March 5, 2006
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4551
Roadrunners face Demons in first round of SLC Tournament
Game Notes | Live Audio | Tournament Central
SAN ANTONIO - UTSA is the No. 8-seed for the O'Reilly Auto Parts/Southland Conference Basketball Tournament and will face top seed Northwestern State in the first round on Tuesday, March 7. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Prather Coliseum.
UTSA Roadrunners (11-16, 6-10 SLC)
at
Northwestern State Demons (22-7, 15-1 SLC)
Tuesday, March 7 • 7 p.m. • Prather Coliseum • Natchitoches, La.
TV: none • Radio: KKYX 680 AM/goUTSA.com
SLC Tournament Facts:
UTSA is making its 13th appearance in the SLC Tournament and owns an all-time record of 12-10 (.545). The Roadrunners have captured two tournament titles, in 1999 and 2004. UTSA lost to Lamar at home in the first round last season, 91-83, but ran the table two years ago, defeating Texas State at home, 78-73, edging Southeastern Louisiana on the road, 87-85, and outlasting Stephen F. Austin, 74-70, in front of a national television audience at the Convo. Individually, nine Roadrunners have been selected all-tournament with LeRoy hurd (2004) and Steve Meyer (1999) garnering most valuable player honors.
Roadrunner Streaks:
Win/Loss Streak: Lost two
Road Streak: Lost two
Neutral Court Streak: Won two
Home Streak: Lost one
Opponent:
Northwestern State Demons
Series History: UTSA leads, 18-14
Last Meeting: NWST 85, UTSA 64 - March 3, 2006; San Antonio, Texas
Note: Northwestern State has won four of the last five meetings.
Scouting Northwestern State:
The Demons won their second consecutive Southland Conference regular season title this season, posting a 15-1 league mark to go along with a 22-7 overall record. Senior forward Clifton Lee leads a balanced scoring attack with 14.0 points per game, while senior guard Jermaine Wallace pitches in 9.7 ppg. Lee is the leading rebounder with 6.3 per game. A deep squad, nine players score more than 5.0 points per game and seven average more than 15 minutes per contest. Head coach Mike McConathy is 109-101 in his seventh season at the helm.
Last Game:
Senior Andre Owens and sophomore Abe Donlon each posted double-doubles but Clifton Lee scored a game-high 21 points to lead Northwestern State to an 85-64 victory against UTSA at the Convocation Center. Owens scored 20 points, his 13th 20-point outing of the year, and added 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Donlon posted 12 points and 10 boards for his second double-double.
Coach Carter:
Tim Carter is in his 11th season at UTSA and has a career record of 160-151 (.514) with the Roadrunners and 171-167 (.506) 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 13-10 in games coached against Northwestern State.
All-Conference Honors:
The 2005-06 All-Southland Conference teams were announced on Monday and UTSA senior Andre Owens earned a spot on the second team. A 6-4 guard out of Irving, Owens is the second leading scorer in the league with 17.9 points per game and he appears in the league's top 15 in seven other statistical categories. Owens moved into 21st place on UTSA's all-time scoring list with 20 in the Northwestern State loss on Friday and his 780 career points are 25 behind Darryl Eaton's 805 for 20th.
Home Sweet Home:
Tough to beat in the UTSA Convocation Center, the Roadrunners have an all-time home record of 226-97 (.700) in the Bird Cage. UTSA is 1-1 all-time as a home team at the Alamodome. UTSA is 7-7 at home this season.
378 and Counting:
The UTSA men's basketball program now has 378 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. 231 overall out of 330 NCAA Division I schools. The Roadrunners are No. 259 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
Double-Double-O-Meter:
Andre Owens - 4 (23/14 vs. Murray State, 12/3/05; 23/11 vs. Cal State Fullerton, 12/27/05; 22/10 assists vs. SFA, 2/23/06; 20/11 vs. Northwestern State, 3/3/06); Eric Young 2 (16/11 vs. Nicholls State, 2/2/06; 15/13 vs. McNeese State, 2/9/06); Abe Donlon 2 (18/15 vs. Lamar, 2/11/06; 12/10 vs. Northwestern State, 3/3/06); Roderick Rodgers - 1 (17/12 vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 1/14/06).
Dunk-O-Meter:
Nkem Ojougboh - 11 … Eric Young - 10 … Roderick Rodgers - 7 … Kurt Attaway - 4 … Andre Owens - 3 … Abe Donlon - 3 … Chris Thompson - 1.
Roadrunners In The SLC Ranks:
UTSA ranks high in several team and individual categories according to the latest Southland Conference statistics.
Team
Category No. Rank
Scoring Offense 73.8 3rd
Field Goal Pct. .465 2nd
Field Goal Pct. Defense .426 1st
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense .323 2nd
Rebounding Offense 38.4 2nd
Rebounding Margin +2.7 3rd
Defensive Rebounds 25.67 1st
Individual
Player Category No. Rank
Andre Owens Scoring 17.9 2nd
Abe Donlon Field Goal Pct. .579 3rd
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 28 starts between them. Young has led UTSA in scoring five times and Reynolds has been the leading point-producer twice. The freshmen and sophomores are averaging a combined 35.9 points per game, while first-year players are contributing 37.1 points per game.
Andre The Giant:
Big things are expected out of senior Andre Owens this season and he has produced. The Irving native opened the campaign with 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in the victory against Angelo State. 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 Jan. 19 loss to Sam Houston State. He registered his third double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 assists in the Feb. 23 win against SFA and posted 20 points and 11 boards in his home finale against Northwestern State on March 3. He has scored 20 or more points 13 times this season.
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 27.8 points per game.
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.
Captains Named For 2005-06:
Senior Andre Owens and junior Kurt Attaway have been named team captains for the 2005-06 season. Owens is UTSA's leading returning scorer at 11.2 points per game, while Attaway is a two-year letterman who earned Southland Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2004.
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.