Tag Archives: UTSA Roadrunners

Prairie View A&M and its big-guard tandem to challenge the UTSA Roadrunners

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Jacob Germany celebrates as time runs out. UTSA beat Texas State 61-56 in men's basketball on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jacob Germany and the UTSA Roadrunners will try to build on momentum as they host the Prairie View A&M Panthers tonight at the Convocation Center. UTSA had its best game of the season last Thursday night in downing the Texas State Bobcats. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Prairie View A&M Panthers will call on a couple of talented big guards to test the improving UTSA Roadrunners tonight.

Six-foot-five Will Douglas and 6-3 Jeremiah Gambrell will lead the Panthers (3-1) against the Roadrunners (3-1) at the UTSA Convocation Center. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

A week ago today, the two players with a combined 174 games of experience in NCAA Division I basketball paced Prairie View of the Southwestern Athletic Conference to a 70-59 victory on its home court over the Washington State Cougars.

Douglas, a Prairie View newcomer this season, exploded for 26 points and seven rebounds against the Cougars of the Pac-12. Gambrell scored 19.

Earlier, Washington State had downed the Texas State Bobcats, 83-61, on its home court in Pullman, Wash.

By extended comparison, UTSA played its best game of the season last Thursday in knocking off the Bobcats, 61-56, at the Convocation Center.

Against the Bobcats, the challenge for UTSA was to slow down 5-foot-9 Mason Harrell. Harrell scored 20 on the Roadrunners, but a 2-3 zone defense limited most of the rest of the Texas State offensive threats.

In the meantime, UTSA guards Japhet Medor and John Buggs combined for 29 points to lead the victory.

While Medor and Buggs aren’t the biggest guards in NCAA Division I and may not match up well in size compared to most players they’ll see this season — such as Douglas and Gambrell — they’re showing the ability to play at a high level.

In addition, 6-foot-5 UTSA freshman D.J. Richards is also coming along and gaining more confidence, giving the Roadrunners a chance to grow their offensive capabilities with three unique talents.

Medor is a slasher on the dribble, while Buggs and Richards are two quick-release, 3-point shooting threats.

Lately, Medor is the Roadrunners’ biggest problem for opponents. His quickness is hard to defend, even with help.

The Bobcats couldn’t stay in front of him at the end of a closely-contested game, and UTSA ended up winning by five.

UTSA coach Steve Henson applauded Medor for taking what the Bobcats’ defense was giving him. As the game progressed, Texas State’s defense kept extending, putting more pressure on the perimeter.

“Late in the game, it was super-extended and taking away passes,” Henson said. “When Japhet did beat his own guy, there wasn’t much help (to slow him) from getting to the rim, and we needed that. I wish we had two or three guys who could do that.

“We put (Christian) Tucker in there a little in the first half, because he’s a guy that can give us a little penetration. That’s key. They took us out of our stuff. They manhandled us out on the perimeter.

“You just got to get by your guy, which is what Japhet did, and he converted.”

Defending against Douglas and Gambrell could pose problems for the Roadrunners.

Not only is Douglas talented, he’s also experienced. The Memphis native has played in 102 games in his career, including 72 at SMU over four years from 2017-18 to 2020-21. At Prairie View, he played in 26 last season and in four in this, his sixth season as a collegian. Douglas is averaging 19.8 points on 52 percent shooting from the field.

In addition, he’s one of the Panthers’ best rebounders, averaging 5.5. Gambrell, with 72 games of experience in Division I, also brings experience. The Houston native is a fifth-year player, having spent two years at Western Kentucky and the past three at Prairie View. He’s averaging 13 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Coming up

Prairie View A&M at UTSA, tonight at 7, at the UTSA Convocation Center. The Roadrunners host the 210 San Antonio Shootout this weekend. They’ll play Grambling State on Friday night (at 7:30), followed by games against Dartmouth on Sunday (7:30) and Incarnate Word on Monday (6:30).

Records

UTSA (3-1)
Prairie View A&M (3-1)

Nwakamma-led UTSA women hold off the Abilene Christian University Wildcats, 76-70

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

UTSA guard Deb Nwakamma hit 6 of 12 from the field and scored a career-best 16 points in her team’s home opener Sunday at the Convocation Center.- Photo by Joe Alexander

Junior guard Deb Nwakamma hit a runner in the lane and a couple of free throws in the final 35 seconds as the UTSA Roadrunners held off the Abilene Christian University Wildcats, 76-70, for their first victory of the season Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

UTSA’s home opener served as an eye-opener for those who have followed the Roadrunners’ program through the years, because the team scored 70 or more points in a game for the first time since Feb. 13, 2022.

On that date last season, UTSA hit 70 for the only time all season in an 81-70 road loss to Western Kentucky.

