UTSA Roadrunners (6-7, 0-0 SLC) at Lamar Cardinals (6-7, 0-0 SLC)
Saturday, Jan. 12 ? 7 p.m. ? Montagne Center (10,080) ? Beaumont, Texas
Series Record: Lamar leads, 15-10Last Meeting: Lamar, 71-59 (Jan. 6, 2007)
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA (6-7) opens Southland Conference play on the road atLamar (6-7) this Saturday, Jan. 12. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at theMontagne Center in Beaumont, Texas.
Tuning In: Live audio will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers at http://goUTSA.com. Live stats will be provided by Lamar at http://lamarcardinals.cstv.com.
Fast Break Points:
? This is the 26th meeting with Lamar and the first in Beaumont since Feb. 5, 2005
? The Cardinals lead the all-time series, 15-10, and have won the last five meetings
? UTSA is 3-6 against Lamar in Beaumont, with its last win a 95-91 overtime decision on Jan. 28, 2004
? The Roadrunners are 0-6 on the road this season, but won their last Southland Conference road game, 54-49, at Stephen F. Austin on March 3, 2007
? UTSA is 12-9 all-time in conference openers (7-9 SLC/5-0 TAAC)
? The Roadrunners’ last league-opening road victory was an 80-65 win at Louisiana-Monroe on Jan. 6, 2005
UTSA/Lamar Series History: This will be the 26th meeting between UTSA and Lamar and the 10th game in Beaumont. Lamar holds a 6-3 advantage in Beaumont, with UTSA’s last victory a 95-91 overtime decision on Jan. 28, 2004. The Cardinals have won the last five series meetings, but the Roadrunners won six consecutive meetings from 2002-04 and 10 of 11 dating back to 1999. Lamar won the first nine series meetings until UTSA broke through for a 75-65 victory in 1999.
Last Meeting: Andrew Francis scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds, but James Davis led four Lamar players in double figures as the Cardinals held off UTSA, 71-59, on Jan. 6, 2007, at the Convocation Center. Davis poured in 15 points while Matthew Barrow (14), Darren Hopkins (13) and Lawrence Nwevo (10) also reached double digits for the Cardinals. Francis turned in a season-high 14 on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and a 6-for-9 night from the free throw line. Isaiah Allen added 11 points for the Roadrunners. The two teams combined for 52 fouls, including 36 in the second half. UTSA trailed by as many as nine in the first half, but fought back to within 24-20 as a Spencer layup with 1:22 left capped a 6-1 run. Sanders drained a trey from the left corner with 50 ticks remaining to provide the halftime score, 27-20. The Cardinals built their lead to 13 on a Todd Currye 3-pointer at the 17:32 mark, but an Aldric Reynolds reverse layup at the 11:55 mark cut the deficit to six at 45-39, finishing off a 15-8 run. Again Lamar pushed the lead back to double digits only to have UTSA pull to within 53-47 on a Francis free throw with 8:12 remaining.
Scouting Lamar: The Cardinals improved to 6-7 on the season with a 74-69, come-from-behind victory over Utah Valley State on Tuesday night in Beaumont. Junior guard Kenny Dawkins leads Lamar in scoring (14.8 ppg) and assists (4.2 apg), while senior forward Lamar Sanders is posting 11.0 points and a team-best 7.4 rebounds per game. The Cardinals score 79.2 points per game, shoot 46.3 percent from the floor and force 19.8 turnovers per game, including 9.2 steals per contest. Head coach Steve Roccaforte is 21-24 in his second season.
