Tag Archives: UTSA Roadrunners

Hype is building for North Texas-UTSA showdown

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When UTSA basketball players ran through drills in practice on Friday afternoon, they’d look up to see a television camera in their face.

It was at least the second time this week that a local TV station dispatched a crew to cover a workout.

Not a game, mind you. A practice. And not in March, either. In the second week of January.

Roadrunners coach Steve Henson said he welcomes the attention.

“Hey that’s important for our program,” he said.

It’s not surprising that the Roadrunners are starting to attract notice.

After all, first place in Conference USA is on the line Saturday at 3 p.m. when the surging North Texas Mean Green pay a visit to the UTSA Convocation Center.

North Texas is 16-1 and is riding an eight-game winning streak. Perhaps more compelling, UTSA is 9-7 with six victories in a row, after starting the season at 0-5.

“It’s no secret we didn’t start the season real well,” Henson said. “Our schedule was tough early. We weren’t playing great. But now we are. Nine (wins) out of 11 (games). Six in a row. We hope there’s some buzz around the program.”

Having North Texas in the house on a Saturday afternoon certainly helps.

Games between the two squads are usually pretty intriguing, anyway, but this year it’s different.

This year, North Texas is 4-0 and sitting atop the C-USA standings, while UTSA trails in second at 3-0.

UTSA guard Keaton Wallace said it would mean a lot on a number of levels to win and take over first place.

First, if the Roadrunners can win, they would tie a 30-year-old school record and would become only the second team in school history to open conference play at 4-0.

“That,” Wallace said, “would be big time.”

In addition, it would also feel good for players to beat an in-state rival that has won four in a row in the head-to-head series against the Roadrunners.

Last year, the Mean Green erased a 13-point deficit and beat the Roadrunners 72-71 at the Convocation Center.

Later, North Texas routed UTSA 80-62 at Denton, in the first game after Roadrunners guard Jhivvan Jackson was knocked out for the season with a knee injury.

The game in San Antonio stands out as the most emotional of the two.

At the end, with UTSA trailing by the eventual final score, UTSA’s Giovanni De Nicolao raced the length of the court on the dribble, stretched out for a layup in traffic and saw it skip off the rim.

“We know they got us last year,” Wallace said. “We expect them to come out hard and ready to play. We got to protect home court.”

Notable

Nick Allen hit career highs in both points (20) and three-pointers (four) against Rice Thursday night. De Nicolao’s 19 points were a season high. The Roadrunners hammered the Owls, 95-79, establishing team season highs in points, field goal percentage (49.3) and three-pointers made (12) against Division I competition.

North Texas survived a challenge from UTEP Thursday night in El Paso, winning 58-51. Redshirt freshman guard Umoja Gibson played well off the bench with 13 points and seven rebounds. Roosevelt Smart scored 13, Michael Miller had 11 and 6-foot-10 Zachary Simmons contributed 10 points and four rebounds.

Mama Mia! UTSA routs Rice, 95-79, for sixth straight victory

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Junior guard Giovanni De Nicolao had 19 points and 7 assists in UTSA's 95-79 Conference USA victory over Rice on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019, at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Junior guard Giovanni De Nicolao broke out of a shooting slump by scoring a season-high 19 points, to go along with 7 assists, in a 16-point victory against Rice. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The UTSA Roadrunners cranked up a high-energy offense Thursday night, rolling past the Rice Owls, 95-79, for their sixth straight win.

UTSA’s winning streak is the team’s longest in three years under Coach Steve Henson and the longest overall since 2010-11, when the program last qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

In addition, the Roadrunners improved to 3-0 in conference for the first time since 1990-91, when they won the Trans America Athletic Conference regular-season crown.

Only one team in school history started 4-0, and it happened 30 years ago in 1988-89, also in the TAAC.

UTSA will try to match that start on Saturday night when it hosts the North Texas Mean Green in a game between in-state rivals, both undefeated in Conference USA.

North Texas improved to 16-1 and 4-0 in C-USA after winning 58-51 on the road at UTEP.

Against the Owls, Jhivvan Jackson led the Roadrunners with 24 points, and Nick Allen had 20. Giovanni De Nicolao produced 19, while Keaton Wallace had 16.

