UTSA Roadrunners (5-5) vs. McMurry (3-5)
Friday, Dec. 28 ? 7 p.m.
Convocation Center (4,080) ? San Antonio, Texas
Series Record: UTSA leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: UTSA, 92-65 (Dec. 18, 1982)
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA (5-5) returns from a six-day holiday break to host McMurry (3-5), an NCAA Division III school located in Abilene, on Friday, Dec. 28. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
Tuning In: Live stats will be provided by UTSA 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 third overall meeting, the first since 1982, between UTSA and McMurry
? The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 2-0
? UTSA is 25-3 all-time against current members of the American Southwest Conference
? McMurry does not use an official nickname after the NCAA forced the athletics department to stop using Indians in 2006
? The Roadrunners are 4-1 at the Convocation Center this season
UTSA/McMurry Series History: This will be the third meeting between UTSA and McMurry, with the Roadrunners owning a 2-0 advantage in the series. The Roadrunners won the initial matchup, 74-58, on Dec. 19, 1981, in UTSA’s first season of basketball. UTSA grabbed a 92-65 decision on Dec. 18, 1982, in the last meeting, and both games were held in San Antonio. UTSA is 25-3 all-time against current members of the American Southwest Conference ? Hardin-Simmons (13-3), Howard Payne (1-0), McMurry (2-0), Schreiner (3-0), Sul Ross State (3-0), Texas Lutheran (1-0) and UT-Tyler (2-0). The Roadrunners also defeated Mary-Hardin Baylor, 76-58, in an exhibition game earlier this season.
Scouting McMurry: McMurry has lost five straight games and is 3-5 on the season. Senior forward Alex Robles leads the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game, while junior forward Dewayne Hall is contributing 11.6 points per outing. Senior center Chris Gammage is pulling down a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game and has eight blocks, while junior guard Robert Moreno has dished out a team-best 21 assists. McMurry is averaging 74.6 points per game and is shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 69.2 percent from the free throw line this year. Head coach Ron Holmes is 302-175 in his 19th season at the helm.
Last Time Out: Senior Melvin Smith led three Roadrunners in double figures with 14 points, but Brandon Johnson poured in a game-high 18 to help lead San Diego to a 69-54 win over UTSA last Saturday at Jenny Craig Pavilion. Smith’s 14 were a season high, while junior Travis Gabbidon and senior Isaiah Allen added 13 and 11, respectively for the Roadrunners. Gabbidon and junior Antoine Dade pulled down a team-high five rebounds apiece. Gyno Pomare scored 15, while Rob Jones posted 11 points and a game-best eight rebounds and Trumaine Johnson added 10 points as San Diego shot 57.1 percent from the field and 76.9 percent from the free throw line, and outrebounded UTSA, 28-24. The Roadrunners converted 42.2 percent from the floor, including six 3-pointers, and were 10-of-15 from the charity stripe. The Toreros fought back from an early 11-4 deficit, taking their first lead at 19-18 on a Pomare dunk at the 8:38 mark. The two teams traded leads until San Diego used a 9-0 run to open up a 35-26 lead with just under three minutes left in the half. Gabbidon converted a pair of free throws, but a Pomare layup and a Brandon Johnson trey gave the Toreros a 40-28 advantage at the break. San Diego built its lead to 15 through the first seven minutes of the second half, but a 9-0 stretch by UTSA capped by a Gabbidon jumper cut the deficit to just 49-43 with 9:27 remaining. San Diego responded with a 14-1 stretch that resulted in a 19-point lead with just under four minutes left.
Tough Slate: UTSA will face one of its toughest schedules in recent history this season. Texas is ranked No. 9 and Sam Houston State is receiving votes in both The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Polls, while Arkansas is receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 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.
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 390-358 (.521).
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 ? junior Travis Gabbidon (12.4), freshman Devin Gibson (11.9) and junior Joey Shank (9.7) ? are each in their first season of action, while Gabbidon (5.7), Gibson (4.0) and junior Antoine Dade (3.9) 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 198 times through nine games, an average of 19.8 per game, and five teams have committed at least 20 turnovers, including a season-high 29 by Hardin-Simmons. UTSA ranks second in the Southland Conference in steals per game (9.50) and third in turnover margin (+3.10). Individually, freshman Devin Gibson leads the league with 3.00 steals per game. Additionally, the Roadrunners are 28th nationally in steals per game, while Gibson is seventh according to the latest NCAA stats released Dec. 18.
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, and followed that with 13 points and five rebounds in the loss at San Diego (Dec. 22). The College of Southern Idaho transfer ranks 14th in scoring (14.2), 17th in rebounding (5.7), 12th in free throw percentage (.703) and seventh (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-60 from behind the arc for 40 percent, and is shooting 45.2 percent (33-of-73) from the floor overall. Shank also is a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line and is averaging 9.7 points per game. The American River College product ranks fourth in the Southland Conference in 3-point field goals made per game with 2.40 and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (40.0%). 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.
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 8.5 points and a team-best 7.1 rebounds per game in eight 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 five times. Spencer led the squad with 206 rebounds last season and is pulling down 7.1 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 five losses, the Roadrunners have been outscored by an average margin of 33-25 and have shot just 38.1 percent as a team, including just 9-of-42 (21.4%) 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 again to face Oklahoma State on Wednesday, Jan. 2, for the first of three straight away from the Convocation Center. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