The victory over ACU was the first time UTSA hit at least 70 in regulation in front of the home fans since Feb. 6, 2021. In that instance, the Roadrunners scored 80 in four quarters of a 107-103 triple-overtime loss to the FIU Panthers.

UTSA reached the milestone against Abilene Christian with a balanced attack. Nwakamma, a 5-foot-8 guard from Lagos, Nigeria, finished with a team-high and career-best 16 points. She also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Queen Ulabo scored 11 points off the bench, while Sidney Love, Elyssa Coleman and Kyra White had 10 each for the Roadrunners, who shot 45.6 percent from the field.

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

Despite foul trouble, USC transfer Jordyn Jenkins played hard in her home debut with the Roadrunners, emerging with nine points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Responding to the home crowd and playing with emotion, the Roadrunners (1-2) were both fast-paced and effective for most of the afternoon on the offensive end. But the Wildcats (2-2) had their moments, as well, with ACU forward Maleeah Langstaff, a freshman, erupting for 23 points and eight rebounds.

“We’ve got to shore up our defense,” UTSA second-year coach Karen Aston said. “It’s got a lot of holes in it. But our offense is light years ahead of where we were last year.”

Last year, the Roadrunners averaged 53.9 points en route to a 7-23 record. This year, there is clearly some potential for a turnaround. In their first two games, they suffered two close road losses, falling 68-63 at Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 7, before dropping a 74-67 decision at TCU last Wednesday.

Against the Wildcats, the Roadrunners strung together a few stretches on offense that left the visitors searching for answers and the home crowd cheering. In the first quarter, for instance, they shot 52.6 percent from the field. In the third quarter, they shot 47.1 percent.

Moreover, Abilene Christian came to San Antonio with a good program, one that had reached the NCAA tournament in 2019. Last year, the Wildcats won 17 games in their first season in the Western Athletic Conference and beat the Roadrunners in Abilene by 19.

This year, the Roadrunners led most of the way and then showed some poise in the fourth quarter after the Wildcats pulled to within one.

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

Former Steele High School standout Sidney Love started and scored 10 points in her first UTSA home game. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“I thought it was most definitely the most complete game we’ve played all year long,” Aston said. “You know, we’ve played really good in some stretches. But as far as being able to keep a tempo about ourselves, we weren’t able to do that in the previous two games, particularly in the second half.

“We talked about that at halftime, to try to keep the tempo going and continue to look for fast break moments.”

At crunch time, many in the announced crowd of 784 may have figured that the Roadrunners would collapse as they did so many times last season when the Wildcats surged to within 60-59 with 7:22 remaining.

In response, the Roadrunners showed some poise and answered with six straight points, including four by Love. The player of the year in the San Antonio area high schools last year, Love, from Steele High School, added a couple of free throws in the final minute.

Nwakamma was also clutch, driving right to left and then shooting a 10-footer that banked in with 35 seconds left. It was a shot that all but ended the game, putting UTSA up by five. Nwakamma added a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to close out the game.

In the interview room later, Nwakamma said she couldn’t remember exactly what happened on her drive to the bucket, only that she was just trying “to fight to the end.” Aston joked that, “I took a deep breath, is what I did,” before praising Nwakamma’s overall performance.

“I thought she was aggressive the entire game,” Aston said. “She took open shots. Looked confident. She never looked like she was down on herself. We had a peace about us (as a team) when she was in the game, which is good.”

Another interesting element to the game centered around Jordyn Jenkins, UTSA’s leading scorer, who never quite got into the flow of the offense because of foul trouble. She hit four of 11 from the field and scored nine points — and the Roadrunners still beat a good team.

Nwakamma said it feels good for the team to have an unselfish mindset along with so many talented offensive weapons.

“We have team bonding that we’ve been working on, and it’s really working, just sharing the ball,” she said. “You got to play unselfish basketball, make extra passes to make sure everybody gets to do something. It’s not just one (player). It’s a team game.”

Even though the crowd was modest, the excitement in the arena was evident as UTSA’s offense pushed a fast pace for most of the afternoon.

In the third quarter, for instance, fans stood and made a racket after the Roadrunners forced a turnover and got the ball to Hailey Atwood. Atwood, who worked hard to overcome a nagging Achilles injury in the offseason, drove most of the length of the floor to score just ahead of an ACU defender.

The crowd stood and celebrated a nine-point lead, the largest of the game, with 2:04 left in the third quarter.

Asked about the support, Nwakamma said UTSA players noticed the energy in the building. “It gives us life,” she said. “It made us feel like we have a chance to win. Stuff like that, we really need it, a crowd like that.”