Allen and De Nicolao hit individual season highs in scoring on a night when the Roadrunners also notched the most points in a game this year against a Division I program.

Rice men's basketball coach Scott Perra. - photo by Joe Alexander

Rice coach Scott Pera. – Photo by Joe Alexander

In the locker room afterward, Henson congratulated the players on reaching a goal of making fewer than 10 turnovers — they had eight.

But perhaps the story of the night indiviually was De Nicolao, a junior guard from Italy, who entered the game shooting 31 percent from the field and 10.9 percent (3 of 29) on three pointers.

“Finally,” De Nicolao said. “Lately I haven’t been shooting well. My three (point) percent is awful. Finally I got some shots (to go in).”

De Nicolao hit 7 of 13 from the field and 3 of 6 from long distance. On one of his threes in the second half, UTSA fans were chanting, “Mama Mia,” in a salute to his Italian heritage.

He also saw some fans giving him an Italian hand gesture, with the thumb pressed against fingers, which De Nicolao also enjoyed.

“I mean, everybody thinks it’s something in Italian,” he said, making the gesture for emphasis during his post-game interview with reporters. “This means, like, ‘What are you doing?’ in Italian. Like when you drive, and somebody cuts you off, it’s like, ‘What are you doing?’

“It doesn’t really mean anything. But everyone in America thinks it’s something. I don’t know. It’s fun. I like it.”

Records

UTSA 9-7, 3-0
Rice 7-10, 2-2


Giovanni De Nicolao and Keaton Wallace nail three-point baskets on consecutive possessions late in the first half.

First half

The Roadrunners unleashed a fast-paced offense and multiple shooters en route to a 46-37 lead at the intermission.

It was UTSA’s highest-scoring half since Dec. 17 when they hit for 56 against NAIA Bethany, Kansas.

De Nicolao had perhaps his best offensive half of the season with 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting, including 2-for-2 on three-pointers.

Allen also touched the ball frequently and scored 10, hitting 4 of 8 shots. Wallace added 10 and Jackson eight.

Rice leaders

Quentin Millora-Brown, 14 points, on 7 of 9 shooting, 9 rebounds. Chrs Mullins, 14 points. Ako Adams, 10. Trey Murphy III, 10.

Rice entered the game with some momentum, having won back-to-back games at home against Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech.

Notable

The record for the longest winning streak in school history? It’s 13 games, which was established in 1983-84, in the third year of the program.

Quotable

Asked whether UTSA could score 95 every night, Henson said, “Well, there were some reasons for it that I was excited about. The 95 points didn’t really mean anything. But the limited turnovers — we had been talking about that for weeks and weeks … We got a team that plays fast and aggressively, but that doesn’t mean we’ve got to turn the ball over. So, finally, tonight was the night (with eight, and 22 assists).”


UTSA sophomore Jhivvan Jackson, who entered the night as the second-leading scorer in C-USA, hits a jumper late in the second half over Rice big man Jack Williams. Jackson sank 9 of 23 from the field, 3 of 10 from three and 3 of 3 on free throws.

Forward Nick Allen steps up on offense for streaking UTSA

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Nick Allen. UTSA beat Southeastern Oklahoma State 70-67 on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018, at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Nick Allen has averaged 11.2 points on 55 percent shooting in UTSA’s last five games.

Winners of five games in a row, the UTSA Roadrunners continue to tweak their offensive execution in hopes of getting more players involved, and senior forward Nick Allen has stepped up to answer the call.

Allen has averaged 11.2 points on 55 percent shooting during the streak, leading into tonight’s Conference USA home test against the Rice Owls.

Highlighting UTSA’s longest streak in seven years, Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace have led the way, playing at a high level almost every night.

But Allen, a senior from Arizona, has emerged as a third-option threat by knocking down 23 shots in 42 attempts combined against Bethany, Kansas; Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Southeastern Oklahoma State and UTEP (twice).

It’s been a major change in the offense from earlier in the season when, at times, the Roadrunners seemed to rely too much on their two standouts.

