UTSA Roadrunners (6-6) at UTPA Broncs (9-10)
Tuesday, Jan. 8 ? 7 p.m. ? UTPA Fieldhouse (4,000) ? Edinburg, Texas
Series Record: UTSA leads, 8-6
Last Meeting: UTPA 69, UTSA 64 (Dec. 20, 2006)
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA plays the second of three straight road games whenit travels to Edinburg, Texas, to face Texas-Pan American (UTPA) onTuesday, Jan. 8. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at UTPA Fieldhouse.
Tuning In: Live audio will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers at goUTSA.com. Live stats or video will not be available.
Fast Break Points:
? This is the 15th meeting between UTSA and UTPA and the seventh in Edinburg
? The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 8-6, but the Broncs have won four of the last five meetings including both last season
? UTSA is 4-2 against UTPA in Edinburg with the last victory coming on Dec. 18, 1997
? The Roadrunners are 0-5 on the road this season
UTSA/UTPA Series History: This will be the 15th meeting between UTSA and UTPA. The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 8-6, but the Broncs have won four of the last five meetings. UTPA defeated UTSA, 69-64, in the last matchup on Dec. 20, 2006, in Edinburg, and won, 64-54, on Nov. 12, 2006, at the Alamodome. UTSA is 4-2 against UTPA in Edinburg. The Roadrunners last victory against the Broncs was a 101-81 decision on Dec. 6, 2005, and their last win in Edinburg came on Dec. 18, 1997 (96-67). Two games have been decided in overtime, both won by UTPA.
Last Meeting: Keith Spencer led three Roadrunners in double figures with 17 points, but UTPA overcame a 20-3 UTSA run to start the second half and held on for a 69-64 victory on Dec. 20, 2006, at UTPA Fieldhouse. Spencer posted a season-high 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor, while Melvin Smith posted 16 points, his seventh straight game in double digits. Kurt Attaway added 11 points and five assists, while Andrew Francis registered eight points and a team-high nine rebounds in his UTSA debut. Colin Lien led UTPA with 17 points and six rebounds, while Paul Stoll (12), Brian Burrell (11) and Jonathan Chatman (11) also scored in double figures. The Broncs shot 55 percent from the field, including 10-of-19 from behind the 3-point arc. Attaway scored nine points during a 20-3 run to start the second half as UTSA erased a 32-24 halftime deficit and took a 44-35 lead on a Smith jumper at the 14:04 mark. The Roadrunners held on to that lead for the next six minutes until a 3-pointer and a jumper by Chatman gave the Broncs a 49-48 advantage with just over eight minutes remaining. The game was back and forth until Dexter Shankle broke a 58-58 tie with a trey from the left wing to give UTPA the lead for good. The Roadrunners cut it to 67-64 with 10 seconds left on a Francis jumper in the lane, but Stoll drained two free throws with 5.9 seconds remaining to ice it.
Scouting UTPA: The Broncs improved to 9-10 on the year with an 83-78 overtime win at Texas State on Saturday. Senior forward Zach Trader and senior guard Brian Burrell provide a solid one-two scoring punch, averaging 14.7 and 14.6 points per game, respectively. Trader also leads the team in rebounding (6.2 rpg), while senior guard Paul Stoll is dishing out 7.3 assists per contest. Head Tom Schuberth is 23-25 in his second season at the helm.
Last Time Out: Freshman Devin Gibson led three Roadrunners in double figures with 19 points, but Terrel Harris poured in a game-high 21 to help Oklahoma State hold off UTSA, 73-61, last Wednesday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Gibson was 7-for-11 from the floor and added five assists, four steals and four rebounds, while juniors Travis Gabbidon and Joey Shank contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively. UTSA forced 23 turnovers ? 11 of those steals ? and converted them into 21 points, but the Cowboys turned 14 UTSA miscues into 24 points and recorded a 37-20 edge on the glass. UTSA trailed 37-23 at the half and by as many as 18 with 13 minutes to play, but used an 8-0 run to pull to within 55-45 with 7:11 remaining. A Shank trey cut the deficit to nine with just over six minutes left, but the Cowboys responded with four straight points to push their advantage back to 13. The Roadrunners would not go away as back-to-back layups by Gibson and a long 3-pointer from Gabbidon made it 64-59 with 1:51 remaining. Oklahoma State held strong down the stretch, closing the game on a 9-2 run ? seven of those points coming from the free line ? as the Cowboys escaped with the 73-61 victory.
Tough Slate: UTSA is facing one of its toughest schedules in recent history this season. Texas is ranked No. 14 in both The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Polls last week. Southland Conference rivals Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin are receiving votes in The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Polls, respectively. 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 391-359 (.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 (12.8), freshman Devin Gibson (11.8) and junior Joey Shank (11.1) ? are each in their first season of action, while Gabbidon (5.8), Gibson (3.9) and junior Antoine Dade (4.0) 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 251 times through 12 games, an average of 20.9 per game, and seven teams have committed at least 20 turnovers, including a season-high 30 by McMurry on Dec. 28. UTSA leads the Southland Conference in steals per game (10.0) and turnover margin (+4.33). Individually, freshman Devin Gibson tops the league 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 ? both season highs ? in the 70-54 win over Texas Wesleyan, and is averaging 15.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest over his last four games. The College of Southern Idaho transfer ranks 15th in scoring (12.8), 16th in rebounding (5.8), seventh in free throw percentage (.766) and ninth (2.67) 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 34-of-81 from behind the arc for 42 percent, and is shooting 44.6 percent (45-of-101) from the floor overall. Shank also is a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line and is averaging 11.1 points per game. The American River College product ranks second in the Southland Conference in 3-point field goals made per game with 2.83 and seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (42.0%). 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 buried 6 treys ? four in the first eight minutes ? in scoring 22 in the McMurry victory, and poured in four in the loss at Oklahoma State.
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 in steals per game (3.25) and 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. In its six losses, the Roadrunners have been outscored by an average margin of 34-27 and have shot just 40 percent as a team, including just 13-of-53 (24.5%) from behind the 3-point line, and 53.3 percent (24-of-45) from the free throw 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 opens Southland Conference play on the road at Lamar on Saturday, Jan. 12. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Montagne Center in Beaumont.