Records

UTSA 1-2
Abilene Christian 2-2

Queen Ulabo and Hailey Atwood celebrate after the clock ran out. UTSA beat Abilene Christian 76-70 on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2022, at the Convocation Center in the Roadrunners' first women's basketball home game of the season. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Queen Ulabo and Hailey Atwood celebrate the team’s first victory of the season as time expires. Both contributed off the bench, with Ulabo scoring 11 points and Atwood seven. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Coming up

UTSA will open play in the Las Vegas Invitational on Friday afternoon against Missouri State. The Roadrunners will take on St. John’s on Saturday. They’ll return home to face Idaho on Dec. 10.

Notable

Two former San Antonio area high school standouts played well in their first UTSA home game. White, an all-star who contributed heavily to Judson’s state title team in 2019, produced 10 points, three assists and two rebounds in nearly 23 minutes.

Love, from Steele, had 10 points, three assists, a rebound and a steal. Both started, with White handling the ball much of the time. Love has been utilized in the last two games, at least, as a closer at the end of quarters. Against ACU, she hit the last shot of the first quarter.

Video highlights

Knocking down a three

Driving baseline

Closing out a quarter

Making a simple play

Igniting the crowd

Forcing a turnover

UTSA women set to open at home today against Abilene Christian

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Kyra White at UTSA women's basketball practice at the Convocation Center on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA junior Kyra White is leading the team in averaging 34 minutes through the team’s first two games. White, a transfer from Southern Cal, played in high school at Judson. — Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Karen Aston’s UTSA Roadrunners are looking for their first win of the season today. In their home opener, they’ll host the Abilene Christian University Wildcats of the Western Athletic Conference at 2 p.m. in the Convocation Center.

In the Wildcats (2-1), the Roadrunners (0-2) will look to defeat a team that won by 19 points in last season’s matchup at Abilene.

Not only is it the first home game in Aston’s second season at UTSA, it’s also the first at home for Southern Cal transfer Jordyn Jenkins, an all-Pac 12 player last season. The 6-1 junior forward is one of eight newcomers on the Roadrunners’ roster.

Additionally, former San Antonio-area athletes Kyra White, Sidney Love and Alexis Parker will get their first opportunity to play in front of the home fans.

White, also a USC transfer, is from Judson. Love (from Steele High School) and Parker (Brandeis) are two of five UTSA freshman on this year’s team.

The Roadrunners have played two games on the road and have dropped both to in-state opponents. They fell 68-63 at Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 7, and then they dropped a 74-67 decision at TCU last Wednesday.

Programs in transition

As UTSA prepares to transition from Conference USA and into the American Athletic Conference next year, Abilene Christian is also going through changes.

Julie Goodenaugh is entering her 11th season as coach of the Wildcats. A former coach at Hardin-Simmons, she returned to Abilene in 2012, and in her first season at ACU, she guided her team to an NCAA Division II regional.

As the Wildcats moved into Division I and the Southland Conference in 2014-15, she continued to have success, leading ACU to 20-win seasons and into the Women’s NIT in two straight years, in 2016 and 2017.

In 2019, Goodenaugh’s team became the first in school history to reach the D-1 NCAA tournament. In 2019-20 season, when the Covid pandemic forced a suspension of play in the playoffs, the Wildcats finished 24-5.

Last season, the Wildcats finished 17-13 in their first year in the WAC. They defeated the Roadrunners 72-53 in Abilene.

Signings

UTSA announced that three players have signed letters of intent for the 2022-23 season:

Idara Udo — 6-1 forward, Plano, Plano East High School
Emma Lucio — 5-9 guard, Edinburg, Robert Vela High School
Aysia Proctor — 5-9 guard, Schertz, Samuel Clemens High School

Medor scores 16 as UTSA holds off the Texas State Bobcats, 61-56

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Japhet Medor led UTSA with 16 points. UTSA beat Texas State 61-56 in men's basketball on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Japhet Medor used his speed to attack the Texas State Bobcats Thursday night, scoring a team-high 16 points. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Sometimes it seems that point guard Japhet Medor was born to pass the basketball. Then again, the 6-foot senior from Flordia is far from one dimensional.

Sometimes he takes it upon himself to shoot.

Medor did just that in the frantic waning moments Thursday night, leading the UTSA Roadrunners past the Texas State Bobcats, 61-56.

UTSA’s spark plug of a playmaker scored seven of his team-high 16 points in the final 3:30 as the Roadrunners registered their biggest victory of the season.

Jacob Germany celebrates as time runs out. UTSA beat Texas State 61-56 in men's basketball on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jacob Germany celebrates as time runs out, and UTSA beats rival Texas State University by five. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Not only did they send their I-35 rivals home to San Marcos with a loss, they also knocked off a team that had won the last two Sun Belt Conference regular-season titles.

Savoring the victory for his teammates, Medor explained later that in crunch time of a frenzied game he makes decisions on whether to pass or shoot based on his view of the court.

“I just know where my players are going to be, at the time and moment,” he said. “At a time like that, I’m going fast, and they’re going with me, and it just makes it easier. Everybody gets to their spot. If I’ve got a little hole, I’ll try to sneak through the hole and hit a shot. If not, I’ll take the layup.”

Medor scored 16 in 27 minutes, hitting 5 of 7 from the field and 6 of 8 from the free throw line. He also had five rebounds and two assists.

With just under four minutes remaining, the Bobcats had seized a one-point lead on a three from guard Mason Harrell, the Bobcats’ leading scorer.

Medor didn’t flinch. First, he drove and drew a foul and made two free throws. Next, he euro-stepped his way to the rim to score a field goal and went to the line again. Medor connected to make it a four-point game.

As the clock ticked under 60 seconds, UTSA still had the lead by four but turned it over when DJ Richards was stripped in the backcourt. Harrell turned and scored on a layup. Texas State was within two.

But, by then, Medor had his rhythm. He sped into the defense again and drew a foul from Harrell, and then knocked down two free throws. That was it for the Bobcats, who had won on the road at Rhode Island last Saturday night.

UTSA coach Steve Henson said it was an important victory for his players.

“We needed to walk out of here feeling better,” he said. “Our guys have been good for so long. They’ve done everything we’ve asked of ’em (since June). Just practice the right way. We’ve had no distractions whatsoever …

“This one certainly feels really good. They’re excited. I think it’s something we can build on.”

UTSA didn’t play great but played just well enough to pull out a victory. The Roadrunners shot only 42.9 percent but held the Bobcats to 34.4. They turned it over 19 times, but they also won the rebounding battle, 40-33.

Guard John Buggs III enjoyed a solid night with 13 points and eight rebounds. He hit 3 of 5 from three-point distance, building on a streak in which he has knocked down 7 of 11 from distance over the past two games.

Jacob Germany scored 12 and Richards had nine off the bench. Aleu Aleu was big on the boards with nine rebounds in nearly 21 minutes.

Forward Tyrel Morgan scored 20 to match Harrell, a quick, 5-foot-9 playmaker. Morgan did his work inside, making 8 of 11 from the field. Harrell was 8 for 18, including 4 of 9 from three.

Records

UTSA 3-1
Texas State 2-2

Coming up

Prairie View A&M at UTSA, Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Aleu Aleu is fouled after grabbing a defensive rebound in the final moments of the game. He finished with nine rebounds. UTSA beat Texas State 61-56 in men's basketball on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Aleu Aleu is fouled after grabbing a defensive rebound in the final moments of the game. He finished with nine rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

First-half recap

For the first time this season, the Roadrunners played zone defense. They played it for most of the first half en route to a 31-27 lead against the Bobcats.

Falling back into the 2-3 zone on their home court at the Convocation Center, they held the Bobcats to 33.3 percent shooting from the field and 3 of 11 from three (for 27.3 percent).

UTSA used the ploy from the outset and jumped out to a 7-0 lead.

Behind Tyrel Morgan and his 13 points, the Bobcats rallied late in the half to regain the advantage. An alley-oop dunk by Morgan lifted Texas State into a 24-23 lead. The Bobcats made it 25-23 on a Morgan free throw with 3:54 left.

Undaunted, the Roadrunners rallied behind Germany and Buggs to lead by four at the break. Christian Tucker capped the run with a drive to the basket and two free throws with no time remaining. Both Germany and Buggs had 10 points apiece at the half.

John Buggs II celebrates late in the game. UTSA beat Texas State 61-56 in men's basketball on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

John Buggs II celebrates late in the game as UTSA nails down a key early-season victory. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Pre-game

The UTSA Roadrunners will host the Texas State Bobcats in men’s basketball. The game is set for 7 p.m. at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Both teams come in with 2-1 records, but the Bobcats might be the team to beat. Texas State won at Rhode Island of the Atlantic 10 conference in its last outing. Moreover, the Bobcats have won back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular-season titles.

UTSA coach Steve Henson said the Bobcats have “similarities” to last year’s team, even though some of the the top players have moved on in their careers.

“There are similarities, for sure, because they’ve got a great system,” Henson said. “They’re very-well coached. You expect them to be really locked in defensively. Their habits are very good. They’re all on the same page.”

Texas State lost its opener at Washington State of the Pac-12. It followed with a victory at home over non-Division I Mid-America Christian. In Game 3, the Bobcats traveled again and came away with a 70-66 victory over Rhode Island.

Guard Brandon Davis led the way with 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field. Guard Mason Harrell leads the Bobcats in scoring for the season, averaging 18 a game.

The Roadrunners have yet to hit on all cylinders. They downed Division III Trinity University 74-47 in their opener. Next, they lost 75-55 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. On Monday night, they hosted Division II St. Mary’s of San Antonio and pulled out a 66-59 victory.

Offense has been a concern. UTSA is shooting 40 percent from the field and 25.6 percent from three-point territory.