“That goes back to our attention to detail, executing on the offensive side,” Allen said. “It’s not just, ‘Hey, this is what we’re looking for.’ You know, it’s like, ‘You got to run the plays correctly.’ And if you run them correctly, there’s a lot of options to score.”

Coming off two victories over the Miners to open conference play, UTSA continued work earlier this week on the offensive nitty gritty to prepare for home games tonight against Rice and Saturday against the North Texas Mean Green.

“We keep talking about getting sharper and getting better shots and limiting turnovers,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “Coming off two games in conference where we had 10 one night and 12 the next, it’s closer. Single digits would be fantastic.

“We got to all be on the same page what a good possession looks like.

“With scorers like Jhivvan and Keaton, there (are) going to be a lot of quick shots. But we also need good possessions where we get the ball side to side, get paint touches. We needed to spend a lot of time on that (this week).”

In other words, the Roadrunners are trying to expand their repertoire of threats.

For UTSA to win consistently, the team surely will need more offense from Allen, Byron Frohnen, Giovanni De Nicolao — who all start — and also from bench players like Adokiye Iyaye and Atem Bior.

In Allen’s opinion, the Roadrunners at times this season have seemed “funneled in on one” option at times. Now, he said, it seems as if the offensive sets are producing much more variety.

“We kind of let the offense breathe a little bit,” Allen said. “It’s opening up a lot of stuff for a lot of people. It’s good. I think that’s where it’s coming from.”

Notable

Allen’s increased production on offense may be related to simple physics. The 6-8 forward said he has trimmed down to 227 pounds — about eight pounds under his opening-day weight.

“I started off the season right around 235 and shaved a couple of pounds off,” Allen said. “I feel a little bit better. It’s weird, you know, I didn’t think I would notice it as much.

“But after shaving a little weight, I feel a little bit more mobile. I can move a little bit better now.”

Surprising Rice Owls to test UTSA at the Convocation Center

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The Rice Owls might be the surprise team of Conference USA through the first week of league play.

Coming off a 7-24 season a year ago, the Owls have posted a 7-9 record with a 2-1 mark in C-USA leading into Thursday night’s road test at UTSA.

Rice, starting three freshmen, played beyond expectations last week in home victories over Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech.

“Those are good wins for them,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “And they played very well in the (conference opener) against North Texas, who is playing as well as anybody in our league, so I think they’re feeling great about what they’re doing.”

Coach Steve Henson (left) and assistant Mike Peck confer during a timeout last week against UTEP. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA beat Rice twice in 2017-18, but Henson said he sees more talent on the Owls this year.

“They’ve got a bunch of new guys and a few returners,” Henson said, “and the returners are playing much better. So they’re mixing it nice. They’ve got enough pieces. They’ve got good shooters, enough size and enough quickness to be a good team every night.

“Certainly (they) probably surprised some people, but when you look at them on film, they’re pretty legit.”

Freshman guard Chris Mullins, from Mansfield Timberview, averages 12.9 points to lead four Rice players in double figures.

Other key players for second-year coach Scott Pera include junior guard Ako Adams, senior forward Jack Williams and junior forward Robert Martin, who comes off the bench.

Rice closed out the game against Louisiana Tech on Saturday in Houston with a 17-4 run in the final 4:26, securing a 78-66 victory.

Louisiana Tech came into the game at 11-4.

“One of the things that was a defining thing in this game was consistency, especially defensively,” Pera said after the game. “I’m just really proud of our kids how they dug in, again, in the second half.”

Records

Rice 7-9, 2-1
UTSA 8-7, 2-0

Notable

The Roadrunners are on a five-game winning streak, their longest since 2011-12. A victory against Rice would equal the 2010-11 team’s six straight victories. UTSA is looking for its first 3-0 start in conference since 1990-91. UTSA beat UTEP twice last week, including 75-60 in San Antonio and 67-63 in El Paso.

UTSA wins its fifth straight, knocks off UTEP, 67-63

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For the UTSA Roadrunners, an 0-5 start to the season is a thing of the past.

The Roadrunners won their fifth straight game and their second straight over UTEP in three days, downing the Miners 67-63 Saturday night in El Paso.