Last Time Out: Junior Travis Gabbidon poured in a career-high 31 points, but Paul Stoll scored 20 to help lead Texas-Pan American to a 71-63 victory over UTSA on Tuesday night at UTPA Fieldhouse. Gabbidon drained five 3-pointers and was 12-of-20 from the floor overall to lead all players with the most points scored by a Roadrunner in the Brooks Thompson era and nine rebounds. The Roadrunners ? who played without point guards Devin Gibson (concussion) and Omar Johnson (leg) and saw junior Orrin Greer leave the game with an injury in the first two minutes ? posted 18 assists against 15 turnovers and shot 49 percent from the field, including 55.6 percent in the second half. Gabbidon scored 19 of his 31 points in the first half, draining 8-of-13 from the floor ? including three 3-pointers. UTSA was down by as many eight points early in the half, but a 10-2 run pulled UTSA to within 23-22 at the 5:15 mark. UTSA made its first six and nine of its first 10 field goals in second half to help build a 45-40 lead with 11:19 remaining. The Broncs battled back to tie it at 47-all on a Danny Puente trey at the 9-minute mark. Another Puente conversion from downtown put UTPA up 57-51, but Shank and Gabbidon answered with 3-pointers to knot the score with just over four minutes remaining. Zach Trader hit a pair of free throws and a layup 40 seconds later to give the Broncs a 61-57 advantage with three minutes left. Two more freebies from Nick Weiermiller pushed the lead to six with just over two minutes remaining. UTPA converted 8-of-8 from the free throw line and UTSA was 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, but missed its final four field goal attempts in the final two minutes as the Broncs held on for the eight-point win.
30-Point Plateau: Junior Travis Gabbidon’s 31 points against Texas-Pan American on Jan. 8 marked the first time a Roadrunner topped the 30-point plateau since LeRoy Hurd scored 31 against Northwestern State on Jan. 24, 2004. Hurd also is the last Roadrunner to top 30 points twice in the same season as he posted 33 points against Sul Ross State on Dec. 15, 2003.
Tough Slate: UTSA is facing one of its toughest schedules in recent history this season. Texas is ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press and No. 13 in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Polls this week. Southland Conference rival Sam Houston State is receiving votes in The Associated Press Top 25 Polls. Also on the slate are traditional powers Arkansas and Oklahoma State, Navy and SMU.
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 391-360 (.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 (14.2), freshman Devin Gibson (11.8) and junior Joey Shank (10.9) ? are each in their first season of action, while Gabbidon (6.0), Gibson (3.9) and junior Antoine Dade (3.8) rank as three of the team’s top four rebounders.
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 260 times through 13 games, an average of 20 per game, and seven teams have committed at least 20 turnovers, including a season-high 30 by McMurry on Dec. 28. UTSA ranks second in the Southland Conference and in the top 15 in the NCAA in steals per game (9.69) and are second in the league in turnover margin (+3.54). Individually, freshman Devin Gibson tops the league and is fourth nationally with 3.25 steals per game.
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 his first eight games, scoring at least 11 points in six of those contests. He exploded for 21 points and 14 boards in the 70-54 win over Texas Wesleyan and poured in 31 points ? including 19 in the first half ? and grabbed nine rebounds against Texas-Pan American. Gabbidon is averaging 18.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest over his last five games. The College of Southern Idaho transfer ranks eighth in scoring (14.2), 14th in rebounding (6.0), ninth in free throw percentage (.731), 16th in 3-point field goal percentage (.375) and 11th (2.54) 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 37-of-87 from behind the arc for 42.5 percent, and is shooting 44.9 percent (48-of-107) from the floor overall. Shank also is a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line and is averaging 10.9 points per game. The American River College product ranks third in the Southland Conference in 3-point field goals made per game with 2.85 and in 3-point field goal percentage (42.5%). Shank has drained three or more 3-pointers in a game seven times this season, including six against UMKC and McMurry.
Freshman Phenom: Freshman Devin Gibson has stepped into the starter’s role at point guard and excelled on both ends of the floor in his first season with UTSA. The Cy-Falls High product leads the Southland Conference and is fourth in the NCAA in steals per game (3.25), and he ranks second in the league in assists per game (4.83) and ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.32). Gibson is UTSA’s second-leading scorer and the top SLC freshman (18th overall) at 11.8 points per game. He has led UTSA in scoring in six games ? including a season-high 23 in the Paul Quinn win ? and rebounding twice, and posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds in a head-to-head battle with Texas’ D.J. Augustin. In another meeting with a high-profile point guard ? Oklahoma State’s Byron Eaton ? Gibson posted 19 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals.
Second-Half Shooting The Key: In its six victories this season, UTSA is outscoring its opponents by an average margin of 42-34 in the second half. The Roadrunners have topped 40 points in the second half in five of the six 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 51.6 percent in the second stanza, including 63 percent against UMKC and 62.1 percent versus Paul Quinn, and has converted 21-of-50 (42.0%) from behind the arc and 68-of-100 (68%) from the charity stripe.
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 Central Arkansas on Thursday, Jan. 17. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest.
