Feb. 15, 2006
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907
Roadrunners hit the road for Thursday contest at Texas-Arlington
Game Notes | Live Audio | Live Stats
SAN ANTONIO - Coming off a split in a four-game home stand pover the past two weeks, the UTSA men's basketball team hits the road again for a Southland Conference game at Texas-Arlington on Thursday, Feb. 16. Tip is set for 7:05 p.m. at Texas Hall. The Roadrunners are 9-13 overall and 4-7 in the SLC, tied for ninth place. The Mavericks are 11-12 overall and 4-6 and in sole possession of eighth in the league.
UTSA Roadrunners (9-13, 4-7 SLC)
at
Texas-Arlington Mavericks (11-12, 4-6 SLC)
Thursday, Feb. 16 • 7:05 p.m. • Texas Hall • Arlington, Texas
TV: None • Radio: KKYX 680 AM/goUTSA.com
Roadrunner Streaks:
Win/Loss Streak: Lost one
Road Streak: Lost two
Neutral Court Streak: Won two
Home Streak: Lost one
Opponent:
Texas-Arlington Mavericks
Series History: UTSA leads, 26-23
Last Meeting: UTSA 96, UTA 78; Feb. 26, 2005 - San Antonio
Note: UTSA has won the last two meetings
Last Game:
UTSA fought back from a 24-point deficit early in the second half to get within three, but Lamar held off the Roadrunners, 77-70, on Saturday at the Convocation Center. Sophomore Abe Donlon posted his first double-double with career highs of 18 points and 15 rebounds and senior Andre Owens and junior Gabe Bernard added 17 and 15, respectively, but Thomas Fairley turned in 28 points and 14 boards to lead Lamar to the win. Bernard drained five second-half 3-pointers to nearly lead UTSA to the big comeback in the Homecoming Game.
Coach Carter:
Tim Carter is in his 11th season at UTSA and has a career record of 158-148 (.516) with the Roadrunners and 169-164 (.508) overall … He is the winningest men's basketball coach in UTSA history and has the longest tenure … He scored his 100th career win on Dec. 1, 2001 over Illinois State and his 100th win at UTSA on Feb. 4, 2002 at Texas-Arlington … Carter was named the 1999 SLC "Coach of the Year" … He came to UTSA after one season at Nebraska-Omaha … He has served as an assistant coach at Oklahoma (1984), Midwestern State (1984-86), Houston (1986-87), Oklahoma State (1987-90) and Northwestern (1990-94) … He has led UTSA to the NCAA Tournament in 1999 and 2004 … Carter is 8-13 in games coached against Texas-Arlington.
Home Sweet Home:
Tough to beat in the UTSA Convocation Center, the Roadrunners have an all-time home record of 225-96 (.701) in the Bird Cage. UTSA is 1-1 all-time as a home team at the Alamodome. UTSA is 6-6 at home this season.
Scouting Texas-Arlington:
The Mavericks have lost four straight games and are 11-12 overall and 4-6 in the league. UTA nearly pulled off a huge upset at Northwestern State last Thursday night, but let a 42-36 halftime lead slip away in an 82-79 defeat. Jarrett Howell leads the Mavericks in scoring with 14.7 points per game, while Steven Thomas is posting 12.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. Head coach Eddie McCarter176-207 in his 14th season at the helm.
Roadrunners vs. Mavericks - Last Meeting:
In San Antonio, UTSA outscored UTA, 63-43 in the second half en route to a 96-78 victory. Rapheal Posey came off the bench to provide 23 points, while Andre Owens added 21. The Roadrunners shot 50 percent from the field and made 31-of-40 free throws. Steven Thomas led the Mavericks with 17 points.
376 and Counting:
The UTSA men's basketball program now has 376 wins. The Roadrunners have averaged 15.3 wins a season as a program over the first 24 years, and are the winningest program in the SLC over the past 10 years.
Working Overtime:
UTSA entered the 2005-06 season with a reputation as a team that is tough to beat in overtime. The Roadrunners are 0-2 this season and 13-9 all-time in extra sessions under coach Tim Carter. UTSA has won 10 of the last 13 overtime games.
