UTSA’s Jacob Germany blocks a shot by Southern Miss’ Jaron Pierre Jr. with 18 seconds left in the game. — Photo by Joe Alexander

For the UTSA Roadrunners, the stakes were high coming into a weekend series against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Sitting in last place in the Conference USA West division standings, the Roadrunners couldn’t afford to lose either of two games at home in the Convocation Center.

Lifted by the scoring of Jhivvan Jackson and a team effort that included clutch plays from two underclassmen, the Roadrunners completed their first C-USA sweep of the season Saturday afternoon with a 78-72 victory over the Golden Eagles.

Jhivvan Jackson scored 24 points and hit six three-point shots Saturday afternoon. — Photo by Joe Alexander.

Jackson scored 24 points and passed for six assists. Sophomore Jacob Germany blocked two shots in the last minute and, not to be denied, precocious freshman Jordan Ivy-Curry sank two free throws with 14 seconds remaining to help fend off the visitors from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

UTSA coach Steve Henson was pleased to win two but he lamented his team allowing Southern Miss to make it so close down the stretch. The Roadrunners led by 15 with nine minutes remaining and then had to scramble at the end to avoid what might have been a crushing loss.

“It was a little more drama than we really needed,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “Both games, really. We had too many good stretches to make it that difficult.”

Looking at it another way, the Roadrunners felt much better about themselves after their fourth series in the C-USA’s regular season. Two losses at Rice, followed by a split at home against North Texas, followed by another two road losses at Louisiana Tech had them buried at 1-5 and searching for answers.

Adrian Rodriguez started his second game in a row, both Roadrunners victories, as UTSA beat Southern Miss 78-72 in Conference USA action. — Photo by Joe Alexander

Last week, Henson said he felt like the Roadrunners weren’t that far away from turning around their fortunes. He was right on that point. Against Southern Miss, Jackson flashed the form that has led to all-conference designations each of the past two seasons. On Friday, he had 25 in a 70-64 victory, and then he went off again on Saturday.

Playing in front of the home fans, his showmanship has become almost routine until you consider that he has scored 2,328 points in a little more than three years, boosting him into a tie for 139th in NCAA basketball history, according to a list published by sports-reference.com.

On Friday, Jackson was aggressive, drawing contact that put him on the free-throw line 13 times. On Saturday, he launched from long distance, nailing six of 10 from beyond the arc. More than anything, Jackson is buoyed by the improvement of a team desperate to get back into the mix of contenders in the C-USA.

“Like I was telling ya’ll yesterday, we need every win we can get,” Jackson said. “We fought hard today on defense. We didn’t make a lot of shots today — down the stretch, especially. But our defense kept us in. Free throws, as well. Today was more defense than offense.”

Records

UTSA 3-5, 7-8
Southern Miss 3-5, 7-8

Coming up

UTEP at UTSA, Thursday, 6 p.m.

Guard Jordan Ivy-Curry drives it on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The freshman from La Marque had 22 points combined in victories Friday and Saturday. — Photo by Joe Alexander

Notable

Two young players on the UTSA roster stepped up when the team needed them most. Just as the rest of the C-USA was about to write off the Roadrunners who were 1-5 in conference coming into a two-game series against Southern Miss, sophomore Jacob Germany and freshman Jordan Ivy-Curry helped lead the team to a couple of much-needed victories. Germany had a double-double on Friday night and came back with 13 points and eight rebounds Saturday afternoon. Germany, a 6-11 center, added two blocks in the final minute. Ivy-Curry nailed a clutch three to stop a late Southern Miss run in Game 1, and then followed with 14 points and four rebounds in Game 2. The player known as “Juice” added an exclamation point by knocking down two free throws with 14.3 seconds left Saturday.

Quotable

“We talked last year about Jacob’s poise … Some of those non-conference games against high major opponents, he was relaxed. Comfortable. Very, very poised. Juice is very, very comfortable. You know, the moment is certainly not going to be too big for him. The three-pointer that Juice hit last night was huge. Southern Miss had gone zone (on defense). We ran the play exactly the way we wanted the first zone possession and Jhivvan missed a three. Then we turned it over … All of a sudden, it was going to start wearing on us, and Juice was open, bangs a three and that was a huge play in the game … Jacob makes game-winning plays (with blocks, both games) … Juice just plays.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson.

