UTSA Roadrunners (8-12, 2-5) at Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (18-3, 6-2)
Saturday, Feb. 9 ? 6 p.m. ? Johnson Coliseum (7,200) ? Nacogdoches, Texas
Series Record: UTSA leads, 21-9
Last Meeting: UTSA, 54-49 (March 2, 2007)
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA (8-12, 2-5 SLC) faces Southland Conference WestDivision leader Stephen F. Austin (18-3, 6-2 SLC) on Saturday, Feb. 9.Tip is set for 6 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas.
Tuning In: Live audio will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers at goUTSA.com. Live stats will be provided by Stephen F. Austin here.
Fast Break Points:
? This will be the 31st meeting between UTSA and Stephen F. Austin
? The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 21-9, and have won six straight meetings
? The last three meetings have been decided by a combined 11 points
? UTSA swept both games last season, including a season-ending, 54-49 win in Nacogdoches on March 3, 2007
? Freshman Devin Gibson leads the NCAA with 3.67 steals per game
? The Roadrunners have forced 12 opponents into 20 or more turnovers this season
? UTSA is 0-9 in true road games this season
UTSA/Stephen F. Austin Series History: This will be the 31st meeting between UTSA and Stephen F. Austin. The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 21-9, and have won six straight meetings. UTSA swept both games last season, 48-45, on Feb. 3 in San Antonio and, 54-49, on March 3 in Nacogdoches. The Roadrunners are 7-7 all-time in Nacogdoches and have won the last two contests at Johnson Coliseum.
Last Meeting: Kurt Attaway drained two 3-pointers and came up with two rebounds in the final minutes to help UTSA to a 54-49 victory on March 3, 2007, at Stephen F. Austin. Trailing 46-39 with 4:29 left, Attaway capped a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the Roadrunners cut the deficit to one with 3:48 to play. Keith Spencer then made 1-of-2 free throws to knot the score at 46-all and Attaway drained his second trey after an offensive rebound by Melvin Smith to give UTSA a 49-46 lead. SFA’s Keith Hardaway answered with a 3-pointer of his own to tie it at 49. On the ensuing possession for the Roadrunners, Spencer found Isaiah Allen at the right wing and, with the shot clock running out, Allen drained an off-balance three to put UTSA up for good, 52-49. SFA missed two final looks at a 3-pointer and Attaway came up with both rebounds in the season finale. Smith led all players with 14 points, while Allen scored 13. Attaway finished with nine points and a team-high five boards, while Spencer and Andrew Francis pitched in seven points each. Hardaway led the Lumberjacks with 10 points, while Josh Alexander, who fouled out at the 15-minute mark, and Antuane Miller finished with nine apiece. SFA took an early 19-14 lead behind three 3-pointers from Alexander. UTSA used a 9-0 run, capped by a Smith jumper, to take a 23-19 lead with 4:16 left in the first half. The Roadrunners held the Lumberjacks scoreless for more than six minutes during the run. SFA ended the drought on a Will Johnson layup and closed the half on a 4-0 run, the final basket a one-handed dunk by Miller in the final minute that gave the Lumberjacks their first lead in nearly eight minutes. Neither team led by more than four for the first 15 minutes of the second half until Hardway gave SFA a 46-39 lead with a layup at the 4:20 mark. Smith answered with a 3-point play, beginning the 10-0 run that helped bring the Roadrunners back and sweep the season series from the Lumberjacks.
Scouting Stephen F. Austin: The Lumberjacks improved to 18-3 overall and 6-2 in SLC play with a 71-62 win at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday. SFA leads the conference in scoring defense, holding its opponents to just 54.5 points per game. Junior forward Josh Alexander and junior center Matt Kingsley provide a formidable one-two punch for the Lumberjacks as Alexander averages 16.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and has made 64 3-pointers, while Kingsley posts 15.8 points and 5.3 boards per outing. Head coach Danny Kaspar is 126-93 in his eighth season.
Last Time Out: Freshman Devin Gibson scored 12 points, but Shamir McDaniel led four Sam Houston State players in double figures with 13, as the Bearkats shot 59.3 percent en route to a 70-54 victory against UTSA on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center. Gibson posted all 12 of his points in the first half and added six assists and five steals for the Roadrunners. Senior Isaiah Allen pitched in with nine points, while senior Melvin Smith, junior Joey Shank and freshman Russ Permenter ? in his first start ? contributed seven apiece. UTSA forced 24 Sam Houston turnovers ? the 12th opponent to commit 20 or more ? and recorded 14 steals but shot only 35.2 percent and were outrebounded, 42-18. Ryan Bright posted 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while John Gardiner and DeLuis Ramirez added 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Bearkats were just 4-of-15 from behind the 3-point line and only 2-of-4 from the free throw line, the first not until the 15:19 mark of the second half, but they dished out 20 assists as a team and scored 52 points in the paint. Sam Houston State broke open a tight first half with a 9-2 run capped by McDaniel trey that gave it a 23-14 lead at the 6:04 mark. The lead grew to 13 on another McDaniel three with 2:49 to play, but UTSA closed the half on a 6-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from senior Andrew Francis to make it 34-25 at the break. Permenter opened the second half with a layup to make it 34-27, but that was close as UTSA would get the rest of the way , as the Bearkats led by as many as 19 in the 16-point victory.
