Hard-charging Primo Spears leads the UTSA Roadrunners with 20.7 points per game. UTSA plays Troy on Monday and Merrimack on Wednesday at the Trojans Turkey Tipoff. – Photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Looking for their first victory against NCAA Division I competition, the UTSA Roadrunners will get three chances to reverse their fortunes this week.
First, they’ll play a couple of games in Alabama at the Trojan Turkey Tipoff, meeting the host Troy Trojans on Monday night, followed by a Wednesday afternoon game against the Merrimack Warriors. Next, the Roadrunners will return home to take on the Houston Christian Huskies on Saturday afternoon.
Playing short handed under first-year coach Austin Claunch, UTSA men’s basketball is off to a 1-2 start.
The Roadrunners downed the Division III Trinity University Tigers by 26 in their opener before they lost twice against a couple of solid mid-major Division I foes, falling by 13 on the road to the Bradley Bears and by 17 at home to the Little Rock Trojans.
After losing 81-64 to Little Rock on Nov. 16, the Roadrunners have had more than a week to sort through some personnel issues.
“We played two teams picked to win their conference, and we were a little short-handed in both games,” UTSA senior guard Primo Spears said. “You know, just some bumps in the road. I’d rather have them now than in February and March.”
Spears, who leads the team with 20.7 points per game, said he remains positive about the Roadrunners’ chances for success in the spring when they play their second season in the American Athletic Conference.
“Absolutely,” he said. “We’re going to have growing pains, and I think that’s all this is. We’ve had spurts of playing great basketball, even throughout the USC (exhibition) game.
“I just think we need to clean up a little bit in the second half, around that 10 or 11-minute mark, be a little more efficient with our decision-making and sit down and guard and rebound a little more. I think when we get everyone healthy — we have yet to play with everybody — once we have our full roster, I think we’ll show our full potential.”
Troy, led by former UT Arlington coach Scott Cross, has won 20 games in each of its past three seasons. By all estimations, the Trojans are good again, having been picked to finish third in the Sun Belt Conference. Troy has won three of its first five games, with its only losses coming on the road against Oregon and Arkansas, two Power Four programs.
Forward Myles Rigsby and Jackson Fields pace the Trojans in scoring, while guard Tayton Conerway leads the team in assists and steals.
Notable
The Roadrunners received a boost last week when forward Raekwon Horton and guard Damari Monsanto, who sat out against Little Rock for non-injury issues, returned to practice. They were both on the floor in a workout open to the media last Wednesday.
Another positive sign for the Roadrunners is that guard Tai’Reon Joseph, who is ineligible and hasn’t played yet, continues to practice with the team. He could be activated within three weeks. Last year, Joseph was the leading scorer in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, averaging 20.5 points at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La.
Injury issues to watch are with forward Jaquan Scott, guard Paul Lewis and forward Jonnivius Smith.
Scott, a starter on the front line, played 10 minutes against Little Rock and then had to come out of the game. He sat with ice on his lower right leg before going in to change into sweats. Lewis, who has been bothered by a foot injury, didn’t play at all against Little Rock. Smith played in the game, scoring seven points and adding eight rebounds, but he did not participate in Wednesday’s open session workout.
Coming up
UTSA at Troy, Ala., Monday, 7 p.m.
UTSA vs. Merrimack, Mass., at Troy, Ala, Wednesday, noon
Houston Christian at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.
Around the AAC
The Memphis Tigers will play the defending national champion and the AP No. 2 UConn Huskies Monday in the Maui Invitational. Both Memphis and UConn are 4-0. Best win on Memphis’ ledger is an 83-75 decision at home over Missouri on opening night. Tulsa transfer PJ Haggerty, a redshirt sophomore from Crosby, Texas, is averaging 22.5 points for Memphis. Tigers guard PJ Carter, who played at UTSA last season, is averaging 4.3 points in 14 minutes off the bench.
The UAB Blazers and the Tigers were picked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the AAC’s preseason poll. The Blazers (3-4) lost Friday and Saturday in the Paradise Jam at St. Thomas/Virgin Islands. UAB lost to Longwood (89-81) in the opener and Illinois State (84-83) in its next game. The Blazers will play the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns on St. Thomas on Monday before returning home. Center Yaxel Lendeborg averages 17.4 points and 9.3 rebounds.
South Florida, Wichita State and Florida Atlantic were the American’s Nos. 3, 4 and 5 picks, respectively, in the preseason. Jayden Reid hit the game-winning jumper as time expired Sunday and South Florida defeated Wright State 73-72 to claim third place at the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Bulls (now 4-3) fell to the University of Florida Gators 98-83 on Nov. 4, opening night.
Wichita State (5-0) will take an unblemished record into a Thanksgiving Day matchup against Minnesota. Georgia transfer Justin Hill, a guard, is averaging 17.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Shockers. Hill played in high school at Fort Bend Travis in the Houston area. Junior forward Corey Washington, a transfer from Saint Peters, is second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game.
Florida Atlantic (4-4) erased most of a 15-point deficit but lost to Seton Hall, 63-61, on Sunday afternoon in the third-place game at the Shriner’s Children’s Charleston Classic FAU, under first-year coach John Jakus, has played a competitive schedule and has notched victories over Indiana State, Liberty and Oklahoma State. Jakus worked nine years at Baylor as an assistant under Scott Drew and helped the Bears win the 2021 national title.