Feb. 22, 2006
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4551
UTSA hosts SFA Thursday night in key SLC contest
Game Notes | Live Audio | “Nevil Shed Night"
SAN ANTONIO - The UTSA men's basketball team looks to get back on the winning track on Thursday, Feb. 23, against Stephen F. Austin. Tip is set for 7 p.m.. at the Convocation Center. AT&T and UTSA Athletics are presenting "Nevil Shed Night" as the former Texas Western basketball player and UTSA employee will be honored at halftime. Following the game, fans may stick around and enjoy a free showing of the Walt Disney movie "Glory Road" in the Convo.
UTSA Roadrunners (10-14, 5-8 SLC)
vs.
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (13-10, 6-6 SLC)
Thursday, Feb. 23 • 7 p.m. • Convocation Center • San Antonio, Texas
TV: None • Radio: KKYX 680 AM/goUTSA.com
Roadrunner Streaks:
Win/Loss Streak: Lost one | Road Streak: Lost on
Neutral Court Streak: Won two | Home Streak: Lost one
Opponent:
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
Series History: UTSA leads 18-9
Last Meeting: UTSA 76, SFA 67 - Jan. 21, 2006; Nacogdoches, Texas
Note: UTSA has won three straight meetings
Last Game:
Junior Kyile Byrd poured in 17 points but Lance Burroughs scored a game-high 25, including six 3-pointers, to lead Texas State to its first conference victory of the season, an 85-68 decision over UTSA Saturday night in San Marcos. The Bobcats built a 46-27 halftime lead and never looked back as Charles Dotson added 15 points and JuShay Rockett and Chris Langhorne pitched in 14 apiece.
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 televised live on Fox Sports Southwest.
Coach Carter:
Tim Carter is in his 11th season at UTSA and has a career record of 159-149 (.516) with the Roadrunners and 170-165 (.507) 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, against 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 11-8 in games coached against SFA.
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 Stephen F. Austin:
The Lumberjacks have won four of their last five conference games and are 6-6 in the league and 13-10 overall. Antuane Miller leads a balanced scoring attack with 13.8 points per game. Josh Alexander averages 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest, while Marcus Clark and Anthony Paez turn in 12.2 and 11.3 ppg, respectively. Clark is one of the top guards in the league as he has recorded 94 assists against 53 turnovers this season and is shooting 52.2 percent from behind the arc. Head coach Danny Kaspar is 89-74 in his fifth season at the helm.
Roadrunners vs. Lumberjacks - Last Meeting:
In Nacogdoches, freshman Nkem Ojougboh scored a career-high 21 points to lead UTSA to an incredible comeback in a 76-67 win at Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 21. The Roadrunners found themselves down by as many as 20 points in the first half but roared back to outscore the Lumberjacks, 48-28, in the second half in their first true road win of the season.
377 and Counting:
The UTSA men's basketball program now has 377 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. 235 overall out of 330 NCAA Division I schools. The Roadrunners are No. 270 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
Double-Double-O-Meter:
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).
Dunk-O-Meter:
Eric Young - 10 … Nkem Ojougboh - 10 … Roderick Rodgers - 7 … Andre Owens - 3 … Abe Donlon - 3 … Kurt Attaway - 3 … Chris Thompson - 1.
Roster Change:
On Feb. 16, UTSA announced the dismissal of sophomore Roderick Rodgers from the team for a violation of team rules. Senior Andre Owens missed the Feb. 16 win at Texas-Arlington as a result of a one-game suspension for a violation of team rules.
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 26 starts between them. Young has led UTSA in scoring five times and Reynolds has been the leading point-producer twice this season. The freshmen and sophomores are averaging a combined 37.2 points per game, while first-year players are contributing 38.2 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 contributing 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. Bernard drained three more treys in scoring 13 in the win at Texas-Arlington on Feb. 16, while Byrd led the squad with 17 points in the Texas State loss.
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.
What's Next:
UTSA hits the road for the last time this regular season, making the trip to Huntsville for a Saturday matchup at Sam Houston State. Tip is set for 5 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum and the game will be televised live on Fox Sports Southwest.