UTSA Roadrunners (8-8, 2-1) at UT Arlington Mavericks (12-4, 2-2)
Wednesday, Jan. 23 ? 7 p.m. ? Texas Hall (3,600) ? Arlington, Texas
Series Record: UTSA leads, 30-23
Last Meeting: UT Arlington, 81-52 (Feb. 15, 2007)
SAN ANTONIO ? Winners of two straight, UTSA (8-8, 2-1 SLC) hits theroad to face UT Arlington (12-4, 2-2 SLC) on Wednesday, Feb. 23. Tip isset for 7 p.m. at Texas Hall.
Tuning In: Live audio will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers at goUTSA.com. Live stats will be provided by UT Arlington here.
Fast Break Points:
? This is the 54th meeting between UTSA and UT Arlington, marking the most-played series in school history
? The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 30-23, and are 14-12 against the Mavericks in Arlington
? The teams split the home-and-home series last season with UTSA winning, 72-64, on Jan. 22 in San Antonio and UT Arlington taking an 81-52 decision on Feb. 15 in Arlington
? UTSA is 7-1 at home but still searching for its first road win of the season
? Junior Joey Shank tied a school record with eight 3-pointers in the 81-78 overtime win over Northwestern State on Saturday as UTSA attempted a school-record 37 treys
? Freshman Devin Gibson has dished out 23 assists in his last two games
UTSA/UT Arlington Series History: This will mark the 54th meeting between UTSA and UT Arlington, making it the most-played series in school history. UTSA and Texas State are next with 43 all-time meetings. The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 30-23, and are 14-12 against the Mavericks in Arlington. UTSA has won four of the last five meetings, but UT Arlington defeated the Roadrunners, 81-52, on Feb. 15, 2007, in the last matchup.
Last Meeting: Melvin Smith reached double figures for the 21st time, but Larry Posey’s double-double helped lead UT Arlington to an 81-52 victory over UTSA on Feb. 15, 2007, at Texas Hall. Smith scored 11 points, his 19th double-digit outing in the past 20 games, and led the Roadrunners in scoring for the 13th time. Isaiah Allen added nine, while Dezon Otis and Dwain Hall both had a season-high seven. Posey had a double-double at the half and finished with game highs of 15 points and 15 rebounds. Cardell Hunter (11), Tommy Moffitt (10) and Ro’ger Guignard (10) also reached double figures in scoring for the Mavericks. UTSA struggled from the floor, shooting just 32.7 percent (17-52). Meanwhile, UTA shot 50.9 percent (29-57) and outrebounded the Roadrunners, 47-32. The Mavericks used a 14-4 run to break open a tight game early, building a 32-18 lead with just over two minutes to play in the first half. A 5-0 run to start the second half pushed the lead to 41-23, and an alley-oop dunk from Jermaine Griffin made it a 19-point game at the 15:58 mark. The lead would grow to as many as 36 in the second half as UTA made six 3-pointers and forced 12 UTSA turnovers in the half.
Scouting UT Arlington: The Mavericks improved to 2-2 in Southland Conference play and 12-4 overall with a 73-67 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday in Arlington. Senior forward Jermaine Griffin leads a balanced scoring attack with 13.6 points per game and he is pulling down a team-best 8.6 rebounds per contest. Juniors Anthony Vereen (12.6), Brandon Long (12.3) and sophomore Ro’ger Guignard (12.5) also score in double figures. As a team, the Mavericks shoot an SLC-best 50 percent from the floor and are outrebounding opponents, 39.2-34.5. UT Arlington is 10-0 at Texas Hall this year. Head coach Scott Cross is 25-21 in his second season at the helm.
Last Time Out: Junior Joey Shank drained a school record-tying eight 3-pointers and senior Keith Spencer and freshman Devin Gibson both posted double-doubles, as UTSA edged Northwestern State, 81-78, in an overtime thriller on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center. Shank was 8-of-14 from downtown in scoring a season-high 26 points, as the Roadrunners made 15 of their school-record 3-point attempts. Spencer registered 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in turning in his fourth double-double of the year and 10th of his UTSA career. Gibson poured in 17 points on the strength of an 8-of-11 performance at the free throw line, and dished out 10 assists for his second consecutive double-double and third of the year. Trey Gilder scored 23 points to lead three Demons in double figures. UTSA led by as many as 19 points in the first half, but found itself trailing 60-52 with 8:20 to play. Shank then heated up from behind the arc with a trio of 3-pointers over the next three minutes to pull the Roadrunners to within three at 64-61. Shank drained two more long balls to keep UTSA close and Gibson came up with a steal, was fouled on the fast break and converted two free throws to make it 71-70 with 1:13 left. Gibson came up with another steal with 30 second remaining and went coast-to-coast for an acrobatic layup and was fouled, sending the Convo into a frenzy. Gibson converted the plus-one freebie to give the Roadrunners a 73-71 advantage with 26 seconds on the clock. Northwestern State would not quit as Gilder was fouled in the lane and made both free throws to knot the score at 73. UTSA had one last possession, but a turnover gave the ball to the Demons with 2.6 seconds left. A half-court heave by Michael McConathy was off the mark, sending the game to overtime. It took half of the extra period for either team to score as a Gilder layup put the Demons out front, 75-73. Shank quickly answered with his record-tying trey to put the Roadrunners back on top by one. A Colby Bargeman layup gave the lead right back to Northwestern State and Gilder converted 1-of-2 from the line to put the Demons up 78-76 with 27 seconds left. Senior Melvin Smith then drained a 3-pointer from the right wing on the next possession to put UTSA up by one at 79-78 with 15 seconds remaining. Northwestern State then was whistled for a charge against senior Isaiah Allen. The Demons were forced to foul, sending Smith back to the line where he made both to put the Roadrunners up by three. McConathy’s last-second 3-pointer was off the back of the rim, giving UTSA its second straight win. UTSA was red hot to start the game, blitzing out to a 19-5 lead through the first 7:28 behind four treys, including two from freshman JohnMark Ludwick. The lead grew to 19 after a pair of Allen free throws at the 10:22 mark made it 26-7. Northwestern State closed the half on a 14-3 run to make it 45-39 at the break.
