· Game notes (.pdf)
SAN ANTONIO — UTSA (6-21, 2-12 SLC) hosts Sam Houston State (20-8, 12-2 SLC) on Thursday, March 1, in the final home game of the season. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners conclude the season on the road Saturday at Stephen F. Austin (15-12, 8-7 SLC). Tip is set for 6 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches.
UTSA Roadrunners (6-21, 2-12) vs. Sam Houston State Bearkats (20-8, 12-2)
Thursday, March 1 • 7 p.m.
Convocation Center (4,500) • San Antonio, Texas
Audio: KKYX-AM 680/goUTSA.com
Video: goUTSA.com
Series Record: UTSA leads, 18-12
Last Meeting: Sam Houston State 76, UTSA 64 (Feb. 1, 2007)
UTSA Roadrunners at Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (15-12, 8-7)
Saturday, March 3 • 6 p.m.
Johnson Coliseum (7,200) • Nacogdoches, Texas
Audio: KKYX-680 AM/goUTSA.com
GameTracker: sfajacks.com
Series Record: UTSA leads, 20-9
Last Meeting: UTSA 48, Stephen F. Austin 45 (Feb. 3, 2007)
Senior Salute: UTSA will honor its two seniors — Kurt Attaway and Dwain Hall — prior to tip-off on Thursday night.
Tuning In: Both games will be aired live on KKYX-680 AM and will be available online at goUTSA.com through a Rowdy Zone subscription. Jason Minnix (play-by-play) and Edward Endicott (color) have the call Thursday night. Live video for Thursday’s game will be available online at goUTSA.com through a Rowdy Zone subscription. Stephen F. Austin will provide GameTracker for Saturday’s contest at sfajacks.com.
Last Time Out: Junior Melvin Smith led three Roadrunners in double figures with 14 points, but Chris Daniels scored 16 to lead Texas A&M-Corpus Christi past UTSA, 75-59, last Saturday at the American Bank Center. Smith reached double figures for the 22nd time this season, while juniors Andrew Francis and Isaiah Allen pitched in 13 points apiece. Francis pulled down a team-high six rebounds and senior Kurt Attaway dished out a game-high six assists. Daniels added eight boards to lead the Islanders, while Kevin Menifee and Taurean Mitchell added 14 and 10 points, respectively. TAMU-CC shot 58 percent (29-of-50) from the floor and used 10 steals to help force 18 Roadrunner turnovers. A Francis layup erased an early six-point deficit and made it 12-11 Islanders at the 14:14 mark. TAMU-CC used a 13-0 run to help build a 16-point lead with 7:41 to play in the half. UTSA cut into the deficit with a 9-0 run, capped by a pair of Ryan Williams free throws at the 2:21 mark. Smith then tied the game at 35-35 on a leaning 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:41 left, but Daniels drained a turn-around jumper in the lane to put the Islanders up 37-35, at the half. Both teams shot well in the half with UTSA making 13-of-25 (52 percent) from the field and the Islanders draining 59.3 percent (16-of-27). TAMU-CC charged out to a big lead midway through the second half, using a 157 run to build a 10-point lead with just under 14 minutes remaining. The lead grew to 64-44 on a Josh Washington trey at the 7:58 mark. A Smith jumper made it a 12-point game with just over two minutes left, capping a 5-0 run by UTSA. The Islanders responded, holding UTSA to just one free throw down the stretch in the 16-point win.
UTSA/Sam Houston State Series History: UTSA leads the all-time series with Sam Houston State, 18-12, but the Bearkats have won the last four and six of the past seven meetings including a 76-64 decision in Huntsville on Feb. 1. The Roadrunners are 8-6 against the Bearkats in the Convocation Center, but Sam Houston State has a three-game winning streak in San Antonio.
Series Notes:
• This will be the 31st meeting between UTSA and Sam Houston State
• The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 18-12
• The Bearkats have won four straight and six of the last seven meetings
• UTSA is 8-6 against Sam Houston at home, but have lost three straight
Scouting the Bearkats: Sam Houston State enters Thursday’s game at 20-8 overall and tied for first place in the Southland Conference West Division at 12-2. The Bearkats have won eight consecutive league contests since falling at Texas-Arlington on Jan. 25. Sam Houston State’s only loss in the last month was a non-conference tilt at Fresno State as part of the ESPN BracketBusters. Junior forward Ryan Bright leads the team in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg), while senior forward Aaron Wade contributes 12.1 points per game. Senior point guard Jejuan Plair adds in 10.7 points and 5.7 assists per game. Head coach Bob Marlin is 158-101 in his 13th season.
