UTSA Roadrunners (4-4) vs. Texas Wesleyan Rams (7-4)
Wednesday, Dec. 19 ? 7 p.m. ? Convocation Center (4,080) ? San Antonio, Texas
Series Record: UTSA leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: UTSA 64, Texas Wesleyan 60 (Dec. 9, 2006)
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA (4-4) will look to stop a three-game slide as theRoadrunners return home to host Texas Wesleyan (7-4), an NAIA schoollocated in Fort Worth, on Wednesday, Dec. 19. Tip is set for 7 p.m. atthe Convocation Center.
Tuning In: UTSA will provide free live stats at goUTSA.com. Live audio and video will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers at goUTSA.com. Andy Everett has the call.
Fast Break Points:
? This is the second meeting between UTSA and Texas Wesleyan
? UTSA won the only meeting, 64-60, on Dec. 9, 2006, in San Antonio
? The Roadrunners are 6-0 all-time against current members of the Red River Athletic Conference, including a 93-79 win over Paul Quinn on Nov. 26
? UTSA has won seven of its last 10 non-conference home games
? The Roadrunners are 3-1 at home this season
UTSA/Texas Wesleyan Series History: This will be just the second meeting between UTSA and Texas Wesleyan, an NAIA school located in Fort Worth. The Roadrunners downed the Rams, 64-60, on Dec. 9, 2006, at the Convocation Center in the only other meeting. UTSA is 6-0 all-time against current members of the Red River Athletic Conference. In addition to the Texas Wesleyan victory last season and the 93-79 win over Paul Quinn earlier this season, the Roadrunners also have faced Huston-Tillotson (1-0), Jarvis Christian (1-0) and Texas College (2-0).
Scouting the Rams: Texas Wesleyan moved to 7-4 on the season with a 92-61 win over Wesley College on Monday night. Senior guard Fred Eshon and junior guard Kennith Gober scored 21 and 20, respectively, while sophomore forward Hector Mukweyi posted 16 points and a game-high 19 rebounds, as the Rams grabbed a school-record 65 boards. Gober is the team’s leading scorer with 15.2 points per game, while Eshon and senior forward Dalane Finley are contributing 12.5 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Sophomore forward Dane Dmitrovic is the top rebounder with 8.9 per contest. Texas Wesleyan is averaging 70.7 points and 44.1 rebounds per game. Head coach Terry Waldrop is 148-104 in his ninth season.
Last Time Out: Senior Keith Spencer posted his eighth career double-double and freshman Devin Gibson turned in 14 points and seven assists, but Leonard Mendez poured in 22, including the game-tying basket to force overtime, to lead Georgia State to a 76-71 win over UTSA on Saturday night at Georgia State Sports Arena. With the game tied at 66 and under 20 seconds to play, junior Travis Gabbidon found Spencer alone on the baseline on a set play out of a timeout for a dunk that put UTSA up two with 12 ticks left. Following a Georgia State timeout, Mendez pulled up just outside the free throw line and drained a jumper with 0.5 seconds left to knot the score at 68. UTSA’s ensuing inbounds pass went out of bounds untouched, which gave the Panthers the ball under their own basket with half a second remaining. Kevin Lott was alone for an easy layup on the inbounds play but misfired to send the game to overtime. In the extra frame, Mendez struck again to give GSU a 70-68 lead, but Gabbidon responded with a long 3-pointer to give the Roadrunners their first and only lead of the overtime period. Mendez (4-4) and Goldston (2-2) combined for a perfect performance from the free throw line down the stretch and the Panthers defense held the Roadrunners scoreless the rest of the way as GSU held on for the five-point win. Spencer scored 12 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, while Gabbidon joined Gibson and Spencer in double figures with 11 points, 10 of which came after halftime. UTSA shot 52.8 percent (28-53) from the floor, including six 3-pointers, in a game that saw nine ties and six lead changes. The Panthers were 29-of-55 (52.7%) from the field, including seven treys, and 11-of-13 (84.6%) from the free throw line. Mendez led all players with 22 points, while Goldston and Dickerson contributed 18 and 10, respectively.
Tough Slate: UTSA will face one of its toughest schedules in recent history this season. Texas is ranked Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, while Arkansas is receiving votes in both The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Polls. Sam Houston State is receiving votes in The AP 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 SLC’s NCAA representative last March.
Tough At Home: The Convocation Center has been a tough place for opponents to play. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 235-106 (.689) in the facility dating back to the inaugural 1981-82 season. UTSA is 3-1 at home this year.
