Guard Primo Spears and the UTSA Roadrunners will try to bounce back from two tough losses at home as they prepare to play road games this week at Wichita State and Tulsa. – File photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Not too long after UTSA coach Austin Claunch left the Convocation Center Saturday night, he sent a text to Roadrunners point guard Primo Spears.
Knowing the inner fire that drives Spears as one of the most competitive players in the American Athletic Conference, the coach wanted to reach out to make sure he wasn’t taking the Roadrunners’ 80-79 loss to the East Carolina Pirates too hard.
Spears made two costly turnovers in the final 21 seconds that led to the Pirates erasing a 79-75 deficit and stealing away with a victory.
“You know, this is a guy who’s had an incredible year,” Claunch said Monday morning, “and he’s going to continue to have an incredible year. (But), you know, physical mistakes happen.
“I just texted him (immediately after the game) and told him I love him, and we’ll grow from this. And, he knows. He wants to win. That’s a guy who’s a competitor.”
Claunch’s words were not hyperbole. Spears has emerged after an offseason transfer from Florida State as the Roadrunners’ leading scorer at 20.2 points per game. He’s led the team in scoring in 13 of 23 games and in five of their 10 victories.
From my vantage point, Spears has made some of the most jaw-dropping, athletic shots that I can remember of anyone in a UTSA uniform since Jhivvan Jackson.
Spears is a little like Jackson in another way, as well. He will shrug off an injury and play at less than 100-percent of his usual explosive self.
Recently, he went down with a left foot injury at practice and continued to play through it for a few games. UTSA coaches finally sat him down last week. He sat for one game last Wednesday, when the Roadrunners played the Tulane Green Wave at home.
As Spears watched from the side in a walking boot, the Roadrunners played well and appeared to have the game won a few times down the stretch. Led by sophomore guard Marcus Millender, they were up 10 with three minutes left.
Later, they were still up nine with two minutes left. Eventually, however, the Green Wave outscored the Roadrunners 12-1 over the last 2:48, including the last 10 points of the game, to win 61-60 on two Rowan Brumbaugh free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining.
All of which compounded the misery they felt Saturday night after they lost to East Carolina.
“Quite frankly, it’s two that we felt like we gave away,” Claunch said. “(We have) a sizeable lead against Tulane with two minutes left and they make the plays and we don’t. Then the ECU game, we’ve got a two possession lead in the final seconds … ”
In analyzing basketball, I like to focus on things a team does to win rather than dwell on what someone else does to lose. In keeping with that, I will tell you that the Pirates won the game because they were the aggressors in the final minute, on both sides of the ball.
They trapped in the backcourt, attacking Spears as he tried to dribble out of trouble and get over the midcourt line. On the replay, it appeared that UTSA’s Raekwon Horton was open beyond midcourt, on the other side of the floor.
A pass from Spears to Horton right there might have saved the Roadrunners, who were up by four.
But Spears kept pounding the dribble, trying to get over midcourt. ECU’s Trevion LaBeaux had other ideas. He came up with a clean steal, leading to a drive to the bucket and a three-point play by Jordan Riley with 17.9 seconds left.
Leading by one at that juncture, UTSA came out of a timeout and called on Damari Monsanto to inbound.
The ball was tossed up the side, parallel to the ECU bench, and as Spears came over and reached out to grab it, the Pirates swarmed him in the corner and forced a held ball, which gave them possession.
Ultimately, they inbounded, and eventually tossed it to C.J. Walker. The ECU power forward made a sweet move, spun and knocked down a 14-foot jumper with four seconds left for a one-point lead. For the Roadrunners, they were left with one more desperation play, a 30-foot heave by Horton that missed.
Some in the Convocation Center might have been down on Mr. Spears after the shocking turn of events. But as for me, I just can’t be too critical of a kid who plays as hard as he does all the time. I’ve seen him do too many good things to help the team.
A reminder:
* Spears exploded for 15 of his 29 points in the last three minutes on Nov. 27 as the Roadrunners rallied from a late 14-point deficit to beat the Merrimack College Warriors, 76-74, in a neutral site game at Troy, Ala.
* On Dec. 3, at Moraga, Calif., he scored eight points in the last five and a half minutes of regulation and five in overtime in an 82-74 loss to the Saint Mary’s Gaels.
* And on Dec. 13, he poured in 10 of his 28 points in the final two minutes as the Roadrunners held off the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, 80-76, at the Convo.
In addition, I’ll offer some pure speculation. If the Roadrunners are faced with the same adversity again this week, with road games at Wichita State on Wednesday and Tulsa on Saturday, I’m certain Coach Claunch will be calling on Spears to make some plays.
Claunch, I suspect, will remain steadfast in Spears’ corner.
“It’s easy for me to play Monday morning quarterback right now and pause the film and say, hey, you’ve got to do this, that and the third,” the first-year UTSA coach said. “It’s a lot harder when you’re out there and you’re moving at a high pace.
“These guys want to win and … (they) got to continue to trust and believe in each other in these situations and (try to) find a way to get it done.”