Individually

UTSA — Jhivvan Jackson, 24 points on 8 of 18 shooting, including 6 of 10 from three. He also had four rebounds, six assists and three steals. Jordan Ivy-Curry, 14 points, including 3 of 5 threes. Jacob Germany, 13 points on 6 of 11 shooting. Eight rebounds. Two blocks. Keaton Wallace, 12 points on 4 of 19 shooting. Five rebounds. Four assists.

Southern Miss — LaDavius Draine, 19 points on 5 of 10 from three. Tyler Stevenson, 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jaron Pierre Jr., 12 points on four of eight shooting. Four rebounds. Two assists. Two steals. DeAndre Pinckney, 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks.

Furthermore

The Roadrunners were able to hang on Saturday in spite of making only two field goals in the final 8:48. One of the buckets can be seen in the video below:

Oh my, Ced. #BirdsUp 🤙 | #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/YBcHepJgXa

— UTSA Basketball (@UTSAMBB) January 23, 2021

In a key second-half play, UTSA forward Cedrick Alley, Jr., runs the wing, takes a pass from Jhivvan Jackson and slams it on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Jhivvan Jackson scored 25 points, including seven in the last two minutes, as UTSA pulled out a victory over Southern Miss. — Photo by Joe Alexander

After downing the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 70-64 Friday night, the UTSA Roadrunners gave themselves a chance to dream of pulling off a compelling first this season.

For the first time, they can win both ends of a two-game, Conference USA series if they can just dig down and do the little things again Saturday afternoon. Game time between West Division rivals is set for 3 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

UTSA coach Steve Henson said he felt good about one of his team’s better defensive efforts this season. — Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA senior Jhivvan Jackson said it would mean “everything” if UTSA could complete the double against Southern Miss.

“Right now, we need every win we can get,” said Jackson, who led the Roadrunners with 25 points. “Our players know that. Everybody knows, we’re last (place) right now. Everybody’s seen it because we got the standings right outside the locker room.

“You know, we’re not a team to be last. We understand that. But, it takes a lot (to win). You know, it takes playing defense.

“I feel like ya’ll get tired of me saying ‘play defense.’ But that’s all that’s stopping us from getting wins. Regardless if we shoot bad, or, we have a bad shooting night, we’re still one of the top offensive teams in the league.

“At the end of the day, we got to come back tomorrow and play better defense than we did today.”

Playing better on the defensive end than they did Friday could be a tall order. The Roadrunners, who, statistically, rank as one of the poorest defensive teams in the C-USA, held the Golden Eagles to 5 of 20 shooting from the field in the first 14 minutes of the game.

Southern Miss, led by guard Tyler Stevenson, ended up making it a very competitive game. What was once a 17-point UTSA lead in the first half was whittled to five at halftime and to one twice late in the second half.

Nonetheless, the Roadrunners held the Golden Eagles to 37.1 percent shooting for the game, which was the difference as the Roadrunners snapped a two-game losing streak.

“It was close,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “We had an opportunity (in the second half) to pop it open and couldn’t do it … But overall, very, very pleased with our intensity, our fight, our effort. You could see our guys came out with the right mindset in the first half. One of our better defensive games.”

Records

UTSA 6-8, 2-5
Southern Miss 7-7, 3-4

Coming up

Southern Miss at UTSA, 3 p.m. Saturday

Notable

Injured starting guard Erik Czumbel didn’t play for the Roadrunners. As a result, UTSA went with Jackson, Keaton Wallace and Eric Parrish on the wings, with Adrian Rodriguez (in his first start) at one forward and Jacob Germany in the post. Czumbel banged his knee in a collision with another player in practice on Thursday, and it was decided that he wouldn’t play. Henson is hopeful the sophomore from Italy can be ready for Saturday.

Quotable

“(Czumbel) is one of our toughest guys. He’ll play through anything. He just couldn’t do it. I saw him on my way to do the radio … The doctor looked at him. He’s feeling better every hour. He was moving better after the game than he did earlier today. So hopefully, we can get him back out there … He looked good 15 minutes ago,” Henson told reporters on a zoom conference.

