UTSA’s Atem Bior goes in for a shot against Texas State.
Texas State beat UTSA 69-68 on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center.
Nijal Pearson
Byron Frohnen
Jhivvan Jackson
Keaton Wallace
Keaton Wallace
Giovanni De Nicolao
Giovanni De Nicolao drives to the bucket against Texas State.
Nick Allen
Former UTSA star Jhivvan Jackson fights for possession against Texas State on Dec. 1, 2018 in San Antonio. The Bobcats won the game 69-68. It was the last win for Texas State against UTSA in the I-35 rivalry. – File photo by Joe Alexander
Before Oklahoma basketball coach Lon Kruger left the UTSA Convocation Center Monday night with his 621st career victory, I knew I had to ask him about a story that I’d heard for years.
Did former UTSA athletic director Rudy Davalos really call him back in the 1980s, inquiring about whether he wanted to coach the Roadrunners?
“I think we had that conversation,” Kruger said.
Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger. — Photo by Joe Alexander
As the story goes, Davalos was worried that he was about to lose Don Eddy, who was interviewing for the head coaching job at Oral Roberts in Oklahoma.
Which prompted Davalos to start looking around to see who might be available to fill the void.
He ended up calling Kruger, who was in his 30s and coaching the Pan American University Broncs in Edinburg.
Pan American is now known as UT Rio Grande Valley.
“I don’t remember the details,” Kruger said. “But as you mention that, it seems like there’s some truth to that. We had a conversation about, ‘What if?’ ”
As it turned out, Eddy did not get the Oral Roberts job.
He returned to UTSA for a fifth season, and Kruger would continue to build his program in the Valley.
By the spring of 1986, Pan American won 20 games, and after the season, Kruger got a much better opportunity.
He took over in the offseason at Kansas State, his alma mater, and ended up reeling in a pretty good recruit by the name of Steve Henson.
As Kruger’s very first recruit in Manhattan, Henson went on to star as a point guard for the Wildcats.
Now in his third year as UTSA’s coach, Henson would also play several years in the NBA.
“Steve was our first recruit,” Kruger said. “He was a fantastic player and a great leader. No surprise that he’s continued that throughout his life.”
Henson later served as an assistant under Kruger at Illinois, with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, at UNLV and at Oklahoma.
Kruger was the first college coach to lead five different programs to the NCAA tournament.
He’s coached two teams to the Final Four, including his 2016 OU team, which was aided at the time by Henson.
“He’a just had an unbelievable work ethic,” Kruger said of the UTSA coach. “He had it as an NBA player and as an assistant coach. Now he’s doing it as a head coach.”
UTSA coach Steve Henson. — Photo by Joe Alexander
Postscript
For the record, Oklahoma beat UTSA 87-67 on Monday night in front of a rowdy crowd of 2,494.
With the victory, Kruger improved to 621-395 in his career. He is 4-3 against UTSA, including 2-3 in his four years at Pan American and now 2-0 at OU.
As for whether he would have come to UTSA if Eddy had left the program, we’ll never know.
“It just didn’t happen,” Kruger said.
Lon Kruger vs. UTSA
Legendary college basketball coach Lon Kruger is 4-3 in his career against UTSA, including 2-3 when he worked at Pan American and 2-0 at Oklahoma.
1983-84
Jan. 28, 1984 – At Edinburg – UTSA def. Pan American, 68-67
Feb. 25, 1984 – At San Antonio – UTSA def. Pan American, 75-68
1984-85
Jan. 19, 1985 – At San Antonio – Pan American def. UTSA, 79-70
Jan. 24, 1985 – At Edinburg – UTSA def. Pan American, 60-59
1985-86
Jan. 25, 1986 – At San Antonio – Pan American def. UTSA, 84-71, OT
The University of Calgary hit a 3-point shot with seven seconds left Monday for a 70-69 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners. It is the first of three exhibitions for the Roadrunners in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Statistics
Guard Keaton Wallace led UTSA with 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Wallace hit 6 of 13 shots from the field.
Guard Adokiye Ayaye scored 12 on five of 10 shooting.
Forward Atem Bior had eight points and 12 rebounds, including 10 on the defensive end.
The Roadrunners struggled from long distance, misfiring on 20 of 23 three-ponters.
The NCAA Men’s Final Four is returning to San Antonio for the fifth time.
Officials on Monday announced that college basketball’s showcase event will be played at the Alamodome in 2025, with San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg calling it, “Great news.”
Nirenberg said in a news release that the decision confirms that San Antonio “is one of the best cities in the nation — if not the best” to host the tournament.
In thanking local organizers, the mayor added, “Once again, all that makes San Antonio special will be showcased across the country and around the world.”