Guard Jhivvan Jackson has returned from inury to average 20.5 points per game this season. – Photo by Joe Alexander, Jan. 3 at UTSA.

Guard Jhivvan Jackson produced 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the Roadrunners, who rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 17 minutes.

“We went to that zone (defense) that we had in our back pocket,” Jackson told the team’s radio broadcast. “We worked on it. We just kept moving around and made ’em uncomfortable, and they weren’t making shots, and we just executed on offense.”

UTSA improved to 2-0 in Conference USA competition and to 8-2 in its last 10 since opening the season with the five straight losses.

Jackson sat out the first three games of the year as he completed rehabilitation from a knee injury.

The sophomore from Puerto Rico has returned to average 20.5 points in 12 outings. He’s scored 20 or more in nine of his last 10 games.

Records

UTSA 8-7, 2-0
UTEP 5-8, 0-2

Notable

Keaton Wallace came alive in the second half with 11 of his 16 points. Wallace burned UTEP for 23 in a 75-60 victory Thursday night in San Antonio. Nick Allen, meanwhile, continued to play well with 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting. Byron Frohnen pulled down 13 rebounds.

Quotable

“It was a good win, to go on the road and find a way.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson.

Wallace scores 23 as UTSA beats UTEP, 75-60, in C-USA opener

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UTSA guard Keaton Wallace produced 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks against the UTEP Miners. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Keaton Wallace showed up with his “A” game on Thursday night, which did not come as a surprise to anyone in the Convocation Center.

The Roadrunners were playing the rival UTEP Miners, and it was the Conference USA opener, so it figured that the standout sophomore from Dallas would arrive ready to make an impact.

He did, producing 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in a 75-60 victory.

But in a little bit of a twist to recent history, all eight regulars in the playing rotation made at least one field goal.

Not counting four players who played the final minute of the game, all eight in the rotation scored and four hit double figures, which was meaningful to Roadrunners coach Steve Henson.

“It’s good,” coach Steve Henson said. “We spent a lot of time working on some things this week, making sure Byron (Frohnen) is touching the ball. You know, he started out great. He gave us a good lift in the second half, as well.”

Byron Frohnen scored six points in UTSA’s 13-0 burst to start the game. – Photo by Joe Alexander.

Frohnen went scoreless for the first time this season last Saturday against Southeastern Oklahoma, which likely was the reason for the adjustment in practice. He responded with 10 points and five rebounds against the Miners.

“He’s just such a mismatch guy,” Henson said. “He just gives us such a different look. You know, they tried cross-matching some things, putting their five man on him. We set some real low, tight ball screens.

“It allowed him to get in the paint and shoot little floaters. He generally doesn’t force things. He’ll kick it out. So, to get him involved and have everyone else (hit a field goal), yeah, it’s fantastic.

“You can’t be a two-man show (with Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson). We know that.”

In a scheduling quirk, the two teams will play again Saturday night in El Paso. UTSA has won four straight and seven out of nine leading into the rematch.

In the recent nine-game stretch, the Roadrunners have played at a high level defensively, holding the opposition to 42 percent shooting or lower in each outing. The Miners were limited to 34 percent.

Playing under first-year coach Rodney Terry, the Miners flashed at times with some talented players.

But the Roadrunners’ defense seemed to take them out of what they wanted to do, and on top of that, the visitors also missed several easy baskets.

Records

UTEP 5-7, 0-1
UTSA 7-7, 1-0

Notable

The Roadrunners have won four straight in the series against the Miners.

Individuals

UTSA — Keaton Wallace, 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks. Jhivvan Jackson, 13 points, three 3 pointers. Nick Allen, 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Byron Frohnen, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists. Atem Bior, 8 points, 12 rebounds.

UTEP — Nigel Hawkins, 21 points. Efe Odigie, 19 points, 16 rebounds. Evan Gilyard, 14 points, 3 rebounds. Kobe Magee, 5 points, 2 assists.


Jhivvan Jackson has his shot blocked in the paint, but UTSA regains possession and gets the ball to Keaton Wallace, who buries a three.

First half

Playing lock-down defense from the outset, UTSA bolted to a 13-0 lead and then held on for a 33-24 advantage against UTEP heading into intermission.

