Tag Archives: UTSA Roadrunners

Jackson-led Roadrunners rally late, down the UAB Blazers, 66-59

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Jhivvan Jackson scored 28 points to lead UTSA past UAB on Sunday at the UTSA Convocation Center in a Conference USA bonus play game. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson scored 28 points to lead UTSA past UAB on Sunday at the Convocation Center in Conference USA basketball. – photo by Joe Alexander

Trailing by nine points with 4:53 remaining Sunday afternoon, the UTSA Roadrunners didn’t seem to have the spark necessary to win on the first day of March.

But, you know what they say about March and college basketball.

Jhivvan Jackson exploded for 14 points in a maddening 16-0 run as the Roadrunners rallied for a dramatic 66-59 victory over the UAB Blazers.

Sophomore forward Adrian Rodriguez made his first career start as UTSA beat UAB 66-59 in Conference USA bonus play on Sunday at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Sophomore forward Adrian Rodriguez produced five points and seven rebounds in his first career start. – photo by Joe Alexander

“I think once we started getting stops in the second half, that gave us that little intensity to get back on offense,” Jackson said. “We started making easy shots. I made a couple of shots.

“I got a couple of looks, and they went in. Coach gave me the trust just to go to work. I was kind of hot, and the shots went in.”

For most of the day, Jackson wasn’t his usual self, missing 15 of his first 20 shot attempts and picking up a technical foul mid-way through the second half.

But in a riveting span of 2 minutes and 24 seconds at the end of the game, he hit four three-pointers, sank two free throws, assisted on a basket and made a steal.

Near the end of the explosion, the nation’s second-leading scorer hit threes on consecutive possessions that had the home crowd at the Convocation Center roaring in approval.

On the first one, he drifted into the corner, jab-stepped inside the arc and then stepped back outside the line before drilling the shot.

With the crowd still energized, he did it again with 2:07 left, swishing a 25-footer over 6-foot-10 Makhtar Gueye for a 62-55 lead.

UTSA forward Adrian Rodriguez credited Jackson for shooting the ball well under pressure.

“It happens all the time,” said Rodriguez, who started the first game of his career at power forward. “It’s insane. That kid has a lot of talent. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Records

UTSA — 13-16, 7-9
UAB — 17-13, 8-9

What it means

For UTSA, the victory provided a boost to morale after a rough stretch in which the team had lost two straight and five out of seven.

With Jackson shooting poorly for most of the afternoon and some calls from the officiating crew not going their way, the chances for victory going into the last five minutes were not promising.

In that regard, it was an impressive showing to come back and win, and much needed, especially with the final two games of the regular season and the Conference USA tournament looming.

“Players are tired at this point in the season,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “Officials are tired. Yeah, you got to stay together. You got to stay focused.

“This was an important win for us, just to get us re-charged. It would have been tough to bounce back (ordinarily) but I’ve been very impressed with our guys’ resiliency.

“I’ve mentioned that, almost every time we come off a loss, our guys have done great with that … We needed this one, for sure.”

Coming up

UTSA at Old Dominion, Wednesday at 6 p.m. Marshall at UTSA, Saturday at 3 p.m. (End of regular season.) UTSA at the Conference USA tournament, March 11-14, at Frisco.

By the numbers

UTSA — Jackson had 28 points on 10 of 26 shooting, including 5 of 6 in the last five minutes. Keaton Wallace added 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Byron Frohnen had three points, four assists and seven rebounds. Rodriguez had five points and seven rebounds.

UAB — Tyreek Scott-Grayson 18 points, eight rebounds. Tavin Lovan, 13 points on 3 of 11 shooting. Will Butler, four points on two of four from the floor. Lovan had 19 points and Butler 18 in a 76-68 victory at UTSA on Jan. 30.

First half recap

Struggling early in the game, Roadrunners tightened up on defense and emerged with a 23-23 tie.

UAB dominated in the opening minutes with a couple of dunks in forging a 9-3 lead. From there, UTSA started playing well, forcing the Blazers into awkward possessions and churning out a 14-0 run.

When Jackson hit a driving layup, the Roadrunners held a 17-9 edge.

Just as fast as the momentum shifted for UTSA, however, the visitors turned it around for themselves.

The Blazers kept Jackson bottled up during a 14-4 spree to produce a 23-21 lead going into the final minute.