Three-Ball: In seven Southland Conference games, junior Joey Shank and freshman JohnMark Ludwick are a combined 40-of-97 (41.2 percent) from behind the 3-point line. Ludwick drained 6-of-6 in the Central Arkansas win and added five treys in the loss at UT Arlington, while Shank drilled a UTSA-record eight triples in the Northwestern State victory. In league play, Ludwick and Shank are tied for fifth in the SLC with 2.86 3-pointers made per contest, while Ludwick is Ludwick is third in the league with a 46.5-percent 3-point field goal percentage. As a team, UTSA ranks third in the SLC with 8.14 3-pointers made per game.
Record-Setting Day From Downtown: UTSA enjoyed a record-setting day from downtown in the 81-78 overtime win over Northwestern State on Jan. 19. 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 is out for the year 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 missed 13 games until his return 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 and Arkansas is receiving votes in both The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Polls this week. 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 393-365 (.518).
Turnover Feast: UTSA has shown the ability to force turnovers this season thanks to a commitment to on-the-ball pressure defense. Opponents have turned the ball over 402 times through 20 games, an average of 20.1 per game, and 12 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 19th in the NCAA in steals per game (9.55) and is second in the league in turnover margin (+3.45). Individually, freshman Devin Gibson leads the nation with 3.67 steals per game.
Double-Double Tracker: UTSA has posted eight double-doubles this season, including four by senior forward Keith Spencer and three by freshman Devin Gibson.
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 NCAA in steals per game (3.67), and he ranks second in the league and 33rd nationally in assists per game (5.67) and seventh in the SLC in assist/turnover ratio (1.32). Gibson is UTSA’s leading active scorer and is 18th overall and tops among SLC freshmen at 12.3 points per game. He has led UTSA in scoring in eight games ? including a season-high 23 in the Paul Quinn win ? and rebounding four times. He 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. Gibson is averaging 13.3 points, 7.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 4.5 steals in SLC play. He already ranks fourth on UTSA’s single-season steals list with 66 ? the best freshman season in school annals ? and with at least nine games left on the schedule, is within striking distance of Ronnie Ellison’s school-record of 97 set in 1990-91.
Smith Stepping Up: Senior Melvin Smith, UTSA’s leading scorer last season with 12.9 points per game, has played in all 20 contests this year. The Covington, Tenn., native averaged 5.4 points through the first 14 games, but with the help of a pair of 20-point outings over the past two weeks has increased his average to 6.9 ppg, including 10.7 in league play. Smith was 9-of-12 from the floor in the 81-77 victory over Central Arkansas and 9-of-16 in the 79-73 loss to Texas State.
No Shank Shot Here: Junior Joey Shank has emerged as one of the league’s top 3-point shooters this season, despite struggling over the last two weeks. The Folsom, Calif., native has drained 57-of-141 from behind the arc for 40.4 percent and is 12-for-13 (92.3 percent) from the free throw line in averaging 10.7 points per game. The American River College product is second in the Southland Conference in 3-point field goals made per game with 2.85 and ranks seventh in the league in 3-point field goal percentage. 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.
Wiping the Glass: Senior Keith Spencer missed the first two regular season games but has been a fixture on the glass since. The San Diego, Calif., native is averaging a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game, including 7.0 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 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 12th in the SLC in rebounding and is fourth with 2.83 offensive rebounds per game. Spencer has 320 career boards and ranks 25th all-time and seventh among players who played two years or less.
Put Your Dukes Up: Senior Isaiah “Duke” Allen is one of three players who has played in all 20 games and one of two with a team-best 19 starts (Joey Shank). The Portland, Ore., native is averaging 7.5 points per game and is shooting 73.3 percent from the free throw line. Generally regarded as one of the team’s man-to-man defenders, Allen often draws the unenviable task of guarding the opponent’s best perimeter player and still has recorded 38 defensive rebounds and 21 steals.
New Addition: UTSA announced on Jan. 14 that Seigongar Paye has transferred to the program from Louisiana-Monroe. Originally from Houston Strake Jesuit High School, 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 faces Southeastern Louisiana next Thursday, Feb. 14, in Hammond.