“I think we have a great team,” UTSA guard Erik Czumbel said. “I think we have a lot of room to grow. Defensively. Rebounding. There are lot of areas we can work on. But I think we are taking the right steps.”

Taiwo, TCU women turn back the UTSA Roadrunners, 74-67

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The TCU women’s basketball team knew it had been in a game Wednesday night after spending 40 minutes on the painted floor at Schollmaier Arena with the UTSA Roadrunners.

Playing at home in Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs held the Roadrunners to four of 15 shooting in the third quarter to take control of the proceedings, en route to a 74-67 victory.

Tomi Taiwo’s fourth 3-pointer of the game with 4:30 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Frogs a 12-point lead. The Roadrunners never got closer than six the rest of the way.

Saddled with foul trouble early, Jordyn Jenkins led the Roadrunners with 16 points. Elyssa Coleman had 12 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. Off the bench, freshman Siena Guttadauro scored 11 and Deb Nwakamma 10.

Kyra White, playing point guard most of the night for the Roadrunners, had a solid all-around game with eight points, five assists and four rebounds.

Taiwo had 18 points and three steals to lead the Horned Frogs.

All told, it was a solid effort for the Roadrunners, who are two games into their second season under Coach Karen Aston.

The Roadrunners, despite foul trouble, played the Frogs of the Big 12 Conference on even terms in the first half. Guttadauro and Nwakamma each had eight points and a couple of three-pointers off the bench before intermission.

TCU led 23-16 after the first period and, after a competitive second period, held a 37-36 edge on UTSA. Playing better defensively, the Frogs boosted the lead to 54-47 entering the final quarter.

Records

TCU 2-1
UTSA 0-2

Coming up

Abilene Christian at UTSA, Sunday, 2 p.m.

UTSA makes just enough plays to hold off the St. Mary’s Rattlers

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Coming off a 20-point loss to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, the UTSA Roadrunners entered their third game of the season Monday night needing a defensive spark, some solid execution on the offensive end and a quality shooting performance.

All of that, leading to a run-away victory, would have been nice. But in keeping with history in a rivalry that dates back nearly 40 years, the NCAA Division II-level St. Mary’s University Rattlers showed up at the Convocation Center with other ideas.

Division I UTSA survived a shaky start and a hand-wringing finish to polish off San Antonio-based St. Mary’s, 66-59.

John Buggs III. UTSA beat St. Mary's 66-59 on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Guard John Buggs III sparked UTSA’s 14-0 run to start the second half. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Fortunately for the Roadrunners, guard Japhet Medor, center Jacob Germany and freshman guard DJ Richards made a few plays at the end to salvage the victory. UTSA coach Steve Henson said in his postgame commentary that “there weren’t a ton of positives” to the performance.

“I can’t spin too positively,” the coach said. “St. Mary’s is good. I got a lot of respect for what they do and how tough they are. How well-coached they are. They did some things to keep it right there (within their reach).”

“The positive,” Henson added, “was that we found a way to get the win.”

St. Mary’s (0-2) played the game as an exhibition, so it didn’t count on the Rattlers’ record. But the game did count for UTSA (2-1) on a night when the Roadrunners were trying to bounce back from a poor performance in Corpus Christi.

Though the Roadrunners traveled to the Coastal Bend last Friday, it was hardly a day at the beach. UTSA held an eight-point lead in the second half on a 23-win, Division I NCAA tournament team from last year. After that, Corpus Christi romped 47-19 in the final 17 minutes to win 75-55.

As a result, Roadrunners guard John Buggs III fielded a few questions in the wake of the St. Mary’s game about the team’s inconsistency. His answer was the same. At times, he said, UTSA goes through “stretches” when things go wrong on both ends of the floor.

“We have to limit those windows,” Buggs said.

Added Henson, “We have a lot of work to do. A lot of work.”

Jacob Germany. UTSA beat St. Mary's 66-59 on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jacob Germany sank 6 of 11 from the field and scored 14 points for the Roadrunners. John Buggs III also scored 14. — Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners, who were shooting 37.8 percent from the field coming into the night, finished 25 of 55 for 45.5 percent. Hitting only 20.3 percent from three in their first two games combined, they were better in that department, as well, making 8 of 19 for 42.1 percent. Germany and Buggs led the team with 14 points apiece.

It’s a good thing that UTSA made some improvement, because its next opponent — the defending Sun Belt Conference champion Texas State Bobcats — will be dangerous. The Bobcats are set to pay a visit to the Convocation Center on Thursday night.

“Texas State is really good,” Henson said. “They got great identity-culture. You know they’re going to defend really aggressively. They’re super solid defensively. Offensively, they typically run great movement, great motion … They had a big win at Rhode Island a couple of nights ago.

