UTSA Roadrunners (11-13, 5-6) at Texas State Bobcats (12-13, 5-7)
Saturday, Feb. 23 ? 7 p.m.
Strahan Coliseum (7,200) ? San Marcos, Texas
Series Record: UTSA leads, 27-17
Last Meeting: Texas State, 79-73 (Jan. 26, 2008)
SAN ANTONIO ? Riding a three-game winning streak, UTSA (11-13, 5-6 SLC) travels to San Marcos to face Texas State (12-13, 5-7 SLC) for the second time this season on Saturday, Feb. 23. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum.
Tuning In: Live audio will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers at goUTSA.com. Andy Everett has the call. Live stats will be provided here.
Fast Break Points:
? This will be the 45th meeting between UTSA and Texas State
? UTSA leads the all-time series, 27-17, but the Bobcats have won four straight
? The Roadrunners have forced 13 opponents into 20 or more turnovers this season, including 25 by Texas State on Jan. 26
? UTSA has won two straight road games after starting the year 0-10
? Freshman Devin Gibson, who has been on the court for 146 consecutive minutes dating back to the first half of the SFA contest, leads the NCAA with 3.41 steals per game
? Senior Melvin Smith is averaging 10.3 points per game in SLC play
UTSA/Texas State Series History: This will be the 45th meeting between UTSA and Texas State. The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 27-17, but the Bobcats have won the past four meetings, including a 79-73 decision in San Antonio on Jan. 28. UTSA is 12-7 against the Bobcats in San Marcos, but Texas State won the last meeting, 67-63, on Jan. 20, 2007.
Last Meeting: Senior Melvin Smith came off the bench to pour in a game-high 20 points, but Ryan White led four Bobcats in double figures with 17, as Texas State used a strong second half to defeat UTSA, 79-73, on Jan. 26 in front of 2,296 fans at the Convocation Center. Smith topped 20 points for the second time in as many weeks to lead the Roadrunners in scoring for the first time this year. Meanwhile, freshman Devin Gibson ? who was battling a stomach virus ? added 15 points, a team-high seven rebounds, five assists and five steals. It was a tale of two halves, as Texas State outscored the Roadrunners, 50-43, in the second stanza on the strength of 53.3-percent shooting ? including four 3-pointers ? from the field. Meanwhile, UTSA led by as many as 12 in the first half but made just 6-of-26 from downtown, including 3-of-14 in the second half, and 13-of-22 from the free throw line for the game. A pair of Allen free throws at the 15:53 mark gave UTSA a 40-33 lead early in the second half. However, a Benson trey kick-started a 13-0 Texas State run over the next three minutes that put the Bobcats up by six. The lead grew to 12 points on a Benson jumper with just over five minutes remaining, but four points from Smith keyed a UTSA run that pulled the Roadrunners to within 67-63 with 2:47 left. Texas State responded with a 6-0 run to push the advantage to 10 with one minute remaining. A 3-point play by Smith and a pair of free throws from freshman Russ Permenter kept the Roadrunners within six with 25 ticks showing, but UTSA was forced to foul and the Bobcats made 3-of-4 from the line down the stretch to hold for a 79-73 victory, its fourth straight in the series.
Scouting Texas State: The Bobcats improved to 12-13 overall and 5-7 in the league with a 71-69 victory at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday night. Junior guards Brandon Bush (14.3 ppg) and Brent Benson (12.9 ppg) lead the Bobcats in scoring, while Bush is the top rebounder at 7.0 boards per contest. Texas State leads the SLC in scoring offense (83.4) and rebounding (43.3) , but allows an average of 84.6 points and 41.9 boards per game. Head coach Doug Davalos, the son of UTSA’s first athletics director Rudy Davalos, is 21-33 in his second season at the helm.
Last Time Out: Freshman Devin Gibson led four Roadrunners in double figures with a season-high 26 points and UTSA extended its winning streak to three games with an 80-72 victory over UT Arlington on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center. Gibson’s 26 bettered his previous season-best of 23 posted against Paul Quinn on Nov. 26 and he added nine rebounds, six assists and two steals in playing all 40 minutes for the third straight game. Senior Melvin Smith added 16 points on the strength of a perfect 8-for-8 night at the free throw line, while freshman JohnMark Ludwick and senior Keith Spencer pitched in 12 and 10, respectively. Ro’ger Guignard poured in 23 points on the strength of seven 3-pointers to lead the Mavericks, while Jermaine Griffin posted 18. Tommy Moffitt matched Gibson with a game-high nine boards. The Roadrunners forced 17 turnovers ? 11 of those steals ? and held UTA, which entered the game leading the league in field goal percentage (47.7%), to just 40.3 percent (27-67). Meanwhile, UTSA shot 49.1 percent (26-53) and were 8-of-19 from behind the 3-point line and 20-of-28 at the charity stripe. Gibson scored 10 of UTSA’s first 15 points to help push the Roadrunners out to a six-point lead through the first 8:21. The Mavs fought back to within 15-12 on a lay-up from Larry Posey, but UTSA answered with a 14-6 run over the next five minutes, capped by a trey from senior Isaiah Allen. Smith caught fire late in the half, scoring six of his 10 first-half points to help UTSA take a 40-27 advantage into the locker room. Turnovers were key for the Roadrunners in the first, as they scored 15 points off 11 Maverick miscues. UTSA shot 55.6 percent (15-27) in the half and were led by Gibson’s 15, a season high for a half. Ludwick drained three consecutive treys to help UTSA pull back in front by 12 after UTA had made it 54-48 on an Anthony Vereen lay-in. A Smith steal and layup pushed the lead to 64-48 with 8:20 to play, capping a 10-0 run. The Mavs climbed back to within 75-69 on a Guignard 3-pointer with 42 seconds to play, but Smith converted 4-of-4 from the line down the stretch to help UTSA hold on for the 80-72 win.