Record-Setting Day From Downtown: UTSA enjoyed a record-setting day from behind the 3-point line in the 81-78 overtime win over Northwestern State. Junior Joey Shank tied a school record with eight treys, while the Roadrunners sank 15 of their school-record 37 3-point field goal attempts. Shank matched the single-game record also held by Keith Horne (1991), Marlon Anderson (1995) and Roderic Hall (1997), while the 37 team attempts bettered the previous mark of 35 posted against Drake (1994) and Sam Houston State (1999). The 15 makes were just two shy of the UTSA mark of 17 set against Stephen F. Austin in 1997.
Injury Bug: UTSA has been bitten by the injury bug this season. Seven players have missed game time this season, including junior guard Omar Johnson, who has yet to play due to a stress reaction in his lower leg. Senior forward Andrew Francis injured his knee in the second half of the season opener on Nov. 9 and finally returned on Jan. 17, while freshman center Russ Permenter broke his right (shooting) hand in the first half of the opener and missed the next five games. Junior forward Antoine Dade missed the first game due to an ankle sprain, senior forward Keith Spencer missed the first two games due to a concussion sustained in practice on Nov. 8 and freshman guard Devin Gibson missed two games due to a concussion suffered in practice on Jan. 6. Junior guard Orrin Greer is out indefinitely after hurting his knee in the second minute of the Texas-Pan American on Jan. 8. Junior forward Travis Gabbidon now is out for the remainder of the season after injuring his foot in the second half of the Lamar game on Jan. 12.
Tough Slate: UTSA is facing one of its toughest schedules in recent history this season. Texas is ranked No. 12 in both The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Polls this week. Arkansas and Southland Conference rivals Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin have received votes in both polls earlier this season. Also on the slate are Oklahoma State, Navy and SMU.
Closing In On 400: UTSA is closing in on victory No. 400 for the program. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 393-361 (.521).
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.
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 318 times through 16 games, an average of 19.9 per game, and nine 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 24th in the NCAA in steals per game (9.56) and is fourth in the league in turnover margin (+2.69). Individually, freshman Devin Gibson tops the league and is third nationally with 3.29 steals per game.
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.
Double-Double Tracker: UTSA has posted eight double-doubles this season, including four by senior forward Keith Spencer and three by freshman Devin Gibson.
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 51-of-115 from behind the arc for 44.3 percent, and is shooting 45.5 percent (65-of-143) from the floor overall. Shank also is a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line and is averaging 11.9 points per game. The American River College product is tied for first in the Southland Conference in 3-point field goals made per game with 3.19 and ranks third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (44.3%). Shank has drained three or more 3-pointers in a game nine times this season, including a school record-tying eight against Northwestern State, six against UMKC and McMurry and five versus Lamar.
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 third in the NCAA in steals per game (3.29), and he ranks second in the league in assists per game (5.79) and eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.31). Gibson is UTSA’s second-leading scorer and ranks second among SLC freshmen at 12.0 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. He missed two games in early January due to a concussion, but returned to post 10 points and a season-high 13 assists, one shy of the school record, in the Central Arkansas win, and followed that with 17 points and 10 dimes in the overtime win over Northwestern State one game later.
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 a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game, including 12.3 in league play, and has led the squad in rebounding nine times. 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 on Nov. 26. 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 12 points and 10 boards in the overtime loss at Georgia State, 10 points and 13 rebounds in the loss at Lamar and 10 points and a career-best 15 boards in the overtime win over Northwestern State. He ranks eighth in the SLC in rebounding and is second with 3.29 offensive rebounds per game. Spencer led the squad with 206 rebounds last season and is pulling down 7.2 boards per outing for his UTSA career.
New Addition: UTSA announced that Seigongar Paye has transferred to the program from Louisiana-Monroe. Originally from Houston, Paye will be eligible to play as a sophomore following the 2008 fall semester.
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 Texas State at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Convocation Center.