San Antonio previously staged the Final Four in 1998, 2004, 2008 and in April of this year.
Host institutions will be NCAA Division I members UTSA and the University of the Incarnate Word.
And San Antonio gets the 2025 Final Four! Congratulations to the SALOC, city staff and the whole community. #finalfour2025@FinalFour
— Mayor Ron Nirenberg (@Ron_Nirenberg) July 16, 2018
The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee selected Houston for 2023, Phoenix (2024), San Antonio (2025) and Indianapolis (2026).
According to ncaa.com, the announcement capped a year-long process that included site visits to each of seven finalist cities and in-person presentations during the committee’s annual summer meeting, which took place last week in Boston.
The other finalists were Detroit, Los Angeles and North Texas.
Final Four sites
2019 — Minneapolis
2020 — Atlanta
2021 — Indianapolis
2022 — New Orleans
2023 — Houston
2024 — Phoenix/Glendale
2025 — San Antonio
2026 — Indianapolis
“We’re so excited that the Final Four is returning to San Antonio. I’d like to thank the NCAA for selecting our great city as the location for the 2025 Final Four and I also want to congratulate everyone who worked so hard behind the scenes on the bid and presentation. Earlier this year, the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee, which includes UTSA, put in an incredible amount of hard work to host one of the best Final Fours ever held. We look forward to making the 2025 event even better.”
In April, San Antonio hosted a Final Four consisting of the University of Michigan, Loyola (Chicago), Villanova and Kansas.
A crowd of 68,257 watched in the semifinals as Michigan defeated Loyola 69-57 and Villanova downed Kansas, 95-79. Another 67,831 turned out for Villanova’s 79-62 victory over Michigan in the finals.
UIW steps up
The announcement proved to be a big moment for the University of the Incarnate Word, whose athletics program has stepped up in recent years from NCAA Division II to Division I.
After a four-year transition, UIW of the Southland Conference became fully eligible for the Division I men’s basketball tournament for the first time in 2017-18. When the news surfaced, the Cardinals tweeted it out to their supporters.
UTSA senior Adrian Riley gave it everything he had.
After running the 1,500 meters to complete his 10th and final event in two days Thursday, he collapsed on the track at Hayward Field.
Riley finished the four-lap finale in 4 minutes and 52.51 seconds for 604 points.
All told, he finished 12th in the decathlon at the NCAA Track and Field Championship with 7,520 points.
When the decathlon opened Wednesday, 24 athletes held out hopes of competing for a title. By the time it was over, only 16 had finished all 10 events.
Kentucky senior Tim Duckworth outlasted everyone, claiming the championship with a score of 8,336.
Duckworth fell a little more than 100 points shy of the meet record held by former Oregon star Ashton Eaton.
It was a solid showing all the way around for Riley, who finished in the top 10 in four events, including third in the long jump with a UTSA school record of 25 feet, 11 and 1/2 inch.
Riley was also fifth in the 100 meters (in 10.82 seconds), seventh in the discus (140 feet, 1 inch) and 10th in the javelin (176-6).
By virtue of his 12th-place overall finish, he earned second-team All-American honors, becoming the first track athlete in school history to get the award in two events.
He was an honorable mention All-American in the long jump last year.
“It feels great, like a job well-done,” said Riley, a native of Jamaica. “Especially (after) coming in and not being a high (rated) recruit.”
Riley also became the first at UTSA to earn multiple All-America honors since hurdler Keyunta Hayes did it in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
He was the first UTSA athlete to compete in the decathlon at the national meet since Justin Youngblood placed seventh in 2004.
“I’ve had five decathletes make it to the national meet since I’ve been at UTSA,” coach Aaron Fox said. “Adrian came in primarily as a sprinter-jumper.
“He had only jumped around 23 feet coming in, so he had a huge improvement in his long jump.”
In the coming year, Riley will continue to take classes at UTSA in pursuit of a finance degree.
He will also work on his long jump in an attempt to make the Jamaican national team for the 2019 world championships.
“He’s just a very talented athlete and can do a lot of things,” Fox said. It was a lot of fun to have him. He was a great team leader.”
? SCHOOL RECORD ? On his third and final time down the long jump runway in the decathlon, Adrian Riley jumps a school-record 7.91m.#ComeRunWithUspic.twitter.com/JH5h0EmSfD
Anchor Kiana Horton passed two runners in the final 200 meters to lead the Baylor women’s 4×400 relay to a second-place finish in its heat and into the finals.
Earlier in the day, Arkansas sophomore Devin Clark moved on to the finals in the women’s 3000 steeplechase.
Horton ran track at Judson. Clark was a distance running star at Smithson Valley.