Jacob Germany dunked on an alley-oop play for UTSA’s final bucket.

Notable

UTSA shuffled its starting lineup, with Rodriguez getting the start alongside Germany on the front line.

Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson started in the backcourt, along with Frohnen at small forward. Guard Erik Czumbel, a starter at point guard for most of the season, came off the bench and played 25 minutes.

Defensively, UTSA played well, holding UAB to an NCAA Division I opponent-low for scoring this season.

UTSA vs. UAB photo gallery

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Jhivvan Jackson scored 28 points to lead UTSA past UAB on Sunday at the UTSA Convocation Center in a Conference USA bonus play game. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson scored 28 points to lead UTSA past UAB.

UTSA came from behind in the second half to beat UAB 66-59 in a Conference USA bonus play game Sunday at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Florida Atlantic starts fast, then holds off UTSA, 80-71

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The UTSA Roadrunners traveled to Florida on Thursday night to open a four-game run in Conference USA bonus play.

The FAU Owls sent them home with a frustrating loss.

Starting fast, the Owls surged into a 22-point lead in the first 11 minutes en route to an 80-71 victory over the Roadrunners at Boca Raton.

Down by 23 in the second half, the Roadrunners pulled to within nine in the final two minutes behind a Jhivvan Jackson scoring spree.

But even with Jackson producing 38 points, it wasn’t enough, as UTSA fell to 2-5 in its last seven games.

Michael Forrest drained six shots from beyond the arc and finished with 21 for the Owls.

Records

UTSA 6-9, 12-16
Florida Atlantic 8-8, 16-13

Coming up

UAB at UTSA, Sunday, 2 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners close out the regular season with three games, starting with a rematch against the UAB Blazers Sunday at the Convocation Center.

UAB won at the Convo on Jan. 30, beating UTSA 76-68.

In the last few days of the regular season, UTSA travels to meet Old Dominion on March 4. UTSA finishes its regular-season on March 7 at home against Marshall.

At stake down the stretch is improved seeding in the C-USA tournament. Currently, the Roadrunners are 10th.

The C-USA tourney is set for March 11-14 in Frisco, with the winner earning an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

Quotable

“We really got off to a bad, bad start there on both ends of the floor. They were making shots and we weren’t. I thought we were getting some good looks there early. (But) they built the lead and got real, real comfortable.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson, in an interview on the team’s radio broadcast.

UTSA to open bonus play on Feb. 27 at Florida Atlantic

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Keaton Wallace. Western Kentucky beat UTSA 77-73 in overtime in Conference USA on Saturday at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Junior guard Keaton Wallace averages 19 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Roadrunners.

The UTSA Roadrunners will close out their regular-season schedule in bonus play with a four-game set against the FAU Owls, the UAB Blazers, the Old Dominion Monarchs and the Marshall Thundering Herd, the Conference USA office announced Sunday.

UTSA schedule

Thursday, Feb. 27 — UTSA at FAU, 6 p.m.

Comment: An extremely difficult bonus-play opener for the Roadrunners. The Owls had home-court advantage on Jan. 2 in the C-USA opener for both teams, and they used it to run up a big early lead that the Roadrunners couldn’t overcome. FAU won 79-64.

Sunday, March 1 — UAB at UTSA, 2 p.m.

Comment: Another tough game. The Blazers beat the Roadrunners 74-68 in San Antonio on Jan. 31. In doing so, they won the rebounding battle, 46-24. The Blazers also dominated 38-22 in points in the paint and 15-2 in second-chance points.

Wednesday, March 4 — UTSA at Old Dominion, 6 p.m.

Comment: In one of their better efforts this season, the Roadrunners beat the Monarchs 85-81 in overtime at Norfolk on Feb. 6 behind Jhivvan Jackson’s season-high 45 points. The Roadrunners will need to do a better job in the rematch on Malik Curry, who scored 30, and A.J. Oliver, who added 20.

Saturday, March 7 — Marshall at UTSA, 3 p.m.

Comment: Didn’t we just see these guys? Yes. The Roadrunners won at home, beating the Thundering Herd 72-63 four days ago. Both teams shot poorly, with the Roadrunners at 30 percent and the Herd at 33 percent. UTSA won the game at the free-throw line, with the Roadrunners 21 of 26 against the Herd’s 11 of 19.

