? Game notes (.pdf)
UTSA Roadrunners vs. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys
Friday, Nov. 9 ? 8 p.m. ? Convocation Center (4,080) ? San Antonio, Texas
Series Record: UTSA leads, 12-3 ? Last Meeting: UTSA, 89-86 (Feb. 17, 1990)
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA faces Hardin-Simmons in the regular season opener onFriday, Nov. 9, at the Convocation Center. Tip is set for 8 p.m. or 30minutes following the conclusion of the women’s 6 p.m. game againstHuston-Tillotson.
Tuning In: Live audio and video will be available for free in a season-opening preview of the Rowdy Zone subscription service at goUTSA.com. Stu Paul will call the action. UTSA will provide free live stats of all home games at goUTSA.com.
Fast Break Points:
? UTSA has won three straight and is 22-4 all-time in home openers
? This will be the 16th all-time meeting between UTSA and Hardin-Simmons, an NCAA Division III member of the American Southwest Conference (ASC) located in Abilene
? The Roadrunners and Cowboys were former league rivals in the Trans America Athletic Conference in the 1980s
? UTSA owns a 12-3 lead in the all-time series, including a 6-1 mark in San Antonio
? The Roadrunners won the last meeting, 89-86, on Feb. 17, 1990
? UTSA is 24-3 all-time against current members of the ASC
? This is an exhibition game for Hardin-Simmons
UTSA/Hardin-Simmons Series History: UTSA and Hardin-Simmons will meet for the 16th time on Friday night. The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 12-3, including a 6-1 mark in San Antonio. UTSA won the last meeting, 89-86, on Feb. 17, 1990, in Abilene, the second of two victories against Hardin-Simmons that year (W, 90-85 ? Jan. 20). The Roadrunners won the first six meetings in the series before the Cowboys broke through for a 76-61 victory on Feb. 24, 1986. UTSA has averaged 79.1 points per game in the 15 previous meetings, including a 109-95 win on Jan. 17, 1987.
Scouting the Cowboys: Hardin-Simmons, an NCAA Division III member of the American Southwest Conference located in Abilene, returns five letterwinners ? including two starters ? from last year’s 16-12 team that finished third in the ASC West Division with a 15-7 mark. Head coach Dylan Howard enters his seventh season with a career 63-81 record. Friday’s game will be the first and only exhibition contest of the season for the Cowboys, who averaged 73.1 points per game and shot 45.4 percent from the floor last year.
Last Time Out: Juniors Travis Gabbidon and Orrin Greer and freshman Devin Gibson all reached double figures as UTSA downed Mary-Hardin Baylor, 76-58, in the first and only exhibition game of the season for the Roadrunners last Saturday night at the Convocation Center. Gabbidon led all players with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, while Gibson and Greer poured in 16 apiece. Gibson added five assists, four rebounds and three steals in a game-high 33 minutes of action. Greer came off the bench to knock down 6-of-9 from the floor and senior Keith Spencer led all players with 11 rebounds. The Roadrunners stormed out to an 18-6 lead through the first seven minutes of the first half behind seven points from Gibson. The lead remained in double digits for most of the half until a Ryan Burgart jumper pulled The Cru to within 25-19 with 3:30 to play. UTSA would answer with a 3-pointer from the wing by junior Joey Shank, which made it 32-22 at the break. UTSA carried that momentum back out on the court to start the second half, using a 13-9 run to extend its lead to 45-31 on a trey by senior Isaiah Allen. A Greer jumper pushed the lead to 16 at 55-39 with 11:05 to play. Greer scored all 16 of his points in the second half, draining a 3-pointer from the left wing that gave UTSA a 70-50 lead with just under three minutes to play.
Tough Slate: UTSA will face one of the toughest schedules in recent history this season. Texas and Arkansas are ranked Nos. 16 and 19, respectively, in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Preseason Poll, while the Longhorns and Razorbacks are 15th and 19th in The Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll. Also on the slate are traditional power Oklahoma State, an NIT participant last season, Navy, SMU and defending Southland Conference champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the league’s NCAA representative last March.
Tough At Home: The UTSA Convocation Center has been a tough place for opponents to play. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 232-105 (.688) in the facility dating back to the inaugural 1981-82 season.
Record-Setting Defense: UTSA broke three school records in back-to-back games last 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. The 13 field goals also were the fewest allowed since Texas State made 14 in 1996. One game later, UTSA held Henderson State to 36 points, breaking the previous fewest-points record of 42 set by Texas State in 1996. The Roadrunners surrendered just 649 field goals for the season, also a new school record, and ranked second in the league in scoring defense (66.3 points per game).
Next Up: UTSA travels to Austin to face No. 15 Texas on Monday, Nov. 12. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Erwin Center and the game will be televised in the state of Texas by FOX Sports Southwest.
