UTSA Roadrunners (13-7, 4-3 SLC) at Southeastern Louisiana Lions (9-12, 3-5 SLC)
Saturday, Feb. 7 ? 2 p.m.
University Center (7,500) ? Hammond, La.
Series History: Tied, 12-12
Last Meeting: UTSA, 61-57 (Feb. 14, 2008)
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA will make its sixth television appearance of theseason when it travels to Hammond, La., to face Southeastern Louisianaon Saturday, Feb. 7. Tip is set for 2 p.m. at the University Center.
Tuning In: UTSA will make its first of two consecutive appearances on the Southland Conference Television Network on Saturday. Doug Anderson (play-by-play) and Lyn Rollins (color analysis) will call the action. The game will not be shown live in the San Antonio area but will be available later on Time Warner Cable’s Video On-Demand service. Please check local listings for availability in your area. Fans also can watch the game through the Southland Conference’s SLC NOW online video streaming service ($5.95/game or $39.95/season subscription required) at southland.org. The game will air live in the San Antonio area on 92.5 FM The Outlaw beginning with the pregame show at 1:45 p.m. Andy Everett has the call. Free live audio will be availableonline at goUTSA.com, which is provided courtesy of Yahoo! Sports. Live stats will be provided by Southeastern Louisiana at lionsports.net.
Fast Break Points:
? This will be the 25th meeting between UTSA and Southeastern Louisiana
? The series is tied at 12-12, but the Lions have won five of the last six meetings
? UTSA is 5-5 on the road this season, including a 2-1 mark in league play
? The Roadrunners are 2-0 against schools from the state of Louisiana this season
? UTSA is 11-1 when limiting its opponents to below 50-percent shooting from the field and 8-0 when holding opponents to under 70 points
? With 13 victories, the Roadrunners already have matched last season’s win total
? The Roadrunners established a school record with nine non-conference wins this season
? The Roadrunners have drained six or more 3-pointers in 17 games and they lead the SLC and rank 10th in the NCAA in threes per game (9.1)
? UTSA has made at least one 3-pointer in all 79 games under third-year head coach Brooks Thompson, including five or more treys 53 times
? The Roadrunners are posting an SLC-best 10.5 steals (3rd/NCAA) and forcing 20.3 turnovers per contest
? UTSA leads the league and ranks eighth nationally in turnover margin (+5.1)
UTSA/Southeastern Louisiana Series History: The Roadrunners and Lions will meet for the 25th time with the all-time series tied at 12-12. UTSA won the last meeting, 61-57, on Feb. 14, 2008, in Hammond, but the Lions had won five straight previous matchups. Southeastern Louisiana holds a 7-4 advantage at the University Center, but the last three games have been decided by a total of 11 points.
Last Meeting: Devin Gibson and senior Melvin Smith combined for 36 points, as UTSA collected its first road win of the season in a 61-57 victory at Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 14, 2008, at the University Center. The Roadrunners, playing with just nine (eight scholarship) players due to injuries, snapped a five-game losing streak against the Lions with the victory, their first road triumph of the season. Gibson poured in 20 points to lead the Roadrunners in scoring for the fourth straight game and added four rebounds and four assists in playing all 40 minutes. Smith pitched in with 16 points, while Antoine Dade grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Tavaris Nance led three Lions in double figures with 14 points, while Patrick Sullivan and Kevyn Green pitched in 12 and 10, respectively.
Scouting Southeastern Louisiana: The Lions fell to 9-12 overall and 3-5 in Southland Conference play with an 84-82 loss at Texas State on Wednesday. Junior center Patrick Sullivan leads the team in scoring (11.8 ppg), rebounding (7.2 rpg) and blocked shots (51). Senior forward Warrell Span is posting 10.5 points and 6.5 boards per outing, while freshman guard Brandon Fortenberry has dished out a team-high 90 assists (4.3 apg). Head coach Jim Yarbrough is 58-51 in his fourth season.
Last Time Out: Junior Omar Johnson led six Roadrunners in double figures with 18 points, but Corey Allmond and Barkley Falkner scored 22 apiece to lead Sam Houston State to a come-from-behind, 89-86 double-overtime victory over UTSA on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center. Tied at 85-85 with just under two minutes left in the second overtime, Lance Pevehouse made a pair of free throws to put Sam Houston on top. Johnson made 1-of-2 freebies with 41 seconds left after being fouled in the right corner on a rebound. With the shot clock winding down, Drae Murray had a chance to put the Bearkats up by four, but his 3-pointer was off the mark. However, DeLuis Ramirez came up with a huge offensive rebound and Allmond was fouled while playing keep-away. He made both free throws and UTSA’s last-second three was off the mark, as Sam Houston held on for the three-point victory. It marked the second double-overtime game of the season for the Roadrunners, who fell to 13-7 overall and 4-3 in Southland Conference play. UTSA also lost in two extra periods to UT Arlington, 100-97, on Jan. 17. The last time UTSA played two double-overtime games in the same season was in 1999 in back-to-back losses to Nicholls (104-99) and Sam Houston State (92-90). Falkner pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass, while Ramirez grabbed nine boards, seven offensive to help Sam Houston tally 26 second-chance points, including 22 after halftime. Juniors Chris Allen and Morris Smith IV poured in 15 points apiece for the Roadrunners, while senior Travis Gabbidon and juniors Josh Bonney and Demarco Stepter posted 10 each. Stepter (9) and Bonney (8) combined for 17 of UTSA’s 46 rebounds, while Johnson dished out a season-high eight assists.
