· Game notes (.pdf)
SAN ANTONIO — UTSA travels to Huntsville to face Sam Houston State on Thursday, Feb. 1. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum.
UTSA Roadrunners (5-14, 1-5) vs. Sam Houston State Bearkats (13-7, 5-2)
Thursday, Feb. 1 • 7 p.m.
Johnson Coliseum (6,100) • Huntsville, Texas
Audio: KKYX-680 AM/goUTSA.com
Series Record: UTSA leads, 18-11
Last Meeting: Sam Houston State 90, UTSA 87 (Feb. 25, 2006)
Tuning In: The game will be aired live in the San Antonio listening area on KKYX-680 AM and will be available online at goUTSA.com. Kyle Stephens will call the action beginning with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m.
Last Time Out: Junior Melvin Smith paced three Roadrunners in double figures with 18 points, but Chris Daniels scored 18 to lead Texas A&M-Corpus Christi past UTSA, 78-63, Saturday night in front of 1,571 fans at the Convocation Center. Smith reached double digits for the 14th time in the last 15 games to lead UTSA in scoring for the ninth time this season. Juniors Isaiah Allen and Andrew Francis pitched in 17 apiece, marking the fifth straight game with three players in double figures. Francis, who played all 40 minutes, and Smith pulled down a team-high six rebounds apiece. Cedric Smith and Scooby Johnson joined Daniels in double digits for the Islanders, scoring 17 and 14, respectively, while Smith also grabbed a game-high nine boards. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi shot 52 percent from the floor for the game, making 26-of-52 field goals, highlighted by a 6-for-7 night from Smith. The Islanders also went to the free throw line 31 times, converting 24 for 77.4 percent. UTSA had its best free throw performance of the season, draining 17-of-21 — including 8-of-8 from Allen — for a season-high 81 percent. Allen drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Smith nailed a mid-range jumper to pull UTSA to within 35-28 at the 18:24 mark of the second half. A dunk by Francis — one of 11 by both teams — made it a seven-point game with 16:31 left, but that was as close as UTSA would get. The Islanders’ lead grew to as much as 17 on a Cedric Smith dunk with three minutes to play. UTSA made one last run late in the game, cutting the lead to 11 on a 3-point play by Smith with 1:18 to play, but the Islanders hit 5-of-6 free throws and got another dunk from Daniels in the final minute to seal it.
UTSA/Sam Houston State Series History: UTSA leads the all-time series with Sam Houston State, 18-11, but the Bearkats have won the last three and five of the last six meetings. UTSA fell, 90-87, in the last meeting on Feb. 25, 2006, in Huntsville. The Roadrunners have a 9-5 record in games played in Huntsville and won 10 of the first 12 meetings in the series that began in 1985.
Series Notes:
• This will be the 30th meeting between UTSA and Sam Houston State
• UTSA leads the series, 18-11
• Sam Houston State has won the last three and five of the last six meetings
• UTSA is 9-5 against Sam Houston State in Huntsville with the last win a 68-65 decision on Feb. 14, 2004
Scouting the Bearkats: Sam Houston State is 13-7 overall and sitting third in the Southland Conference West Division at 5-2. The Bearkats have won three of their last four games, including an 88-74 victory against Texas State on Saturday. Junior forward Ryan Bright leads the team in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg), while senior forward Aaron Wade pitches in 11.3 points and 5.0 boards per contest. Senior guard Jejuan Plair is contributing 11.0 points and 5.9 assists per game. Head coach Bob Marlin is 151-100 in his 13th season at the helm.
Last Meeting: Andre Owens scored 26 points, but Jejuan Plair and Chris Jordan combined for 39 points to lead Sam Houston State to a 90-87 win over UTSA on Feb. 25, 2006, at Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville. Owens posted his 12th 20-point game of the season and added seven rebounds, five assists and four steals as UTSA fought back from a 12-point deficit early in the second half to within one in the final minutes. Abe Donlon poured in 19 points and eight rebounds, while Chris Thompson added 10. Plair scored 20 and Jordan put up 19, including three 3-pointers, as the Bearkats improved to 19-7 overall and 10-4 in the league. Shamir McDaniel added 12 points as Sam Houston shot 52 free throws on the afternoon, converting 33. UTSA built an early 10-point lead, 24-14, on a Donlon jumper at the 12:28 mark. Trailing 30-22, the Bearkats used a 12-2 run, capped by a Jordan 3-pointer at the 4:46 mark, to take a 34-32 lead. Sam Houston extended the lead to as many as nine and led 48-41 at the break. The Bearkats pushed their lead out to 12 on a Jordan jumper at the 16:50 mark that made it 53-41. UTSA trailed by nine, 60-51, with 10:56 to play but used a 12-4 run to pull within one on a pair of Kurt Attaway free throws. The Roadrunners never trailed by more than six the rest of the way and made things interesting in the final minute. After a 3-point play by John Gardiner made it 87-81 with 37 seconds left, Donlon drained a jumper off an inbounds pass and Owens stole a Jordan pass and converted a lay-up to pull UTSA to within 87-85 with 19 ticks remaining. Aaron Wade made 1-of-2 free throws to make it 88-85 and then Thompson nailed a pair of free throws with just three seconds left to make it a one-point game. Forced to foul, UTSA sent Jeremy Thomas to the line where he made two freebies for a 90-87 lead. The Roadrunners’ last chance was thwarted as the long inbounds pass was stolen as the buzzer went off to seal the victory for the Bearkats.
Tough Slate: UTSA has faced one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the program’s recent history. The Roadrunners played three teams ranked in the top 50 of the latest Sagarin Ratings Index — Washington State (19), Oklahoma State (24) and Gonzaga (42). In the two major polls, Oklahoma State also is currently ranked No. 14 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, while Washington State is No. 17 this week. In the Associated Press Top 25, Oklahoma State is 12th and Washington State is 18th.
Record-Setting Defense: UTSA broke a pair of school records in back-to-back games earlier this season. In a 64-49 victory against San Diego on Nov. 26, the Roadrunners limited the Toreros to 13-of-53 shooting from the floor, or 24.5 percent, which broke the school record for lowest field goal percentage by an opponent previously held by Howard Payne (26.9%) in 1988. One game later, UTSA held Henderson State to 36 points, breaking the previous fewest-points record of 42 set by Texas State in 1996. UTSA currently ranks third in the league in scoring defense, giving up 65.5 points per game.
Francis Fits Right In: Junior Andrew Francis, a transfer from Houston who sat out the fall semester per NCAA transfer rules, has had an immediate impact in his first seven games in a Roadrunners uniform. The Alief Elsik High School product is averaging 11.0 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game, and has led UTSA in scoring twice and rebounding seven times. He has turned in double-doubles in two of his last four outings with 16 points and 14 rebounds against Northwestern State and 12 points and 10 boards at Texas State. In conference play, Francis is tied for third in the league with 8.7 rebounds per contest and ranks 15th in scoring at 13.2 points per game.
Smith Stepping Up: Junior guard Melvin Smith has stepped up his game and developed into a solid mid-range shooter. The Covington, Tenn., native has scored in double digits in 14 of the last 15 contests, including a season-high 25 in the 64-60 victory over Texas Wesleyan on Dec. 9. Dating back to the Cal State Fullerton win on Nov. 22, Smith is averaging 15.1 points per game and is shooting 47.4 percent (92-194) from the floor. The Dodge City (Kan.) Community College transfer leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg), field goals made (106) and minutes played (33.4 mpg) and has been the leading scorer for the Roadrunners nine times this season. In SLC action, Smith’s 14.7 scoring average is good for sixth among league leaders.
That A Way, Attaway: Senior point guard Kurt Attaway has relished in his role as the team’s floor general this season. Through 19 games (all starts), Attaway is averaging a career-best 7.2 points per game and has dished out a team-high 75 assists compared to only 44 turnovers. He also has a team-best 33 steals and is shooting 73.5 percent (36-49) from the free throw line. Attaway ranks fourth in the SLC in steals (1.74 spg) and assists (3.95 apg).
Career Record Watch: With 97 games under his belt, Kurt Attaway has moved onto several of UTSA’s career lists. The Flower Mound native posted a career-high 12 assists in the Cal State Fullerton loss on Nov. 22, breaking his previous mark of eight with nine in the first half. He moved past Jon Havens into fifth place on UTSA’s career chart with 10 assists at TCU on Dec. 27. With 326 career dimes, he is on pace to catch David President (339) this season. He also is seventh with 135 steals, nine behind Preston Ivory for sixth (144), and is 37th with 258 rebounds, four behind Rob Wallace (262). Attaway has scored 589 points in his career, which ranks 36th all time. The 2003-04 Southland Conference (SLC) Freshman of the Year needs 12 points to surpass David President (597).
Model Student-Athlete: Not only does Kurt Attaway excel on the court, he does in the classroom, as well. The senior has been named the SLC Men’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year each of the past two seasons and was twice voted UTSA’s Male Student-Athlete of the Year. He carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average in psychology and is interested in pursuing a career in sports psychology upon graduation. Attaway recently was named an honorable mention candidate for the John Wooden Citizenship Cup Award.
Wiping The Glass: Junior Keith Spencer has quickly established himself as a force on the glass in his first season with the Roadrunners. Through the first 19 games, the San Diego, Calif., native has pulled down a team-high 133 rebounds and is averaging 7.0 boards per contest, good for eighth in the SLC. He posted a pair of double-doubles in the first month of the season (11/12 at Washington State on Nov. 17 and 16/11 vs. Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 22) and added his third with 10 points and 11 boards in the loss at No. 13 Oklahoma State (12/30). Spencer, who also is shooting a team-high 60.3 percent (4th/SLC) from the floor this season, has reached double-digit rebounds five times this year. He grabbed a season-best 12 boards at Washington State and has led the Roadrunners in rebounding in 10 games this season.
Just Call Me “Duke”: Junior Isaiah “Duke” Allen opened his debut season with the Roadrunners in style, leading the team in scoring in four of the first five games. He poured in 22 in the loss at Gonzaga, and has reached double figures in scoring 11 times. Allen posted a season-high 25 points, draining 6-of-8 3-pointers in the 72-64 victory over UTA on Jan. 22. He followed that with 17 points — including three treys — in the loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 27. Allen leads the team with 35 3-pointers and a 75-percent (42-56) free throw percentage and ranks second in scoring (11.4 ppg).
Improvement At The Line: After getting off to a tough start at the free throw line to start the season, UTSA has shown drastic improvement over the last month. The Roadrunners were shooting just 57.2 percent from the line entering conference play, but have converted 60.8 percent in SLC action. Last week, UTSA was 27-of-33 (81.8 percent) from the charity stripe in games against UTA and TAMU-CC.
A New Era: UTSA first-year head coach Brooks Thompson earned his first NCAA Division I victory in UTSA’s 50-46 win against Texas A&M International on Nov. 10. Thompson, a former all-conference player at both Oklahoma State and Texas A&M and a 1994 NBA First Round Draft Pick of the Orlando Magic, posted an impressive 55-14 record in two seasons as head coach at Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz.
Forecasting 400: In its 26th year, UTSA owns an all-time record of 383-345 (.526), including nine seasons of 17 or more victories, the last coming in 2003-04 (19-14).
Roster Changes: UTSA announced the first week of January that junior transfer Travis Gabbidon, a 6-7 forward from College of Southern Idaho, will take a redshirt this season to recover from a foot injury. Also, junior guard James Peters (San Antonio/Clark HS) and sophomore guard Tim Maiden (Scottsdale, Ariz./Christian Academy) have left the team for personal reasons.
Fall Signing Class: UTSA signed Matt DeWaal (Compton, Calif./Dominguez HS), Devin Gibson (Houston/Cypress Falls HS), Kevin Jackson (Irving/Hill College) and Joey Shank (Folsom, Calif./American River College) to National Letters of Intent during the fall signing period in November.
Up Next: UTSA returns to San Antonio to host Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