The Roadrunners held the Miners to 30.4 percent shooting in the first half on 7 of 23 shooting from the field.

On offense, UTSA started fast, hitting 6 of its first 8 shots. Frohnen had three of them to get the offense rolling.

Second half

The Roadrunners got rolling early in the second half with an 8-0 run, highlighted by two three-pointers from Jhivvan Jackson.

UTSA increased the lead to 19 twice (47-28 and 49-30) and never allowed UTEP to come within 12 points in the last 15 minutes.


Roadrunners forward Adrian Rodriguez maneuvers to sink a baby hook shot for the final points of the half.

A rivalry game

Wallace said it’s always fun to play the Miners.

“This is our rival game,” he said. “We knew a lot of people were going to come out and watch. So we were locked in and focused.”

Wallace said the team had a different mindset compared to its previous outing, a lackluster 70-67 victory Saturday against Division II Southeastern Oklahoma.

“It’s conference play, so we got to play our best basketball” he said. “We practiced great the last three days. We came out, and it showed.”

Wallace continues to blossom

Wallace has notched one 35-point game this season along with six more with 20 points or better.

Henson said it’s almost like the player’s consistency leads to frustration, in that the coaches always expect the best from him.

“When he gets open shots, I think he’s going to make every single one of them,’ the coach said. “For a young guy, he’s got a very mature approach to his game, the way he handles his business.

“He works hard. He’s here early. He watches a lot of film. He prepares the right way.

“His athleticism is becoming very noticeable. We talked about him gaining 20 more pounds. But, man he’s up around the rim more. He’s going to the offensive glass and getting results. He’s blocking shots.

“He’s doing great things.”

Attendance

UTSA announced a crowd of 1,218.

UTSA rallies to turn back Southeastern Oklahoma, 70-67

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Sophomore Jhivvan Jackson takes it to the basket against Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Puerto Rico native sparked UTSA to its third win in a row. — Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson poured in a career-high 32 points Saturday afternoon, but, surprisingly, the Roadrunners needed almost every one of them to avoid a second loss this season to a Division II program.

In the end, UTSA rallied in the final minutes to post a 70-67 victory over the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm.

It was the third win in a row for the Roadrunners, who are 6-2 in their last eight games.

“We all know that in the first half, basically in the whole game, we got whooped,” Jackson said. “They came out and played great on us. I mean, we prepared really great in practice. But it just didn’t translate in the game.”

Jackson finished with career bests in points and also rebounds, with 10, as UTSA played the last game before the Conference USA phase of the schedule commences next week.

The Roadrunners will host the UTEP Miners on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Records

UTSA 6-7
Southeastern Oklahoma 7-2


Forward Nick Allen forces an air ball by Southeastern Oklahoma’s Kellen Manek at the buzzer, allowing UTSA to escape with a three-point victory.

The visitors from Durant, Oklahoma, had the Roadrunners on their heels for much of the night, and they led by nine points with 6:42 remaining.

With 2:41 left, the Savage Storm held a 62-57 edge and was on the verge of joining Austin-based St. Edward’s University as Division II teams to win at the UTSA Convocation Center this year.

But in crunch time, the Roadrunners started to click, with Jackson and Keaton Wallace sparking an 11-2 run to take charge in a game they couldn’t afford to lose.

Trailing by the eventual final score, SOSU had the ball on the side with five seconds left, but UTSA stepped up to make a key defensive play, forcing an air ball.

Replay showed that the Storm tried to throw it down to the corner, but Wallace had that angle covered, prompting a pass to Kellen Manek on the left-wing arc.

That’s where UTSA forward Nick Allen showed up to force the miss. Jackson secured the rebound with one hand to end the game.


Guard DJ Henderson curves around around a screen early in the second half to knock down an easy three-point shot for the Savage Storm.

SOSU hit five 3-pointers in the first half and cruised to a 35-34 lead at intermission. For the game, the Savage Storm knocked down nine treys, including three by guard Jett Jobe and two by Manek.

As it turned out, UTSA made just enough plays to win, holding the visitors to 40.6 percent shooting from the field.

Notable

UTSA showed up on Saturday night rated 177th out of 353 Division I programs in the nation on Ken Pomeroy’s computer. The Roadrunners are 3-6 against teams in Division I and 3-1 against sub-D-I.

Three of their D-I losses have come against teams rated in Pomeroy’s top 70, including Oklahoma (26), Arkansas (58) and South Dakota State (69).

With the win over SOSU, the Roadrunners improved to 2-7 after trailing at the half this season. In two plus seasons under Coach Steve Henson, they are 8-33 in those situations.

Winning with defense

During the 6-2 streak, UTSA hasn’t allowed an opponent to shoot better than 42.4 percent. Here’s the breakdown:

Southeastern Oklahoma State, 40.6 percent, W 70-67
@Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 28.8, W, 64-50
Bethany, Kansas, 42.4, W, 101-77
@Arkansas, 41.8, L, 67-79
Mid-America Christian, 40.3, W, 104-74
Texas State, 40.6, L, 68-69
Houston Baptist, 41.8, W, 86-82
@Florida Gulf Coast, 39.3, W, 76-65

C-USA openers

North Texas won on the road at Rice Saturday afternoon, claiming a 103-87 victory, in the C-USA opener for both teams. Also, Louisiana Tech won at home, downing Southern Miss, 71-56.

UTSA forward Nick Allen looks to score on Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Kevin Buckingham. Allen finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA rolls past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 64-50

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Sophomore guard Jhivvan Jackson notched his seventh straight game of 20 points or more on Thursday night, scoring 22, as UTSA registered a 64-50 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Jhivvan Jackson. UTSA overpowered Bethany 101-77 on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson

In the game played at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, the Roadrunners held the Islanders to 29 percent shooting from the field.

Jackson hit four 3-point buckets and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Roadrunners, who have won two in a row and five of their last seven.

Kareem South led the Islanders with 23 points.

Records

UTSA 5-7
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5-6

Notable

In his seven-game streak, Jackson has scored 21 against both Florida Gulf Coast and Houston Baptist, 22 against Texas State, 28 (Mid-America Christian), 20 (Arkansas), 23 (Bethany) and 22 (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi). He started the season on the bench, sitting out the first three games to complete rehabilitation from knee surgery.

Quotable

“I’m feeling great. I’m getting, basically, my conditioning back. My knee is good. It’s not bothering me or anything, and I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season.” — UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson said on the team’s radio broadcast.

UTSA rolls past Bethany, 101-77

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UTSA's Nick Allen played with a sore foot but recorded 12 points and 8 rebounds in 18 minutes in the Roadrunners' 101-77 victory over Bethany on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Nick Allen played with a sore foot but recorded 12 points and 8 rebounds in 18 minutes in the Roadrunners’ 101-77 victory over Bethany on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center. – photo by Joe Alexander

The UTSA Roadrunners enjoyed the feeling of a 101-77 victory Monday night over the Bethany College Swedes.

A dozen Roadrunners played and 11 of them scored, as they kicked the lead up to as many as 33 points in the last few minutes at the Convocation Center.

In the aftermath, however, UTSA senior Nick Allen said he recalled a different mood in the dressing room at halftime.

It was a foul mood, in some respects.

Players were mad that they led the NAIA program from Lindsborg, Kansas, by only eight points.

Coach Steve Henson was upset about it, as well, and he let the players know it.

“He was just frustrated because I think he sees what the older guys are seeing,” senior forward Nick Allen said. “Man, we can be so good. Why are we not fulfilling our potential for 40 minutes?’ ”

In response, the Roadrunners clamped down on defense early in the second half to take charge on one end of the floor.

On the other end, they ran their offense well, at one time outscoring the Swedes 16-0 to build a 65-42 lead.

Bethany never got closer than 21 the rest of the way.

Notable

Guards Keaton Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson scored 23 points apiece to lead the Roadrunners. The two were aided by Allen, who produced 12 points and eight rebounds and Adokiye Iyaye, who added 11 points off the bench. Byron Frohnen scored 10.