“They’ve got a couple of really big challenges for us. The emphasis will be defending and rebounding. Offensively, we’re going to be a young work in progress. Still think we’ve got the potential to be a pretty good offensive team in time. Defensively, we’ve got to take some steps.”

For St. Mary’s, the game could serve as a springboard into the rest of its pre-Lone Star Conference schedule. The Rattlers were beaten twice in Colorado last weekend. They lost 87-65 to Colorado School of Mines on Friday and then came up short, 60-56, falling to Regis College, Colo.

St. Mary's Emmanuel Ewuzie. UTSA beat St. Mary's 66-59 on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

St. Mary’s forward Emmanuel Ewuzie had a big game with 14 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Against the Roadrunners, the Rattlers seemed to hit their stride. Forward Emmanuel Ewuzie had a big night with 14 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. Guard Ryan Leonard finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Off the bench, Diego Gonzalez scored seven and John Dawson six.

St. Mary’s came out strong, executing the offense and scoring the game’s first five points. The Rattlers kept it going for most of the first half, pushing the lead to as many as eight with 2:47 remaining.

At that point, UTSA started to creep back into the game. The Roadrunners scored seven in a row at the end of the half and then roared away on a 14-0 run to start the second.

Buggs ignited the second-half surge, hitting a couple of threes and a two. Forward Josh Farmer, who made his first start of the season, capped the streak with a wild play. After Farmer missed a dunk, Richards rebounded it. Farmer finally put it in the hoop for a 46-33 lead.

Down the stretch, the Rattlers wouldn’t fold.

They continued to scrap for rebounds and dive on the floor for loose balls. They hit some difficult shots in traffic. UTSA was also energized. They hit the boards with much more aggression. UTSA also got a big call when St. Mary’s foward Tyler Caron made a shot but had it waved off for charg

On the other end, Richards hit a three for a 10-point lead. Undaunted, St. Mary’s kept coming. The Rattlers chipped away and, with 1:01 remaining, Ewuzie hit a free that pulled the visitors to within two.

From there, Medor orchestrated the finish for the Roadrunners. He worked hard against the Rattlers’ trapping defense, and the Roadrunners survived, going on a 5-0 run to finish the game. Germany knocked down a shot and hit a free throw. On a free-throw miss, Richards snared a rebound and was fouled, sinking both with 30 seconds left to seal it.

Records

UTSA 2-1
St. Mary’s 0-2

Notable

With the victory, UTSA improved to 11-3 all-time in the series against St. Mary’s. The series between San Antonio-based universities started in 1984 as the “Mayor’s Challenge Cup.” Played initially in a downtown arena in the 1980s, the games have always been close. Only four of the 14 games have been decided by margins of more than 10 points.

Coming up

Texas State at UTSA, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Huston-Tillotson at St. Mary’s, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

Hitting hyper-speed

Sabally to Aleu — for two

St. Mary’s and UTSA to play for San Antonio bragging rights

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The UTSA Roadrunners (1-1) are back home tonight to play the St. Mary’s Rattlers (0-2). The game is an exhibition for NCAA Division II St. Mary’s and won’t count on the Rattlers’ record. Here is a look at the series between the two programs, which dates back to the 1983-84 season.

Series at a glance

2/6/84 — UTSA, 69-61
1/21/85 — St. Mary’s, 88-81
1/13/86 — UTSA, 76-67
1/26/87 — St. Mary’s, 68-55
1/20/88 — UTSA, 84-74
1/24/89 — UTSA, 58-48
12/12/89 — UTSA, 79-52
1/18/90 — UTSA, 63-58
1/21/91 — St. Mary’s, 65-46
12/7/91 — UTSA, 62-52
11/25/00 — UTSA, 61-55
12/4/02 — UTSA, 81-67
11/29/21 — UTSA, 75-65

Notable

The early games in the series were played downtown at the HemisFair Arena, a building that has been demolished to make way for new construction. (The old arena sat on property that is now part of the Convention Center complex.) The game in December 2002 was played at the Alamodome. The games in November 2000 and November 2021 were played at the UTSA Convocation Center.

That’s a fact

The Roadrunners haven’t shot the ball well in their first two games, in a 74-47 victory over Division III Trinity last Monday or in a 75-55 loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Friday.

Three-point shooting has been a particular concern. UTSA hit only 5 of 30 from behind the arc in the opener and 7 of 29 last Friday at Corpus Christi. For the season, that makes them 12 of 59 for 20.3 percent. UTSA field goal shooting is a cool 37.8 percent — 48 of 127.

Defensively, it’s also a mixed bag. The Roadrunners had been playing good defense until the second half against the Islanders,who shot 56 percent and exploded for 50 points after intermission.

Mushila, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi down UTSA, 75-55

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The UTSA Roadrunners knew coming into Friday night’s game in Corpus Christi that they would need to keep Isaac Mushila off the glass, and they still couldn’t do it.