UTSA by the numbers

With the victory, the Roadrunners improved to 6-1 at home in the Convocation Center … Jackson hit season highs in free throw makes (11) and attempts (13). His production in both of those categories is down from last year, when he was the nation’s second-leading scorer … Interestingly, history shows that UTSA has been up and down in the first seven games of the C-USA schedule under Henson, whose first year with the program was 2016-17. In his first year, he was 4-3, followed by 2-5, 5-2, 3-4 and now 2-5 again … In 2017-18, the first season at UTSA for guards Jackson and Keaton Wallace, Henson’s Roadrunners bounced back from the 2-5 start to finish 11-7 and tied for second in the conference …

Individually

UTSA — Jackson, 25 points, on 6 of 15 from the field. Also, 2 of 7 from three and 11 of 13 at the line. Wallace, 18 points, including 3 of 8 from three. He also had eight rebounds. Jacob Germany, 11 points, 11 rebounds, five blocked shots.

Southern Miss — Tyler Stevenson, 23 points and 10 rebounds. He hit 8 of 18 from the field. Jaron Pierre, Jr., 10 points, three assists. LaDavius Draine, eight points on three of eight shooting.

Jhivvan with his 70th career 20+ point game after this floater gives us a five-point lead with 66 seconds left. #BirdsUp 🤙 | #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/DcS59dpnBo

— UTSA Basketball (@UTSAMBB) January 23, 2021

Coach Steve Henson and the UTSA Roadrunners host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles tonight. — Photo by Joe Alexander

If you run across a perfect formula for guarding the pick and roll in basketball, please let me know.

I’ve been watching hoops closely since the 1970s. Since Texas’ Abe Lemons chomped on those short, un-lit cigars in Austin. Since Doug Moe’s Spurs jingle-jangled their way out of the ABA and into the NBA.

UTSA coach Steve Henson says he’d like to get Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA’s all-time leading scorer, involved in more action going toward the basket. — Photo by Joe Alexander

And with all due respect to Hubie Brown and Gregg Popovich, two of the greatest defensive strategists of all time, I really haven’t seen anyone come up with a fool-proof method to stop the pick (or screen) and roll.

A ball handler dribbles at the top of the key with a defender, knees bent, hoping to get a stop. The ball handler’s teammate runs over and screens the defender. Freed from pressure for an instant, ball handler pounds the dribble and surges into the lane. Defensive players rotate to stop the drive. Screener rolls to the hoop…

Coaches through the ages have debated how to defend such a ploy. But, in the vast majority of instances, the offense gets a basket or, at least, an open look at the rim. It is almost inevitable.

It is the reason why the pick and roll is almost as old as the peach basket itself and continues to be deployed by everyone from dad coaches in youth sports, to Coach K and on to the elite coaches in the NBA.

Which brings us to today’s topic on the floundering UTSA Roadrunners, who rank last in points allowed and third-to-last in both field-goal and three-point percentage defense in Conference USA.

Yes, after defense was stressed since last summer and throughout the preseason workouts, members of the UTSA coaching staff have a right to feel some exasperation.

Senior guard Keaton Wallace has boosted the Roadrunners with inspired play on both ends of the floor for four years. Could he become even more effective with a few more trips to the free throw line per game? — Photo by Joe Alexander

Players likely are feeling some frustration themselves after a 1-5 start to the C-USA phase of the schedule. Do they continue to attack screen and roll? Do they try some other ploy?

What about double-teaming the post? The tactic worked fairly well in the first game at Louisiana Tech last week, but then it backfired some in the second meeting, leaving shooters open to hit from the perimeter.

And now, after losing twice in Louisiana, UTSA has returned home to face Southern Miss tonight and Saturday. Likely, some of the same problems UTSA has encountered all season defensively will crop up again this weekend.

But if I’m reading the Roadrunners right, I think they might take a crack at another strategy. I think they might ask their best offensive players, including Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace, to start attacking on the dribble a little more. Get them going to the bucket more.

UTSA coach Steve Henson said the team has worked the past two weeks on initiating more of that action offensively in an effort to make defenses work harder and, perhaps, foul more.

“We know that we’ve got to defend better,” Henson said. “But I still think that, offensively, we have a lot of room to improve. I really do. I think we can get easier shots … If we do that, we know that’ll help our defense.

Center Jacob Germany is shooting 84.8 percent from the free throw line. But he’s taking only 2.5 per game. Seems the Roadrunners could get more production out of him if he was on the line more.. — Photo by Joe Alexander

“We tried to go all year the other way. We talked about defending at a certain level regardless of what’s happening on the other end. But, still, there’s something to be said for seeing that ball go through the net. It feeds your defensive energy. That’s kind of been our issue.