UTSA/Stephen F. Austin Series History: UTSA leads the all-time series with Stephen F. Austin, 20-9, and has won the last five meetings. The Roadrunners defeated SFA, 48-45, on Feb. 3, in San Antonio and won both meetings in 2006.
Series Notes:
• This will be the 30th meeting between UTSA and Stephen F. Austin
• The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 20-9
• UTSA has won five straight meetings
• The Lumberjacks are 7-6 against the Roadrunners in Nacogdoches
• SFA last defeated UTSA, 69-60, on Feb. 4, 2004, in Nacogdoches
Scouting the Lumberjacks: Stephen F. Austin is 15-11 overall and 8-6 in the Southland Conference entering a Wednesday night contest at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Sophomore forward Matt Kingsley leads the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game, while sophomore guard Josh Alexander adds 12.5 points and a team-high 5.2 rebounds per contest. Head coach Danny Kaspar is 108-87 in his seventh season.
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 60 of the latest Sagarin Ratings Index — Washington State (15), Gonzaga (49) and Oklahoma State (60). In the two major polls, Washington State also is currently ranked No. 13 in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 and Associated Press Top 25 this week.
Tough At Home: The UTSA Convocation Center has been a tough place for opponents to play. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 232-104 (.690) in the facility dating back to the inaugural 1981-82 season.
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 66.7 points per game. The Roadrunners are 4-0 this season when holding opponents to 49 points or less, but 0-10 when an opponent score 70 or more.
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 season in a Roadrunners uniform. The Alief Elsik High School product is averaging 10.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and has led UTSA in scoring four times and rebounding 12 times. He has turned in three double-doubles with 16 points and 14 rebounds against Northwestern State (1/13), 12 points and 10 boards at Texas State (1/20) and 12 points and 13 rebounds against Stephen F. Austin (2/3). In conference play, Francis ranks fifth in the league in rebounding (7.5 rpg) and seventh in blocked shots (1.36).
Smith Stepping Up: Junior guard Melvin Smith has emerged as one of UTSA’s most consistent outside shooters this season. The Covington, Tenn., native has scored in double digits in 22 contests, including a season-high 25 in the 64-60 victory over Texas Wesleyan on Dec. 9. Smith leads the team in scoring (13.1 ppg), field goals made (144) and minutes played (33.2 mpg) and has been the leading scorer for the Roadrunners 14 times this season. He ranks 13th in league play in scoring (13.2 ppg).
That A Way, Attaway: Senior Kurt Attaway has relished in his role as the team’s floor general this season. Attaway is averaging 7.1 points per game and has dished out a team-high 113 assists compared to only 73 turnovers (1.55 assist/turnover ratio). He also has a team-best 54 steals and is shooting 74.2 percent (49-66) from the free throw line. Attaway leads the SLC in steals (2.00) and ranks fifth in assists (4.19 apg).
Career Record Watch: With 105 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 with five assists against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 8 and now stands third with 364 career assists. Attaway also is fifth with 156 steals, four behind Keith Horne (160), and is tied with Andre Owens for 31st with 275 rebounds, 11 behind Mahcoe Parker (286). Attaway has scored 642 points in his career, which ranks 33rd all time. The 2003-04 Southland Conference (SLC) Freshman of the Year needs one point to catch Justin Harbert (643) and 14 to surpass Rob Wallace for 31st (655).
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 in March.
Wiping The Glass: Junior Keith Spencer has quickly established himself as a force on the glass in his first season with the Roadrunners. The San Diego, Calif., native has pulled down a team-high 192 rebounds and is averaging 7.1 boards per contest, good for sixth 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) and he recorded his fifth with 14 and 12 in the loss at McNeese State (Feb. 22). Spencer, who also is shooting a team-high 59.1 percent (T-4th/SLC) from the floor this season, has reached double-digit rebounds eight times this year. He has grabbed a season-best 12 boards three times and has led the Roadrunners in rebounding in 14 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 13 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 46 3-pointers and ranks second in scoring (10.6 ppg) and free throw percentage (.741).
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.