UTSA’s Giovanni De Nicolao shoots a jumper against Lamar on March 14 in the first round of the CIT. The Roadrunners advanced with a 76-69 victory.
The UTSA men’s basketball team will host Sam Houston State Thursday night at 7 in the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, officials announced Monday night.
Officials announced the pairing after Sam Houston State scored a 69-62 victory at home over Eastern Michigan.
UTSA won its CIT opener last Wednesday, defeating Lamar, 76-69.
Both UTSA of Conference USA and Sam Houston State of the Southland Conference are 20-14 on the season.
Roosevelt Smart and DJ Draper combined to hit 10 three-point baskets as the North Texas Mean Green rolled to an 80-62 victory Thursday night at Denton in Conference USA basketball.
With the victory, North Texas ended UTSA’s three-game winning streak.
The Mean Green also swept both games from the Roadrunners in the season series between the in-state rivals.
Smart led North Texas with 22 points, including four field goals from beyond the arc. Draper hit 6 of 7 from the field, all from three.
Playing its first game without injured freshman standout Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA was led by Deon Lyle with 15 points.
“We weren’t very good on either end of the floor,” UTSA coach Steve Henson told the team’s radio broadcast. “We were just out of sorts offensively.”
Jackson is out for the season with a knee injury that he suffered last Saturday night at home against Louisiana Tech.
Records
North Texas 15-15, 8-9
UTSA 17-13, 10-7
Coming up
UTSA at Rice, Saturday, 7 p.m.
C-USA tournament
Despite the loss to North Texas, UTSA will have an opportunity on the last day of the regular season to secure the No. 4 seed and a bye in the first round of the C-USA tournament.
UTSA remained solidly in contention for the fourth seed when UAB defeated Marshall 91-77, in Birmingham. The loss dropped Marshall to 11-6 in conference, one game ahead of UTSA.
Marshall finishes its regular season Saturday at first-place Middle Tennessee.
To get the fourth seed, UTSA needs to defeat Rice and hope that Middle Tennessee beats Marshall.
The tiebreaker would favor the Roadrunners under that scenario because of their 81-77 victory over the Thundering Herd in San Antonio on Feb. 1.
Henson said it won’t be easy to beat the Owls on their Senior Night.
“We’ve got to play better basketball,” the coach said. “Their match-up defense, they’re doing some really good things with it. They’re playing (a) 3-2 (zone). It’ll be frustrating if we can’t get some better movement and knock down some shots.”
Known more for his jump shot, UTSA forward Deon Lyle weaves through traffic and double-clutches for a layup late in the game against Louisiana Tech.
UTSA shrugged off an injury to its leading scorer Saturday night and won its 17th game of the season, 74-64, over the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
Playing for most of the night without guard Jhivvan Jackson, who hurt his left knee early in the first half, the Roadrunners rallied with double-figure scoring from Deon Lyle, Giovanni De Nicolao, Keaton Wallace and Byron Frohnen.
“LA Tech’s a good team with a lot of good athletes, and they shoot the ball very, very well,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “We had to lock in and do it with our defense tonight. We did some good thing offensively, but I loved our fight and our effort on the defensive end.”
Lyle led the Roadrunners with 17 points and seven rebounds. He hit five 3-point baskets.
De Nicolao scored 11, including nine points in the final 5:28. Wallace contributed 10 points and eight assists, while Frohnen produced 10 points and nine rebounds.
Guard Jacobi Boykins scored 17, including a 3-pointer to pull the Bulldogs to within three with 3:42 left.
But Boykins was held without a point after that against UTSA’s stingy perimeter defense.
LA Tech forward Oliver Powell added 14 points and guard Exavian Christon came off the bench for 11.
With the win, the Roadrunners remained in fifth place in the Conference USA standings, one game out of fourth with two to play.
The top four in the C-USA get a bye through the first round of the tournament.
UTSA’s main concern looking forward is the status of Jackson, who is scheduled for an MRI early next week.
Diagnosis on Jackson termed ‘very concerning’
“It’s the type of play that looked bad,” Henson said. “The initial diagnosis is very concerning. We’ll just have to wait until we get more (information).”
Henson said he was proud of Jackson for displaying a positive attitude on the bench.
“It’s a very, very difficult thing,” the coach said. “The doctor told him it was serious. He could have sat over there and pouted but he stayed very involved.
“He was involved in the huddles. In the locker room at halftime, we could hear him talking to the players before we got in there.
“So, it’s hard to keep your head up in a situation like that. But he handled it very, very well.”
UTSA forward Nick Allen sees an opening on the baseline and takes it to the rim for a stuff against Louisiana Tech.
In the opening minutes of the game, Jackson appeared to be in good form. He hit two three pointers and was active defensively.