“We just don’t lock in and defend at a high enough level night in and night out, possession after possession after possession, to carry ourselves through those stretches where we’re not good offensively.”

In other words, you can’t always stop a good offensive player or a good offense. But if you can work those same players and get them in foul trouble, then, maybe they become less aggressive.

The ploy seems to have worked for UTSA’s opponents, who have outscored UTSA 211-157 at the free throw line this season. In fact, opponents have made more free throws this year than UTSA has attempted (209).

On average, the Roadrunners are taking only 16.07 free throws per game, to opponents’ 21.38. They’re making 12.07, to opponents’ 16.23.

UTSA freshman Jordan Ivy-Curry has emerged as another player with dribble-drive capability for the Roadrunners, who are being outscored 16.2-12.1 at the free throw line this season. — Photo by Joe Alexander

Jackson and Wallace are both taking and making fewer free throws than they have in years past.

Jackson’s free-throw attempts are down — 5.68 to 3.16 per game — from last year to this year. His makes are also down, 4.84 to 2.41. As for Wallace, it’s the same thing. He attempted 3.87 at the line last year, compared to 2.61 right now. His makes have declined, 3.12-1.92.

Discussing his team’s offensive execution this week, Henson admitted that his team has been lacking the element of finishing possessions with drives toward the basket, which tend to lead to more frequent trips to the line.

Outside of Jackson, Wallace and freshman Jordan Ivy-Curry, UTSA just doesn’t have many players with that skillset.

Nevertheless, Henson seems determined to generate more action like that. He said that for the past few weeks, he’s tried to draw up some new things, “trying to create those alleys, trying to create opportunities to get down hill.”

Would he like to see Jackson and Wallace, his senior leaders, get a little more aggressive in that way?

“Yes,” the coach said. “Something has to precede that, though. The set itself has to clear out space. Or you need the roll guy, Jacob (Germany), needs to roll. You got to hit him on the roll, to attract some attention. You can’t just say, ‘Hey, Keaton and Jhivvan, you’ve got to be more aggressive.’

“You have to set that up with some movement, some rubs. You got to create some opportunities to get downhill.”

For Henson, sending his stars into the lane on a few more possessions, instead of watching them take tough threes, might not be the answer for all that ails his team.

But, with a third of the conference season in the books, it’s worth a try.

Who knows?

UTSA opponents might find it much tougher to score if they’re on the bench in foul trouble.

UTSA coach Steve Henson (right) hopes to get his team turned around this weekend after losing five of six to open the C-USA schedule. — Photo by Joe Alexander

As the last-place UTSA Roadrunners prepare to host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles this weekend, players and coaches are like sailors at sea, peering out over the bow at rolling waves crashing higher and higher on the side of the ship.

They have felt the winds gust and the rain sting their faces at times over the past few years, but nothing like what they have experienced lately.

The Roadrunners (5-8, 1-5 in Conference USA) are off to their rockiest start to a conference schedule in eight years. Veteran fans of the men’s basketball program need to flip through the pages of history to 2012-13, when their team opened with seven straight losses in the Western Athletic Conference, to find a tougher start.

In addition, UTSA has never been four games under .500 after six games in seven previous seasons in the C-USA. But it is notable that Coach Steve Henson started 2017-18 at 2-4 and finished his second year in the program with an 11-7 ledger in the conference.

Last week, the Roadrunners left town, coming off a home victory over North Texas, and lost twice in two days at Louisiana Tech. With little time to wring hands over seeing themselves in last place in the seven-team, C-USA West Division standings, they did what they always do, win or lose.

They went back to practice.

“I think our mindset is pretty good,” Henson said. “You know, disappointed that we didn’t play a little better. Realistic to know that we got to shore some things up. Got to play harder defensively. Got to execute better offensively. Got to shoot better shots.

“But (players) came in with the right mindset. We’ve had some good stretches of practice the last couple of days.”

A sense of urgency could be detected in a Wednesday afternoon zoom call, with junior forward Phoenix Ford talking about working through “a little” adversity as they fine tune for the Golden Eagles.

“It’s definitely a concern, but not too much of a concern where we’re worried or panicking, but there’s definitely a little adversity,” junior forward Phoenix Ford said. “Definitely didn’t expect to start the conference like this, for sure. Just have to bounce back and win the next ones.”

Coming up

Southern Miss at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
Southern Miss at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.

Records

Southern Miss 7-6, 3-3
UTSA 5-8, 1-5