Mushila, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, poured in 22 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to lead the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders past the Roadrunners, 75-55, at the Dugan Wellness Center.

A relentless player, Mushila basically matched his effort from last season when he produced 21 points and 17 rebounds in a 77-58 victory over the Roadrunners in San Antonio.

This time, he exploded in the second half to spark a huge rally by the home team, lifting A&M-Corpus Christi (1-1) to its first victory of the season.

“Isaac played great considering they doubled the post a little bit,” Islanders coach Steve Lutz said on the ESPN Plus television broadcast. “I just thought he worked at a high level.”

At one point, UTSA (1-1) led by eight points early in the second half and appeared to be taking charge against a 23-win, NCAA tournament team from last year.

The Islanders, however, had other ideas. Mushila kept pounding the glass and scored 14 points in the second half to lead the comeback.

Behind Mushila, Trevian Tennyson and others, A&M-Corpus Christi outscored UTSA 47-19 in the final 17:30 to turn what had been a highly-competitive game into a run-away.

“Second half was pretty disappointing,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said on the team’s radio broadcast. “Exact opposite of what we did the first half. Second half, they drove it over and over and over … just absolutely bullied us. It wasn’t even close.”

Freshman DJ Richards led UTSA with 14 points. Japhet Medor and Jacob Germany also had nine for the Roadrunners, who hit 33.3 percent from the field for the game. Leading by three at intermission, UTSA came out strong early in the second half.

The Roadrunners got a field goal and a three-pointer from Medor. John Buggs III followed with a three to make it 36-28. From there, it was all A&M-Corpus Christi the rest of the way, with the Islanders shooting 58.6 percent from the field in the second half.

Asked by radio voice Andy Everett what he would work on leading into a Monday night home game against the Division II St. Mary’s Rattlers, Henson said he might need to re-think his defensive approach.

“Getting tougher is a hard thing to work on, but we’ll try to figure out something in that regard,” the coach said. “We’ve got a lot to work on. We’ve got to make a decision. Defensively, we’ve been man to man since June. We’ve got to figure out if we’re good enough.

“We were good enough man to man in the first half, but we weren’t any good in the second half. So, we got to figure out a lot of things. It’s not time to panic. But this is a disappointing result. An extremely disappointing 20 minutes of basketball.”

Records

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

Coming up

St. Mary’s University at UTSA, Monday, 7 p.m.
Trinity University at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, at American Bank Center, 7 p.m.

Notable

For the UTSA offense to work, the Roadrunners need to make threes, and they had a hard time doing that in a smaller venue, at A&M-Corpus Christi’s campus recreation center.

UTSA was 7 of 29 from three for the game, for 24.1 percent. DJ Richards emerged as the only reliable shooter from distance, hitting 4 of 7. Meanwhile, Isaiah Addo-Ankrah was 1 for 9 from behind the arc, and Buggs 1 for 8.

Normally, A&M-Corpus Christi plays its home games at the more spacious American Bank Center in the downtown area, but since the city’s minor league hockey team had the date booked in advance, officials elected to play the UTSA game on the floor of its campus facility.

First-half recap

UTSA’s defense held Texas A&M-Corpus Christi without a field goal for seven minutes late in the first half Friday night, allowing the Roadrunners to steady themselves, setting the stage for a late rally at the end of the half.

Finally, the Roadrunners, who were in a funk themselves for much of the opening period, snapped out of it with a few big plays at the end to take a 28-25 lead.

First, a dunk by John Buggs III had the Roadrunners cheering from the bench. Finally, Japhet Medor whipped a pass into the corner for freshman DJ Richards, who knocked down a three and gave UTSA a 28-25 lead at the break.

Initially, the Islanders seemed to have everything going their way. They scored nine points in a row for a 9-2 lead. Later, they made it 11-3. Then it was 20-15. Trevian Tennyson was leading the way with 12 early points. He finished the half with 5 of 8 shooting.

UTSA set to play on the road at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

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The UTSA Roadrunners will face their first NCAA Division I opponent of the season tonight. Also playing on the road for the first time, UTSA (1-0) will play the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (0-1).

Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at the Dugan Wellness Center on the A&M-Corpus Christi campus.

The Roadrunners, coming off a 74-47 victory over Division III Trinity University on Monday, hope to make a statement against a team that beat them by 19 points in San Antonio last year.

On Nov. 21, 2021, Steve Lutz-coached A&M-Corpus Christi registered a 77-58 victory over UTSA at the Convocation Center en route to a magical season, in which it won the Southland Conference postseason title and played in the NCAA tournament.

UTSA, on the other hand, suffered a down season and finished 10-22.

Led by guards Japhet Medor and John Buggs, the Roadrunners will present the Islanders with a different look.

Medor is a pass-first point guard and Buggs is capable of scoring in bunches from the perimeter.

