UTSA Roadrunners (5-4) at San Diego Toreros (5-8)
Saturday, Dec. 22 ? 3 p.m. (CT) ? Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100) ? San Diego, Calif.
Series Record: UTSA leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: UTSA 64, San Diego 49 (Nov. 26, 2006)
SAN ANTONINO ? Fresh off a convincing 70-54 win against TexasWesleyan on Wednesday, UTSA (5-4) hits the road to face San Diego (5-8)on Saturday, Dec. 22. Tip is set for 3 p.m. Central time at Jenny CraigPavilion.
Tuning In: San Diego will provide free live stats at usdtoreros.com. Live audio will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers at goUTSA.com.
Fast Break Points:
? This is the second meeting between UTSA and San Diego
? UTSA won the only meeting, 64-49, on Nov. 26, 2006, in San Antonio
? UTSA is 1-3 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference
? The Roadrunners are searching for their first road win since March 3, 2006 (Stephen F. Austin), and their first non-conference road victory (excluding neutral sites) since Dec. 13, 2003 (Baylor)
UTSA/San Diego Series History: This will be just the second meeting between UTSA and San Diego, with the Roadrunners winning the only meeting, 64-49, on Nov. 26, 2006, in San Antonio. UTSA set a pair of school records in that victory, holding San Diego to just 13 field goals and 24.5-percent shooting. UTSA is 1-3 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference: Gonzaga (0-2), San Diego (1-0) and San Francisco (0-1).
Scouting the Toreros: San Diego has lost three straight games and enters Saturday’s contest at 5-8 on the season. The Toreros dropped a 56-50 decision at home against Stephen F. Austin last Saturday and are 3-3 at Jenny Craig Pavilion this year. Junior guard Brandon Johnson, a Houston native, leads the team in scoring (16.0 ppg) and assists (3.2 apg), while Junior forward Gyno Pomare is contributing 14.8 points and a team-best 7.1 rebounds per contest. San Diego is averaging 62.7 points per game and shoots 43 percent from the floor and 69.7 percent from the free throw line as a team. Head coach Bill Grier, a longtime assistant at Gonzaga, is in his first season.
Last Time Out: Junior Travis Gabbidon posted his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 14 rebounds to help lead UTSA past Texas Wesleyan, 70-54, on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center. Gabbidon’s totals led all players, while senior Isaiah Allen and junior Joey Shank added 12 and 10 points, respectively, as the Roadrunners ended a three-game losing streak. Junior Antoine Dade pulled down six boards to go along with his five points and freshman Devin Gibson posted seven points and team highs of four assists and three steals. Gary Eshon scored 13 and Dane Dmitrovic chipped in with 11 for the Rams. After an Eshon layup to open the second half, the Roadrunners went on an 8-0 run to build a 44-32 advantage. Kennith Gober drained a jumper at the 15:29 mark for the Rams, but 3-pointers by Gabbidon, Shank and Gibson keyed an 11-2 spurt that gave UTSA a 55-36 lead. The lead would grow to as many as 24 on a free throw by freshman Russ Permenter with 6:13 remaining. The Rams cut it to 67-52 on an Eshon trey with just under three minutes on the clock, but would get no closer. Gabbidon had 11 of his points and seven of his boards in the first half as UTSA built a six-point advantage at the half. UTSA jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead through the first 4:32, but the Rams fought back to take their first and only lead of the game, 15-14, following a Gober 3-pointer at the 9:42 mark. The Roadrunners pushed their lead back to nine points and held a 36-30 advantage, thanks to a 17-11 edge on the glass, at the break. UTSA held Texas Wesleyan to 16 points below its scoring average coming in and forced 19 turnovers, 10 of those steals. The Roadrunners dominated the boards, outrebounding the Rams, 41-26, for their largest margin of the season.
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.
Home Sweet Home: The Convocation Center has been a tough place for opponents to play. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 236-106 (.690) in the facility dating back to the inaugural 1981-82 season. UTSA is 4-1 at home this year.
Road Woes: UTSA is searching for its first road win since a 54-49 victory at Stephen F. Austin on March 3, 2006. The Roadrunners last won a non-conference road game ? excluding neutral site contests ? on Dec. 13, 2003, with a 53-45 win at Baylor. UTSA defeated Navy, 77-67, in a neutral site game at the Alamodome on Nov. 17, but the Roadrunners last victory outside of the San Antonio city limits was a 76-55 decision over St. Bonaventure on Dec. 28, 2005, at the FIU Holiday Classic in Miami, Fla.
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 390-357 (.522).
New Faces: UTSA returned five letterwinners, each of whom earned one letter apiece, from last year’s 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 (12.4) and juniors Travis Gabbidon (12.3) and Joey Shank (10.8) ? are each in their first season of action, while Gabbidon (5.8), Gibson (4.3) and junior Antoine Dade (3.8) 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. The Roadrunners held Texas Wesleyan to 54 points on Dec. 19, 16 below its season average entering that game.
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 183 times through nine games, an average of 20.3 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 (+3.78) and ranks second in steals per game (9.89). Individually, freshman Devin Gibson leads the league with 3.11 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. Junior Travis Gabbidon posted his first double-double with game-highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds in the 70-54 win over Texas Wesleyan.
Gabbidon Gearing Up: Junior Travis Gabbidon has been a consistent scorer and rebounder for UTSA throughout the first part of his debut season. The Phoenix, Ariz., native averaged 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds through the first eight games, scoring at least 11 points in six of those contests. He exploded for 21 points and 14 boards ? both season highs ? in the 70-54 win over Texas Wesleyan on Dec. 19. The College of Southern Idaho transfer, who sat out last season with a foot injury, ranks 16th in scoring, 18th in rebounding and sixth (3.0) in offensive boards among SLC players.
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 24-of-59 from behind the arc for 40.7 percent, and is shooting 45.8 percent (33-of-72) from the floor overall. Shank also is a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line and is averaging 10.8 points per game. The American River College product ranks third in the Southland Conference in 3-point field goals made per game with 2.67, fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (40.7%) and 24th in field goal percentage (45.8%). 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 2.83 3-pointers per game over his last six 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 8.9 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game in seven 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 seven games played. Spencer led the squad with 206 rebounds last season and is pulling down 7.2 boards per outing for his UTSA career.
Second-Half Shooting The Key: In its five victories this season, UTSA is outscoring its opponents by an average margin of 43-34 in the second half. The Roadrunners have topped 40 points in the second half in four of the five 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 53 percent in the second stanza, including 57 percent during the last three victories. In its four losses, the Roadrunners have been outscored by an average margin of 34-24 and has shot just 38 percent as a team, including just 7-of-34 (20.6%) 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 returns home to host McMurry on Friday, Dec. 28. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