A Good Beginning: With a 4-1 start through its first five games this year, UTSA matched the best five-game start in school history which also was accomplished in the 1988-89 and 2001-02 seasons.
Closing In On 400: UTSA is closing in on victory No. 400 for the program. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 389-357 (.521).
New Faces: UTSA returned five letterwinners, each of whom earned one letter apiece, from last year’s 7-22 team which marked the least returning NCAA Division I experience in the nation entering this season. A talented group of first-year players has joined forces with the returnees and their contributions are being felt immediately. UTSA’s top three scorers ? freshman Devin Gibson (13.1) and juniors Travis Gabbidon (11.3) and Joey Shank (10.9) ? are each in their first season of action, while Gibson (4.8), Gabbidon (4.8) and junior Antoine Dade (3.4) rank as three of the team’s top four rebounders.
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). That trademark tough defensive approach has continued into this season as UTSA limited Hardin-Simmons to just 47 points, including 19 in the first half, in the season opener. The Roadrunners held Texas to its lowest point total (58) since a 46-43 loss at Texas A&M on March 1, 2006. UTSA held Paul Quinn to 17 points below its scoring average and limited UMKC, which was averaging 9.8 3-point field goals made per game, to just five.
Turnover Feast: A big key to UTSA’s early-season success can be contributed to its ability to force turnovers. Opponents have turned the ball over 164 times through eight games, an average of 20.5 per game, and five teams have committed at least 20 turnovers, including a season-high 29 by Hardin-Simmons. UTSA leads the SLC in turnover margin (+3.62) and steals per game (9.88). Individually, freshman Devin Gibson leads the league with 3.13 steals per game. Additionally, the Roadrunners are 28th nationally in steals per game, while Gibson is seventh.
Double-Double Tracker: Freshman Devin Gibson registered his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the loss at No. 15 Texas. Senior Keith Spencer posted UTSA’s second double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the 93-79 win over Paul Quinn. Spencer recorded his second of the year and eighth of his UTSA career with 12 points and 10 boards in the 76-71 overtime loss at Georgia State.
No Shank Shot Here: Junior Joey Shank has emerged as one of the league’s top 3-point shooters this season. The Folsom, Calif., native has drained 22-of-53 from behind the arc for 41.5 percent, and is shooting 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from the floor overall. Shank also is a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line and is averaging 10.9 points per game. The American River College product ranks fourth in the Southland Conference in 3-point field goals made per game with 2.75, fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (41.5%), 23rd in field goal percentage (45.3%) and 24th in scoring (10.9 ppg). Shank drained four 3-pointers en route to 16 points in the Paul Quinn victory and for an encore exploded with six treys en route to a game-high 23 points in the 73-61 win over UMKC one game later. Shank was 3-of-6 from downtown in the overtime loss at Georgia State and is averaging 3.0 3-pointers per game over his last five outings.
Wiping the Glass: Senior Keith Spencer missed the first two regular season games, but has returned to the lineup with a vengeance. The San Diego, Calif., native is averaging 9.7 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds per game in six contests. In his second game back, he posted his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 boards in the 93-79 win over Paul Quinn. He followed that with 14 points and seven rebounds in the UMKC victory and then grabbed 12 rebounds in the SMU loss, despite playing just 22 minutes due to foul trouble. He recorded his second double-double of the season and eighth of his career with 12 points and 10 boards in the overtime loss at Georgia State. Spencer has been the team’s leading rebounder in five of his six games played. Spencer led the squad with 206 rebounds last season and is pulling down 7.3 boards per outing for his UTSA career.
Second-Half Shooting The Key: In its four victories this season, UTSA is outscoring its opponents by an average margin of 45-37 in the second half. The Roadrunners have topped 40 points in the second half in all four wins, including a Brooks Thompson era-best 53 in the Paul Quinn victory. Hot shooting has been a major key to the post-halftime success as UTSA is shooting 55.1 percent in the second stanza, including 62.5 percent over the last two victories (Paul Quinn, UMKC). In its three losses, the Roadrunners have been outscored by an average margin of 35.0-22.3 and has shot just 32.1 percent as a team, including just 6-of-31 (19.4%) from behind the 3-point line.
Fall Signing Class: UTSA signed Richie Frolich (Oldendorf, Germany/Citrus College) and Leslie Jackson (Bryan, Texas/Blinn College) to National Letters of Intent for the 2008-09 season.
Next Up: UTSA hits the road to face San Diego on Saturday, Dec. 22. Tip is set for 3 p.m. (CT) at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
