 55-54 in the American Athletic Conference tournament semifinals.

UTSA led by 11 points twice early in the fourth period in its quest to reach the AAC finals in its first year in the conference. But, with McNeal taking over late, East Carolina came back to claim a most improbable victory.

Roadrunners coach Karen Aston said she remains “super proud” of her team despite the loss.

“It’s always, I think, hard to describe what that type of loss feels like for your team,” Aston said. “You feel as a coach responsible, first of all, and heartbroken for them.

“I thought they played really, really good. In particular, the first half, I thought our defense was spectacular, and then I thought they settled in, inside. I thought they started to get a presence in the paint in the second half and we struggled with that.

“Then it just boils down to a five-minute game that we made a couple of turnovers, and then we just didn’t get stops when we needed to. I didn’t think either team was great offensively. We just couldn’t get the stops that we needed at the end of the game.

“Again, heartbreaking.”

For most of the game, held at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, the Pirates seemingly couldn’t hit a shot.

In the second quarter, for instance, they were 3 for 14, as the Roadrunners built a nine-point halftime advantage. As the game went on, East Carolina continued to struggle, with the Pirates trailing by nine at the end of three periods.

With 8:27 left in the game, UTSA took a 45-34 lead when forward Jordyn Jenkins connected on a layup. From there, East Carolina started to mount the comeback. McNeal scored nine points down the stretch, including a go-ahead jumper with 39 seconds remaining.

Setting the stage for McNeal’s clutch offensive play, the Roadrunners had the ball on the side, inbounding, with a one-point lead. But they were called for five seconds, with the turnover giving the Pirates possession.

In response, McNeal brought it up and elevated at free-throw line, burying the jumper for a 53-52 lead. The Pirates never trailed again. At the end, McNeal missed a couple of free throws, giving UTSA one last chance.

Roadrunners guard Aysia Proctor retrieved the ball, weaved through traffic and missed a heave from half court to end the game.

Records

East Carolina 19-13
UTSA 17-14

Coming up

East Carolina will play for the AAC title and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament Wednesday night. Game time is at 6 p.m. at Dickies Arena. The Pirates will face either the Rice Owls or the Temple Owls. For UTSA, the season might not be over. A chance exists that the Roadrunners could play in another tournament.

Notable

Center Amiya Joyner led the Pirates with 15 points and 13 rebounds. She had four points, three rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal in the fourth period. Khia Miller also had a key bucket in the late run and finished with 14 points. McNeal, a first-team, all-AAC player, finished with 11 points on 4 of 18 shooting.

For the Roadrunners, Jenkins led the team with 14 points on 5 of 16 shooting. Sidney Love scored 10 and Kyra White and Cheyenne Rowe nine apiece. UTSA shot 35 percent from the field for the game. In the fourth quarter, the Roadrunners were 6 of 17 from the field and committed six turnovers.

Quotable

“It’s hard. We had plans to play tomorrow, and we were all playing for our seniors and playing for ourselves, and it’s a tough outcome and it’s just one of those things that we can’t get back. It’s probably going to stick with us. I know it’s going to stick with me for a little bit, but I’m proud of the team and I’m proud of everybody.” – UTSA’s Jordyn Jenkins

First half

Rowe played only three minutes and went scoreless in UTSA’s American conference quarterfinal victory Monday night against South Florida. One night later, Rowe emerged to take over the game in the second period.

The 6-foot-2 reserve forward went three for three from the field for seven points in the half. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners settled down after a shaky start, played a solid second quarter and went into the dressing room leading the Pirates, 25-16, in the AAC semifinals.

In the early going, the Roadrunners played with some nerves. They turned the ball over three times in the first five minutes. Fortunately for them, the Pirates failed to take advantage. Their shooting was off from the start. UTSA utilized a late burst to take an 11-10 edge after one quarter.

As the second period started, UTSA had settled itself down and found a rhythm. Guard Kyra White nailed two three-pointers. Coach Karen Aston dipped deep into her bench, particularly in the frontc0ourt, and brought in Rowe and 6-foot-4 Nissa Sam-Grant.

Rowe responded with a burst that allowed UTSA to open up a lead. Moving around under the bucket, she would find an open space, receive a pass from the perimeter and take it up strong to score. Defensively, UTSA played well. Fortunately for the Roadrunners, the Pirates weren’t shooting it very well, either. As a result, ECU hit only 3 of 14 in the second quarter and 7 of 31 for the half.

Third quarter

As East Carolina continued to struggle on the offensive end, UTSA took advantage of the situation and kept its lead at eight four minutes into the third period. Sidney Love, who hasn’t looked to score much in Fort Worth, made an aggressive play that seemed to catch the Pirates off guard. Love took it inside and scored a layup, drew a foul and hit the free throw for a 31-23 Roadrunners lead.

Pushing back, the Pirates started to make a move. Amiya Joyner hit a couple of baskets and a free throws. East Carolina pulled to within three.

But the Roadrunners weren’t finished yet, either. Jordyn Jenkins started to heat up. First, she worked inside, scored and drew a foul. Jenkins completed the three-point play. Next, she took it inside again, got fouled and converted two more free throws. She finished the quarter with five points to give her nine for the game.

UTSA took a 41-32 lead into the fourth quarter.

Pre-game

On Jan. 2, East Carolina walloped UTSA, 82-54. In the game played at Greenvlle, N.C., the Pirates scored 31 points off 29 UTSA turnovers, handing the Roadrunners their worst loss of the season. Saddled with an 0-2 record in conference at the time, UTSA didn’t flinch. The team rallied to win 10 of its last 16 in conference to finish 10-8, pulling down the No. 4 seed in the AAC tournament.

East Carolina finished 9-9 in conference and entered the postseason as the ninth seed. The Pirates beat the Memphis Tigers 65-63 on Sunday and downed the top-seeded Tulsa Golden Hurricane 75-71 on Monday to reach the semifinals. With the double bye, UTSA opened tournament play Monday. The Roadrunners rallied in the fourth quarter Monday to edge fifth-seeded South Florida, 58-56.