On the fateful play, he took off speeding down court on the dribble and drove hard, only to crumple to the court underneath the goal.
Staying on the floor until a trainer came out, the 6-foot guard from Puerto Rico was helped off without putting much weight on the leg.
Jackson was leading the team with an 18.9 average, the fifth best in the nation for freshmen.
UTSA guard Giovanni De Nicolao maneuvers into the lane and lofts a soft floater into the net for two points late.
Records
UTSA 17-12, 10-6
Louisiana Tech 16-14, 7-10
Seniors’ last hurrah
It was a sweet win for UTSA’s four outgoing seniors, Austin Karrer, Kendell Ramlal, James Ringholt and Kyle Massie, who waved to the crowd for the last time at the Convocation Center.
Karrer, from New Braunfels Canyon, had four points, three rebounds and an assist. Ramlal also scored four points, including a mighty, two-handed slam at the end for UTSA’s last field goal.
Karrer said he had “mixed emotions” playing for the last time at home, noting, “l love these guys. I’d spend four more years here if I had ’em.’ They all know that. They know I love ’em. I’d like to think they played a little harder for me. I’d like to think that, at least.”
Coming up
UTSA at North Texas, Thursday; UTSA at Rice, Saturday (end of regular season)
Championship teams share a few common characteristics.
They play with consistent aggression and never allow an opponent to think they can win.
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders used that formula to dominate the UTSA Roadrunners 75-51 Thursday night in Conference USA men’s basketball.
In the game played at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the Blue Raiders buried the Roadrunners with a 40-24 second half.
“They just took it right to us,” UTSA coach Steve Henson told the team’s radio broadcast. “They wore on us and wore on us and dominated the glass, and … we just couldn’t make…we just didn’t compete offensively.
“We just don’t compete enough. We just settle for shots. When it’s hard, we don’t know how to respond, and it was hard.”
After representing the C-USA at the NCAA tournament two years in a row, the Blue Raiders showed why they are projected to make it three straight.
Forwards Nick King and Brandon Walters had their way, with King scoring a game-high 22 points and Walters grabbing 14 rebounds.
Middle Tennessee (15-5, 7-1) also enjoyed a strong showing from guard Antwain Johnson, who scored 15.
Jhivvan Jackson scored 17, but nobody else hit double figures as UTSA (10-11, 3-5) recorded its fewest points in a game this season.
Henson said he liked how his players protected the ball in the first half, when they led briefly 14-11 and went into the dressing room down only 35-27.
“Other than that, offensively, you got to drive it down in there and expect to finish,” Henson said. “We’re taking jump shots. I think guys shooting ’em are expecting ’em to go in. It’s just easier to let it fly.
“We got to find a better balance between having some offensive freedom and taking bad shots. We got to drive it. We don’t get to the free throw line. We got to get on the attack. We got to … get in the paint and finish around the rim.”
UTSA hit 4 of its first 8 from 3-point range and then went cold, hitting only 3 of 16 the rest of the way.
The Blue Raiders held the Roadrunners to 21 of 61 from the field overall for 34 percent.
“I thought our guys started the game with a terrific mindset,” Henson said. “I thought we were fighting defensively. We did some really good things from the scouting report.
“We took away some of their strengths. We did a good job on (guard Giddy) Potts all night. We paid extra attention to him. But (with) their style, their toughness, just wore on us, just kept chipping away at us.
“Kind of shows us how far we’ve got to go to become a good ball club.”
UTSA will move on to play at Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday night. UAB broke a two-game losing streak by defeating UTEP 85-78 Thursday.
Lewis Sullivan scored 19 as the Blazers (14-7, 5-3) shot 55.2 percent from the field.
UTSA forward Kendell Ramlal rises up to dunk off a pass from Byron Frohnen in last Saturday’s 65-61 victory over UTEP in San Antonio.
The UTSA Roadrunners have emerged with a few of their better performances this season on big stages.
They stayed with the Oklahoma Sooners well into the second half in Norman.
They battled the Nebraska Cornhuskers with explosive offense into the last few minutes.
The Roadrunners will need another strong effort Thursday night in a Conference USA test against the defending champion Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
Middle Tennessee (14-5, 6-1) and UTSA (10-10, 3-4) are set to play at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Following back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, the Kermit Davis-coached Blue Raiders are averaging 6,118 fans, second in the C-USA only to UTEP.
They’re stacked with talent again, as evidenced by victories against Vanderbilt and Ole Miss in non-conference, not to mention a 66-62 victory last Saturday at Western Kentucky in conference play.
The Roadrunners will have their hands full with the C-USA co-leaders, who feature the likes of Nick King, Giddy Potts and Brandon Walters.
UTSA’s Keaton Wallace shakes a defender to hit a first-half three against UTEP.