Tournament time

The C-USA tournament will be played March 11-14 in Frisco, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

To earn the automatic bid for the program’s first NCAA appearance since 2011, the Roadrunners will need to win four games in four days.

W. Kentucky wins in OT; UTSA’s Jackson breaks school records

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Jhivvan Jackson. Western Kentucky beat UTSA 77-73 in overtime in Conference USA on Saturday at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson set school records for career and single-season scoring during Western Kentucky’s 77-73 overtime victory at UTSA. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson on Saturday established school records for career and single-season scoring, but he had a hard time celebrating any of it after the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers carved out a 77-73 victory in overtime.

An announced crowd of 1,576 at the Convocation Center watched as the 6-foot junior from Puerto Rico surpassed the records of UTSA legends Devin Brown (for career scoring) and Derrick Gervin (for single-season points).

Both Brown and Gervin went on to play in the NBA.

Jackson secured the single-season record late in regulation and established the career record during overtime.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough for the slumping Roadrunners, who lost to one of Conference USA’s powers, falling to 4-6 in their last 10 games.

By scoring 27 for the game, Jackson pushed his totals to 1,924 points for his career and 727 on the season.

“We still took the loss,” Jackson said. “To me, I mean, I don’t really play for records. I mean, it’s an honor. But we still took the ‘L.’ We just got to come in and get better on Monday and get better and get ready for pod play. Got to get better.”

Jhivvan’s day

Hounded by Taveion Hollingsworth and others for Western Kentucky, Jackson finished with 8 of 24 shooting.

He was off the mark on a long three and on a driving two in the final minute of regulation, either of which could have tipped the game into the Roadrunners’ favor.

In overtime, Jared Savage had five of his team-high 24 points as the Hilltoppers won the extra period, 13-9.

Jackson misfired on five of his six shots in OT, perhaps one reason why he was practicing his jumper in the gym long after most of his teammates were either still dressing or had left the building.

It’s the type of diligence that pushed him to become the No. 2 scorer in NCAA Division I this season and the leader in Conference USA each of the past two.

“I’m just going to remember how hard I worked,” Jackson said. “You know, I mean, that record is all about my work ethic. I take great pride in working out and getting better every day.

“That’s really what I just do. I mean, I just try to work hard every day and once I step on the floor in the game, I just translate it. It’s been working out for the past few years.

“I’m going to keep doing it, and hopefully we can get in the (C-USA)Tournament and make a run, because we all excited about it, and I know we will.”

Records

UTSA 12-15, 6-8
Western Kentucky 18-8, 11-3

First-half highlights

A story-line emerged in the opening half with the Roadrunners not shooting a free throw, while the Hilltoppers sank 11 of 15. Late in the half, the visitors kept pressing the action and exploded on a 14-4 run to take a 12-point lead. Keaton Wallace hit a three and Adrian Rodriguez a layup to bring the Roadrunners to within 41-34 at the break. Wallace kept UTSA in it with 16 points.

Second-half highlights

The Roadrunners played well enough to win the game for most of the second half but couldn’t make the key plays late. Early after intermission, the Hilltoppers were up by eight. But Jackson started to hit and UTSA rallied. The Roadrunners led by two three times down the stretch, the last time at 1:48 when Jackson drained a jumper. But in the final minute, Hollingsworth drove for a bucket to tie. Both teams misfired in the final 15 seconds.

Jacob Germany. Western Kentucky beat UTSA 77-73 in overtime in Conference USA on Saturday at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman Jacob Germany had his first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. – photo by Joe Alexander

Overtime

UTSA played poorly on the offensive end and, in spite of it, had a chance to win in the final minute. Wallace’s three pulled the Roadrunners to within two points with 48 seconds left. On Western Kentucky’s next possession, UTSA center Jacob Germany went for a steal and fouled, sending Hollingsworth to hit two for a four-point lead with 30 seconds left. That was, essentially, the ball game.

Coming up

Conference USA teams will begin bonus, or “pod” play next week. Teams in first through fifth place positions will compete in one pod. Teams from No. 6 through 10 (including UTSA) are in a second group. In addition, teams 11-14 are in a third. All teams play four games.

Former San Antonio Spurs guard Avery Johnson covering Saturday's UTSA vs. Western Kentucky Game for CBS Sports Network. - photo by Joe Alexander

Former San Antonio Spurs guard Avery Johnson calling the game for CBS Sports Network. – photo by Joe Alexander

Teams in the first pod are playing for top-four seeding and a first-round bye in the C-USA tournament. Meaning, the top four teams after pod play will only need to win three games to win the tournament for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Teams in the second and third groups can’t get the bye, meaning that if the Roadrunners have any hope of playing in the NCAAs, they’ll have to do it the hard way.

They’ll need to step up their level of play in their last four games, create some momentum and then hope to win four games in four days at the tournament from March 11-14 at Frisco.

UTSA vs. Western Kentucky photo gallery

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Jhivvan Jackson set the UTSA single-season scoring record with this free throw with 5:10 left in Saturday's game against Western Kentucky at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson set the UTSA single-season scoring record with this free throw with 5:10 left in regulation in Saturday’s game against Western Kentucky at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Western Kentucky beat UTSA 77-73 in overtime in Conference USA on Saturday at the UTSA Convocation Center.

During the game, UTSA junior guard Jhivvan Jackson broke the school records for single-season scoring and career scoring.

Jackson led UTSA with 27 points and Keaton Wallace had 25. Jacob Germany had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

UTSA locks down defensively, defeating Marshall, 72-63

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Jhivvan Jackson shot 10-of-28 from the field, 1-of-8 on 3-pointers and 4-of-8 on free throws on Thursday against Marshall. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson shot 10-of-28 from the field against the Marshall Thundering Herd. – photo by Joe Alexander

The UTSA Roadrunners strapped a strong defensive and rebounding effort on the Marshall Thundering Herd in forging a 72-63 victory in Conference USA basketball Thursday night at the Convocation Center.

Jhivvan Jackson produced a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Roadrunners.

Derrick Gervin watches a UTSA men's basketball game at the UTSA Convocation Center on Feb. 13, 2020. Gervin holds the UTSA men's basketball single-season scoring record (718 points in 1984-85). He is the second player in program history to have his jersey retired. - photo by Joe Alexander

Former UTSA great Derrick Gervin, watching from the bleachers, holds the school’s single-season scoring record with 718 points set in the 1984-85 season. Jhivvan Jackson trails Gervin by 18 leading into Saturday’s home game against Western Kentucky. – photo by Joe Alexander

“We were working pretty hard defensively,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “Had a few good stretches in the first half defensively. Had an eight or nine-point lead late in the half and then just had a horrible stretch. Second half we came out and I think we had 10 straight stops at one point.

“They had 17 points in a 13-minute stretch. We took away their transition and easy buckets. We were working pretty hard defensively.”

UTSA tied a school record with 67 boards, dominating the visitors 67-44. Atem Bio pulled down 10 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, and Byron Frohnen had nine.

On the defensive end of an ugly game, UTSA held Marshall to 33 percent shooting, including 21.9 percent in the second half.

The Roadrunners struggled shooting the ball, as well. They connected on 30 percent from the floor and 11.5 percent from long distance.

UTSA hit only 3 of 26 on three-point shots.

The Roadrunners essentially won the game at the free-throw line, making 21 of 26, including 15 of 18 in the second half.

Records

UTSA 12-14, 6-7
Marshall 12-14, 6-7

First half

The Thundering Herd surged late in the half to build a 38-34 lead on the Roadrunners at intermission. Taevion Kinsey scored 17 of his game-high 27 points in the first 20 minutes.

Notable

UTSA guard Knox Hellums sat out with a fracture in the tip of his right thumb. Hellums suffered the injury in a road loss at Charlotte last Saturday.

By scoring 25 points, Jackson pulled to within striking distance of two school records.

He has scored 700 points for the year and is 18 shy of Derrick Gervin’s single-season record of 718, set in 1984-85. He also has 1,897 points for his career, 25 shy of Devin Brown’s 1,922 established from 1998-2002.

UTSA vs. Marshall photo gallery

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UTSA's Jhivvan Jackson gets smacked in the face by Marshall's Iran Bennett while putting up a shot. Jackson had 25 points and 10 rebounds in UTSA's 72-63 Conference USA victory over Marshall on Thursday at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Jhivvan Jackson gets smacked in the face by Marshall’s Iran Bennett while putting up a shot in UTSA’s victory over Marshall.

Jhivvan Jackson had 25 points and 10 rebounds as UTSA beat Marshall 72-63 in Conference USA on Thursday at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Shepherd scores 26 as Charlotte rolls past UTSA, 91-84

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Jordan Shepherd scored 26 points to lead four players in double figures in a 91-84 victory Saturday over the UTSA Roadrunners.