Quotable

“We felt good about the way we came out and started the second half. We had to get after ’em at haltime a little bit, which we didn’t want to do. We just didn’t quite have enough fight there in the first half.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson

Records

UTSA 4-7
Bethany 7-6

Ties that bind

Bethany is led by head coach Dan O’Dowd, a former UTSA assistant coach. Former UTSA center Edrico McGregor is a Bethany assistant. O’Dowd, who worked under the late Brooks Thompson at UTSA, served as the initial recruiting contact for Allen.

In addition, UTSA coach Steve Henson lived in Lindsborg when he was a toddler.

With his father an athlete and a student-teacher at Bethany, Henson recalled that he once wore a “Swede outfit,” complete with a “fake beard, a helmet and a fake sword.”


Jhivvan Jackson passes to Keaton Wallace, who soars for a first-half alley-oop slam.

San Antonio connections

Bethany point guard Isiah Saenz, from St. Anthony, produced 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Forward Lavaris Duncan, from Judson, had 12 points and 6 rebounds.

UTSA’s Steve Henson shows confidence in Adokiye Iyaye

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Adokiye Iyaye. UTSA beat Mid-American Christian 104-74 on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman Adokiye Iyaye has averaged 6.1 points in 19.1 minutes through nine games.

Two years ago, UTSA coach Steve Henson identified Giovanni De Nicolao and Byron Frohnen as two freshmen he could trust.

As a result, the two have started every game of their college careers thus far.

Last season, Henson unleashed two more freshmen — Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace — and they not only showed maturity beyond their years, but they also led the Roadrunners to a 20-win season.

This year, freshman Adokiye Iyaye has emerged as the latest example of Henson’s ability to find and sign players in high school who can produce immediately in college.

Unlike De Nicolao and Frohnen, Iyaye hasn’t started a game. Also, he hasn’t shown the explosive offensive skills of a Jackson or a Wallace.

Not yet, anyway.

But the 6-3 guard from Oklahoma City has won enough confidence from coaches to remain solidly in the playing rotation leading into a Saturday afternoon test in Little Rock against Arkansas.

Posssessing excellent defensive skills, Iyaye has played in all nine games, averaging 6.1 points in 19.1 minutes.

“We threw him right into the fire,” Henson said. “When Jhivvan was out (injured), certainly there were a lot of minutes available. We threw him in there, and he was pretty comfortable from the start (of the season).

“His IQ is very good. His feel for the game is very, very good.”

As a result, Iyaye has been either the first or second guard off the bench.

His shooting has been spotty — 2 of 22 on 3-pointers — but coaches are sticking with him, perhaps because of what they saw of him in high school.

“We watched him a lot in the summer,” Henson said. “There were AAU games when his team would be dominating … and youā€™d hardly notice Doke. (But) if thereā€™s a close game and they needed a bucket, heā€™d take over.

Steve Henson, UTSA beat Mid-American Christian 104-74 on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Third-year UTSA coach Steve Henson.

“Same thing in high school. He played with another really good guard, and at times he deferred to the other kid. But when the game was on the line, he could step up and make the plays that needed to be made.”

For instance, Iyaye averaged 18 points and led Oklahoma City’s Putnam High School to the Class 6A state title last season.

In the title game, he was clutch, scoring the last six points to clinch the title.

Of course, UTSA’s fans have yet to see anything like that so far this season, with Iyaye shooting 36.5 percent from the field and .091 percent from three.

“Itā€™s a little tougher here (compared to high school),” he said. “But thatā€™s what I like. You just got to get in the gym and shoot all the time. In practice, you (have got to) get yourself really tired and then just shoot the ball, so, it can be like it is in the game.”

Henson recently had a heart-to-heart with Iyaye. Considering his shooting woes, he was encouraged to drive more to the basket, to try to create for himself and others.

Iyaye responded with a 4-for-6 shooting effort and 12 points last week against Mid-America Christian.

“(Coach) really helped me out on that,” Iyaye said. “Like, he came up to me and told me, ‘Your shots are going to fall. Youā€™ll be a great 3-point shooter.

“‘Keep working on the shot. Youā€™ll be fine. But, also attack and make plays.’

“(With) him coming up to me like that, (it) really helped. (It) really helped me feel better.”