SLC Tournament Positioning: With a 5-6 Southland Conference record, UTSA currently stands in a tie for third place with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the West Division. The Roadrunners currently hold down the No. 6 seed for the SLC Tournament, which takes place March 13-16 in Katy, Texas.
Magic Number: UTSA is 4-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points, most recently in an 80-72 win over UT Arlington on Feb. 20. The Roadrunners also topped 80 against Paul Quinn (93-79), Central Arkansas (81-77) and Northwestern State (81-78).
Three-Ball: In Southland Conference games, junior Joey Shank and freshman JohnMark Ludwick are a combined 51-of-128 (40 percent) from behind the 3-point line. Ludwick drained 6-of-6 in the Central Arkansas win, added five treys in the loss at UT Arlington and poured in four in the UT Arlington win, while Shank drilled a UTSA-record eight triples in the Northwestern State victory and five in the loss at Lamar. In league play, Ludwick and Shank rank fifth (2.45) and sixth (2.40), respectively, in the SLC in 3-pointers made per contest, while Ludwick is second in the league with a 46.6-percent 3-point field goal percentage. As a team, UTSA ranks fifth in the SLC with 6.73 3-pointers made per game.
Injury Bug: UTSA has been bitten by the injury bug this season. Only two players (seniors Isaiah Allen and Melvin Smith) have played in all 24 games, while nine 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, and leading scorer Travis Gabbidon, who broke his foot in the Lamar game on Jan. 12 and is out for the remainder of the season. 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 game on Jan. 8. Freshman Cody Dotson-Lara missed four games in February.
Closing In On 400: UTSA is closing in on victory No. 400 for the program. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 396-366 (.520).
Tough Slate: UTSA is facing one of its toughest schedules in recent history this season. Texas is ranked No. 11 in both The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Polls, while Stephen F. Austin and Arkansas are receiving votes in the The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls, respectively, this week. Southland Conference rival Sam Houston State received votes in both polls earlier this season. Also on the slate are Oklahoma State, Navy and SMU.
Record Watch: Several UTSA players are moving up the school’s single-season or career record lists. Senior Keith Spencer has pulled down 335 career rebounds, which ranks 24th all-time and seventh among players who played two years or less. Senior Melvin Smith has scored 553 career points, which ranks him 40th all-time and 13th among players who played two years or less. Senior Isaiah Allen’s 465 career points makes him 48th and 21st, respectively. Freshman Devin Gibson is second on the single-season steals list with 75, eighth with 120 free throws and tied for ninth with 119 assists. With his next 3-pointer, junior Joey Shank will move into ninth place on the single-season chart.
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 474 times through 24 games, an average of 19.8 per game, and 13 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 21st in the NCAA in steals per game (9.25) and is second in the league in turnover margin (+3.38). Individually, freshman Devin Gibson leads the nation with 3.41 steals per game.
Improvement At The Line: UTSA has shown a marked improvement at the free throw line from last season’s 58.9 percent effort. The Roadrunners are shooting 65.9 percent (326-495) as a team and are even better in conference play at 71.0 percent (160-234). Individually, junior Joey Shank (86.7) and freshman JohnMark Ludwick (85.7) are both above 80 percent for the season, while seniors Melvin Smith (75.6) and Isaiah Allen (74.5) are hovering around the 75-percent mark. Freshman Devin Gibson, who for the season has attempted 171 freebies (or 124 more than the next closest active player), has converted 69-of-89 (77.5 percent) in league action and has made 46-of-54 (85.2 percent) over the past six games.
Double-Double Tracker: UTSA has posted eight double-doubles this season, including four by senior forward Keith Spencer and three by freshman guard 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 (3.41), and he ranks second in the league and 38th nationally in assists per game (5.41) and sixth in the SLC in assist/turnover ratio (1.29). Gibson is UTSA’s leading active scorer and is eighth overall and tops among SLC freshmen at 13.3 points per game. He has led UTSA in scoring in 12 games ? including six straight ? and rebounding six 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 scored 20 in the 61-57 win at Southeastern Louisiana and posted a season-high 26 in the 80-72 victory against UT Arlington. He drained the game-winning free throws with one-half second remaining in UTSA’s 54-52 victory at Nicholls State and is 69-of-89 (.775) from the free throw line in league play. Gibson is averaging 15.1 points, 6.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 steals in SLC action, and is scoring 17.2 points per game over the last six contests.
Smith Stepping Up: Senior Melvin Smith, UTSA’s leading scorer last season with 12.9 points per game, has played in all 24 contests this year. The Covington, Tenn., native averaged 5.4 points through the first 14 games, but has increased his average to 7.5 ppg, including 10.3 in league play. Smith posted a pair of 20-point outings in January, going 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, and poured in 16 in the 61-57 win at Southeastern Louisiana and in the 80-72 victory against UT Arlington.
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 5.9 rebounds per game and has led the squad in rebounding 10 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 his fourth double-double of the year with 10 points and a career-best 15 boards in the overtime win over Northwestern State.
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 hosts McNeese State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27.