UTSA In The Sagarin & RPI:
According to the latest Sagarin College Basketball Rankings, UTSA is currently ranked No. 237 overall out of 330 NCAA Division I schools. The Roadrunners are No. 278 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
Dunk-O-Meter:
Dunks by UTSA players this season: Eric Young - 10 … Nkem Ojougboh - 10 … Roderick Rodgers - 7 … Andre Owens - 3 … Abe Donlon - 3 … Kurt Attaway - 2 … Chris Thompson - 1.
Double-Double-O-Meter:
UTSA players who have posted double-doubles this season: Andre Owens - 2 (23/14 vs. Murray State, 12/3/05 & 23/11 vs. Cal State Fullerton, 12/27/05); Eric Young 2 (16/11 vs. Nicholls State, 2/2/06 & 15/13 vs. McNeese State, 2/9/06); Abe Donlon 1 (18/15 vs. Lamar, 2/11/06); Roderick Rodgers - 1 (17/12 vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 1/14/06).
Two-for-Thursday:
Freshman guard Eric Young has posted double-doubles in each of the past two Thursday night games. On Feb. 2, the Houston native turned in 16 points and 11 rebounds in the 67-50 win against Nicholls State. He followed suit with 15 points and 13 boards in the 100-75 blowout of McNeese State on Feb. 9.
Youth Is Served:
UTSA features a young roster this season with eight players that are either freshmen or sophomores. Freshmen Eric Young, Nkem Ojougboh and Aldric Reynolds have a combined 24 starts between them. Young has led UTSA in scoring five times this season. The freshmen and sophomores are averaging a combined 37.4 points per game, while first-year players are contributing 37.5 points per game.
Andre The Giant:
Big things are expected this season out of UTSA senior guard Andre Owens. The Irving native opened the season with 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in the Angelo State win. He scored a career-high 28 points in the loss at New Mexico State and was named MVP of the Florida International Holiday Classic when he averaged 22.0 points and 7.5 rebounds as the Roadrunners won the tournament title with wins over Cal State Fullerton and St. Bonaventure. Owens matched his career high with 28 points, including 21 in the second half, in the 78-74 loss at McNeese State. Owens reached 28 points for the third time this season in the loss to Sam Houston State. He has scored 20 or more points 10 times this season, most recently with 20 in the Feb. 4 loss to Southeastern Louisiana.
Off The Pine:
Led by Gabe Bernard's 13 points, UTSA's bench produced 36 points in the win over Angelo State. In the win over Texas-Pan American the bench produced 48 points, led by Chris Thompson's 18. The group played a huge role in UTSA's come-from-behind 76-67 win at Stephen F. Austin, scoring 46 points behind 21 from Nkem Ojougboh. The bench scored a season-best 53 points in UTSA's 100-75 victory over McNeese State led by a combined 35 from Kyile Byrd and Chris Thompson. The bench is averaging 28.3 points per game.
Welcome Back:
Junior transfers Kyile Byrd and Gabe Bernard had missed a combined five games in January due to injury, but both were back in action in the Feb. 2 win over Nicholls State. Bernard drained his first shot attempt since a home win over Louisiana-Monroe on Jan. 14, a 3-pointer from the left wing at the 10:30 mark in the first half and finished with five points and six rebounds in 11 minutes of action. Byrd scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 18 minutes. Byrd turned in a career-high 18, including 14 in the first half, in the McNeese win, while Bernard came off the bench and fired in five second-half 3-pointers in the loss to Lamar on Feb. 11.
Kurt's Point:
Point guard Kurt Attaway also excels in the classroom where he is the reigning Southland Conference Student-Athlete of the Year for men's basketball. A member of the Dean's List at UTSA, Attaway currently maintains a perfect 4.0 grade point average while majoring in psychology. Attaway recently was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team and will be on the Academic All-America ballot released on Feb. 16.
Radio/TV:
All UTSA games can be heard on KKYX 680 AM and on the worldwide web at goUTSA.com beginning 15 minutes prior to tipoff. The Sam Houston game on Saturday, Feb. 25, will be shown on Fox Sports Southwest.
What's Next:
UTSA makes the short trip up I-35 for the rivalry game with Texas State on Saturday, Feb. 18. Tip is set for 7:05 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum.