· Game notes (.pdf)
SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will look for the season sweep of UTA on Thursday, Feb. 15, in a key Southland Conference West Division battle. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Texas Hall. The Roadrunners (6-17, 2-8 SLC) defeated the Mavericks (10-14, 5-6 SLC) on Jan. 22 in San Antonio by a score of 72-64.
UTSA Roadrunners (6-17, 2-8) at UTA Mavericks (10-14, 5-6)
Thursday, Feb. 15 • 7 p.m.
Texas Hall (3,600) • Arlington, Texas
Audio: KKYX-680 AM/goUTSA.com
Live Stats: utamavs.com
Series Record: UTSA leads, 30-22
Last Meeting: UTSA 72-64 (Jan. 22, 2007)
Tuning In: The game will be aired live on KKYX-680 AM and will be available online at goUTSA.com through a Rowdy Zone subscription. Kyle Stephens (play-by-play) has the call. UTA will provide live stats online at utamavs.com.
Last Time Out: Ryan Bathie made 1-of-3 free throws with less one second remaining to force overtime and Adonis Gray poured in 23 points to lead Nicholls State to a come-from-behind 65-54 victory over UTSA on Saturday night at the Convocation Center. Bathie finished with 16 points to lead the Colonels to their first road victory of the season. Juniors Melvin Smith and Ryan Williams led UTSA in scoring with 11 points apiece, a season high for Williams, while junior Keith Spencer pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, his seventh game in double figures. Trailing 49-46 with just over seven minutes to play, UTSA rallied to take a 50-49 lead behind a 3-point play from Smith. Back-to-back baskets from Gray gave the Colonels a 53-50 advantage with 3:36 left. The Roadrunners quickly responded with a layup by junior Andrew Francis pulled UTSA to within a point at the 3:18 mark. Smith then ended a two-minutes scoring drought by both teams with a 15-foot jumper to give UTSA the lead, 54-53. Attaway then came up with a big steal to give the Roadrunners the ball back with 42 ticks remaining. UTSA launched a long-range shot as the shot clock buzzer sounded and came up with the offensive rebound with time running out. However, officials stopped the clock to look at a replay on the television monitor courtside and determined the ball had not left the UTSA player’s hand before the shot clock expired, giving Nicholls possession with 6.5 seconds remaining. Bathie launched a 3-pointer from the corner in front of the Colonels’ bench that missed, but was fouled as time expired, giving him three chances to knot the score. Bathie drained the first freebie, but missed the next two with the UTSA crowd in full force to force overtime. Nicholls stormed out to a 58-54 lead in the extra period and never looked back, holding UTSA scoreless en route to the 65-54 victory.
UTSA/UTA Series History: UTSA leads the all-time series with UTA, 30-22, and has won the last four meetings including a 72-64 decision on Jan. 22 in San Antonio. The Roadrunners also have won the last two meetings at Texas Hall, including a 74-71 nailbiter last season. UTSA is 14-11 against the Mavericks in Arlington and 5-5 over the last 10 meetings.
Series Notes:
• This will be the 53rd meeting between UTSA and UTA, marking the longest series the Roadrunners have with any opponent
• UTSA has won the last four meetings, including a 72-64 decision on Jan .22
• The Roadrunners are 14-11 versus the Mavericks at Texas Hall and have won the last two meetings in Arlington
Last Meeting: Isaiah Allen scored a season-high 25 points on the strength of six 3-pointers and Melvin Smith added 17 as UTSA snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 72-64 victory over Texas-Arlington on Jan. 22 at the Convocation Center. Allen, who was just 3-of-19 from behind the arc in four previous conference games, drained 6-of-8 from downtown to top his previous season-high of 22 against Gonzaga. He fell just shy of the school record of eight held by three players, the last being Rodric Hall during the 1996-97 season. Smith added 17 points, his 13th double-digit outing in the last 14 contests, while Kurt Attaway posted 12 points and nine assists. Keith Spencer pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to go along with eight points and four dimes. Rodrick Epps led UTA with 23 points, while Larry Posey and Anthony Vereen added 12 and 10, respectively. Allen helped UTSA overcome a 7-0 deficit out of the gates, draining 4-of-5 3-pointers over a six-minute span, the last from the right corner to give the Roadrunners a 22-20 lead at the 8:03 mark. UTA also was hot from downtown in the first half, making 4-of-5, including three from Epps. A Smith jumper and a Spencer tip-in during the final 50 seconds gave UTSA its first halftime lead in eight games, a 35-31 advantage. A thunderous, one-handed dunk by junior Andrew Francis helped spark a 10-0 run after UTA had cut the lead to two at 37-35. Allen’s fifth trey of the night capped the run and gave UTSA a 47-35 advantage at the 15:20 mark. UTSA extended the lead to 17 on his sixth 3-pointer with 10:41 to play. A Larry Posey layup at the 6:01 mark pulled UTA to within nine and an Epps steal and lay-up made it 57-50 with 5:37 to play. A long-range 3-pointer from the left wing by Ro’Ger Guignard cut the deficit to four with just over five minutes left. Spencer ended a 4:11 scoring drought for UTSA with a layup at the 3:59 mark, putting the Roadrunners up, 59-53. However, Guignard drained another trey from the top of the key one minute later to make it 59-56. Epps was good on a driving layup with 1:25 to play, but Smith caught a long pass from Spencer and was intentionally fouled, resulting in a six-point lead after two free throws and a Francis follow. Vereen made two freebies for the Mavericks, but that was as close as UTA would get as Attaway had a layup and four free throws in the final minute to seal it.
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 (16), Oklahoma State (38) and Gonzaga (45). In the two major polls, Washington State also is currently ranked No. 11, Oklahoma State is No. 20 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25, while the Cougars are No. 10 and the Cowboys are No. 18 in Associated Press Top 25 this week.
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 second in the league in scoring defense, giving up 65.5 points per game. The Roadrunners are 4-0 this season when holding opponents to 49 points or less.
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 12 games in a Roadrunners uniform. The Alief Elsik High School product is averaging 10.9 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game, and has led UTSA in scoring three times and rebounding nine times. A strong candidate for SLC Newcomer of the Year, he has turned in three double-doubles with 16 points and 14 rebounds against Northwestern State, 12 points and 10 boards at Texas State and 12 points and 13 rebounds against Stephen F. Austin. In conference play, Francis ranks second in the league in rebounding (8.6 rpg) and 19th in scoring (12.2 ppg).
Smith Stepping Up: Junior guard Melvin Smith has stepped up his game and emerged as a solid mid-range shooter. The Covington, Tenn., native has scored in double digits in 18 of the last 19 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 nearly 15 points per game and is shooting 43.8 percent (113-258) from the floor. The Dodge City (Kan.) Community College transfer leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg), field goals made (127) and minutes played (33.9 mpg) and has been the leading scorer for the Roadrunners 12 times this season. In SLC action, Smith’s 14.3 scoring average ranks fifth among league leaders.
That A Way, Attaway: Senior Kurt Attaway has relished in his role as the team’s floor general this season. Through 23 games (all starts), Attaway is averaging 7.0 points per game and has dished out a team-high 95 assists compared to only 56 turnovers. He also has a team-best 42 steals and is shooting 74.5 percent (41-55) from the free throw line. Attaway ranks second in the SLC in steals (1.83) and fourth in assists (4.14 apg).
Career Record Watch: With 101 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 David President into fourth place on UTSA’s career chart five assists against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 8. Attaway now has 346 career assists and could catch Thaddeus Wordlaw for second place (388) this season. Lloyd Williams holds the school record with 536 dimes. Attaway also is seventh with 144 steals, which is tied with Preston Ivory for sixth (144), and is 34th with 268 rebounds, four behind Clarence McGee (272). Attaway has scored 613 points in his career, which ranks 35th all time. The 2003-04 Southland Conference (SLC) Freshman of the Year needs one point to catch former NBA player Rick Doyle (614).
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 was named an honorable mention candidate for the John Wooden Citizenship Cup Award in January. Attaway recently earned first-team ESPN The Magazine/Academic All-District VI honors for the third consecutive season and will appear on the Academic All-America ballot later this month.
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 23 games, the San Diego, Calif., native has pulled down a team-high 169 rebounds and is averaging 7.3 boards per contest, good for fifth 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 (Dec. 30). His fourth double-double (14/11) came in the loss to Southeastern Louisiana (Feb. 8). Spencer, who also is shooting a team-high 58.7 percent (5th/SLC) from the floor this season, has reached double-digit rebounds seven times this year. He grabbed a season-best 12 boards at Washington State and against Nicholls State and has led the Roadrunners in rebounding in 13 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 39 3-pointers and a 75.8-percent (50-66) free throw percentage and ranks third in scoring (10.7 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 61.7 percent in SLC action. UTSA is shooting 69.1 percent (76-110) over the past six games.
Forecasting 400: In its 26th year, UTSA owns an all-time record of 384-346 (.523), including nine seasons of 17 or more victories, the last coming in 2003-04 (19-14).
Up Next: UTSA returns home to host rival Texas State in the homecoming game on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tip is set for 6 p.m. at the Convocation Center and the game will be televised live in the San Antonio area on Time Warner Cable channel 50.