Charlotte held UTSA to 8 of 31 shooting on three-pointers, with UTSA scoring star Jhivvan Jackson limited to 1 for 11.

At one point late in the game, the Roadrunners were 4 for 23 from deep.

Guard Keaton Wallace hit three 3-pointers in the last two minutes en route to a team-high 27 points.

Jackson, the nation’s second-leading scorer, had 25 points and eight rebounds as the Roadrunners split two games on a Conference USA road trip.

Records

Charlotte 14-9, 8-4
UTSA 11-14, 5-7

Notable

UTSA had won its last two C-USA road games, including an 85-81 overtime victory at Old Dominion on Thursday night. But Charlotte had too many hot hands. Besides Shepherd, Malik Martin (19 points), Jahmir Young (16) and Drew Edwards (13) riddled the Roadrunners’ defense.

Quotable

“You know, we really wanted to come in here and sort of back up what we did at ODU the other night. But we couldn’t get it done.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson told KTKR radio.

Jackson scores 45 as UTSA wins 85-81 in OT at Old Dominion

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Record-setting Jhivvan Jackson scored nine of his season-high 45 points in overtime Thursday night, leading the UTSA Roadrunners to an 85-81 road victory at Old Dominion.

Jhivvan Jackson. UTSA beat Illinois State 89-70 on Saturday at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson set Chartway Arena and Old Dominion opponent records with 45 points Thursday night. — File photo by Joe Alexander

With the performance, Jackson set both the Chartway Arena and Old Dominion opponent scoring records. His point total fell one shy of his career-high 46, established last year on the road at Western Kentucky.

Keaton Wallace scored 21 points and freshman Jacob Germany pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds for the Roadrunners, who snapped a two-game losing streak with their second straight win on the road in Conference USA play.

UTSA played its best half of the season on the road in the first half, building a 44-27 lead behind Jackson’s 28 points.

For the game, Jackson hit 17 of 33 shots from the field and 8 of 18 from three-point territory.

Included in his repertoire for the night were floaters, including one off of a dribble drive in which he split defenders and got into the lane, and another when he went baseline and hoisted a high-arcing shot over a defender.

Plus, he splashed more than a few 3-pointers that were good from 25 feet and beyond.

Malik Curry led the Monarchs with 30 points on 10 of 21 shooting. He scored 16 in the second half when Old Dominion roared from behind to force overtime. AJ Oliver also nailed three 3-pointers to aid the second-half surge.

UTSA led by as many as 20 points late in the first half.

Records

UTSA 11-13, 5-6
Old Dominion 9-15, 5-6

Notable

As Jackson lit it up early, another major development emerged as UTSA held Old Dominion to 31 percent shooting from the field in the first half.

Quotable

“It was a great win,” Jackson told Andy Everett on KTKR Radio. “In the first half, our defense was just phenomenal … We got, like, nine stops in a row. That’s why we played so great in the first half.”

By the numbers

Jackson scored in the 40s for the second time this season, following a 41-point performance on Dec. 21 at home against Illinois State. He has also produced eight games in the 30s and 11 in the 20s …

The 6-foot junior from Puerto Rico tied his career high with eight 3-point baskets. He was 8 of 18 for the game, including 6 of 10 in the first half. He followed in the overtime period by hitting 2 of 3 …

With the scoring outburst, Jackson increased his scoring average to 27.1. Marquette’s Markus Howard leads NCAA Division I with 27.9 per game, followed by Jackson.

Quotable

“He really did have it going,” UTSA head coach Steve Henson said. “To get 45, without getting the free throw line a lot, sometimes in those big scoring games, guys are shooting eight, 10, 12 free throws, he just kept after it. His floaters and mid-range were terrific. He hit some deep shots early. He just really had it going.”

More numbers

Germany was up to the task of a battle against Old Dominion forward Aaron Carver, the leading rebounder in the conference. Carver pulled down 20 boards but Germany grabbed 15, including six on the offensive end.

Out-rebounded badly in two home losses last week, the Roadrunners won the boards, 46-45…

Quotable

“He had a great game. He had 10 at the half,” Jackson said of Germany, who started for the second straight night. “Our coaches told the bigs it was all about the rebounding game. They did a heck of a job.”