UTSA didn’t play well offensively against Trinity, shooting only 40 percent from the field. But the defense was good for the second-straight outing, including a home exhibition against the Schreiner University Mountaineers.

Against Shreiner and Trinity, the Roadrunners have yielded only 107 points.

The Islanders will test the Roadrunners with largely the same personnel that posted a 23-12 record last season.

Guards Jalen Jackson, Simeon Fryer and Terrion Murdix will lead the attack, with 6-foot-5 rebounding force Isaac Mushila at one forward and De’Lazarus Keys at the other.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi opened its season on the road Monday, at Starkveville, Miss., and lost 63-44 to Mississippi State of the Southeastern Conference.

The Islanders led the game by 12 points in the first half and by five at intermission before the Cowboys rallied to put the game away.

Notable

A&M-Corpus Christi is a non-football playing program in the Southland Conference. The Islanders are coached by Lutz, who played at San Antonio’s East Central High School and at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin.

UTSA plays football and all other sports in Conference USA. It’s the last season for UTSA in the C-USA as it prepares to move next year into the American Athletic Conference. The Roadrunners are led by seventh-year head coach Steve Henson.

Coming up

Both teams play again on Monday night. A&M-Corpus Christi will host Trinity at the American Bank Center. UTSA will host the Division II St. Mary’s University Rattlers in a matchup of San Antonio-based schools at UTSA.

After a dominant win over Trinity, UTSA’s players start talking about Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

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The UTSA Roadrunners celebrated a 74-47 season-opening victory against the Trinity Tigers Monday night, in part, by initiating a conversation about their next opponent.

As players filed into the dressing room after the opener at the Convocation Center, the talk turned quickly to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders.

Japhet Medor. UTSA opened the men's basketball season with a 74-47 victory over Trinity on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Point guard Japhet Medor continued his strong play with five points, five rebounds, three steals and seven assists. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA will play Game Two on its schedule at A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday night in a rematch of a contest played last year in San Antonio.

It’s a memory that isn’t a pleasant one for the Roadrunners’ veterans, because the Islanders dominated, 77-58.

UTSA players may also know that A&M-Corpus Christi went on to enjoy a storybook season, which ended in a Southland Conference title and a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Roadrunners newcomer Japhet Medor said some of his teammates have already told him about the Islanders’ style and personnel.

“They deny a lot of stuff,” Medor said. “They’re pretty aggressive, but we play aggressive, too. We like it.”

Medor said he thinks some of his teammates may take a scheduled off day and come in to work on their game.

“Tomorrow is an off day, and we got to treat it like it’s not an off day, to get our bodies right and get ready for Corpus Christi,” he said.

Lachlan Bofinger. UTSA opened the men's basketball season with a 74-47 victory over Trinity on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Junior forward Lachlan Bofinger came off the bench for four points and seven rebounds in a little more than 10 minutes. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Medor said he knows how teammates who played in the game last year are feeling.

“Yeah, they want some get back,” he said. “Everybody’s motivated. We’re trying to change everything. We’re trying to win. So, of course we’re ready for Friday.”

Entering the regular season, UTSA had played only one exhibition. It was a game played last Wednesday against the Schreiner University Mountaineers. In doing so, the Roadrunners revved the offense and roared to a 93-60 victory.

Like Schreiner, Trinity is also an NCAA Division III program. But against the Tigers, the Division I Roadrunners had a tougher time putting points on the scoreboard. Much tougher.

UTSA shot 51.5 percent last week against the Mountaineers, including 42.9 percent from behind the three-point arc. Against the Tigers, the Roadrunners’ percentages didn’t look nearly as pretty on field goals (40.8) or on threes (16.7).

In fact, UTSA sank only 5 of 30 from long distance against Trinity’s zone defense.

Fortunately for the Roadrunners, big men Josh Farmer (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Jacob Germany (15 points, six boards) played with poise and aggression and got the job done against the much smaller visitors.

For Farmer, it was a breakout game, his first double-double. The former Houston schoolboy averaged only 1.2 points per game last season.

Against Trinity, he scored a season high on 8 of 13 shooting from the field. In addition, he also saved several possessions with his hustle, including six offensive rebounds.

The Tigers, a 23-win team last year, were held to 30.5 percent shooting. Enzo Sechi, Trinity’s leading returning scorer, was on the roster but did not play. Ben Hanley, A.J. Clark and Grayson Herr scored six points apiece.

Records

UTSA 1-0
Trinity 0-0
x-Game played as an exhibition for Trinity. It does not count on the Tigers’ record.

Coming up

UTSA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Friday, 7 p.m.

Jacob Germany. UTSA opened the men's basketball season with a 74-47 victory over Trinity on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Senior Jacob Germany notched 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting. He also pulled down 6 rebounds.. – Photo by Joe Alexander