Road Warriors: The Roadrunners played seven of their first 10 games away from the Convocation Center, but finished that stretch with a 3-4 record. UTSA is 5-5 in road games this season, with the five victories more than the past two seasons combined. Dating back to last February, UTSA is 8-6 in its past 14 true road contests, including a 61-57 win at Southeastern Louisiana last season. The Roadrunners’ game in Hammond this Saturday is the third of five straight weekend games away from the Alamo City.
Non-Conference Success: UTSA picked up its ninth non-conference victory of the regular season on Jan. 21 against Texas-Pan American, breaking the school record of eight set in 1990-91. The Roadrunners have recorded six wins against Division I teams ? Rice, UMKC, Georgia State, SMU, Colgate, Texas-Pan American ? which is the most out of league play since the 1989-90 team also won six. The 1990-91 squad won a school-record eight. Three of this year’s non-conference DI victories have come on the road, the most since UTSA joined a conference (Trans America Athletic) in 1986-87.
A Good Start: At 10-5, UTSA registered its best 15-game start since the 2001-02 team also began with a 10-5 mark. Five teams have started 10-5, which rank second only to 11-4 starts in 1989-90 and 1990-91. Now with 13 victories, UTSA already has matched last season’s win total and still has nine regular season contests remaining on the schedule.
Let’s Go Streaking: UTSA’s seven-game winning streak that began with a 76-72 win at UMKC on Dec. 22 and continued through a 62-55 victory at Nicholls on Jan. 14 is the longest in the Southland Conference this season and the best at UTSA since the 2003-04 squad also won seven straight from Feb. 25-March 12. The Roadrunners now have won 10 of their last 13 contests, with two of those losses by a combined six points in double overtime (Jan. 17 vs. UT Arlington, Feb. 4 vs. Sam Houston State).
Senior Snags Second SLC Certificate: Senior Travis Gabbidon was named Southland Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 26, his second honor in four weeks. The Phoenix, Ariz., native averaged 24.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and four steals and shot 65.4 percent (17-of-26) from the field and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the free throw line in games against Texas-Pan American and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Gabbidon also collected the weekly award on Jan. 5 after posting 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in victories against SMU and Colgate.
Victory No. 400: UTSA claimed victory No. 400 for the program with an 80-55 decision against McMurry on Nov. 25. The Roadrunners own an all-time record of 411-377 (.522) in now their 28th season.
Record-Setting Night: UTSA set six school records in the 136-68 victory against East Central on Nov. 22, as the Roadrunners improved to 24-4 all-time and 3-0 under third-year head coach Brooks Thompson in home openers. Following is a list of the broken records:
Points: 136 [132, vs. Texas State (11/24/90)]
Winning Margin: 68 [58, vs. Georgia State (2/10/90)]
Field Goal Attempts: 97 [91, vs. Georgia State (1/22/87)]
Rebounds: 65 [64, vs. Jarvis Christian (11/29/86)]
3-Pointers: 17 [17, vs. Stephen F. Austin (1/18/97)]
3-Point Field Goal Attempts: 43 [37. vs. Northwestern State (1/19/08)]
Additionally, UTSA set Southland Conference season highs for points, margin of victory, field goals (51), field goal attempts, 3-point field goals, 3-point field goal attempts and rebounds in that contest.
Keys To Success: UTSA has discovered several keys to success this season. The Roadrunners are 11-1 when holding their opponents to under 50-percent shooting from the floor, as opposed to a 2-6 record when foes shoot above 50 percent. UTSA also is 10-1 when it outrebounds opponents, with the only loss a 74-72 decision at Texas-Pan American in a game that the Roadrunners held a slim 29-28 advantage on the glass. UTSA also is 11-2 when leading at the half and 8-0 when holding opponents to under 70 points.
Creating Havoc: The Roadrunners are forcing their opponents into an average of 20.3 turnovers per game this season. Nine opponents have committed 20 or more, led by a season-high 34 from East Central on Nov. 22. A large reason for UTSA’s success in creating opponent miscues is the fact that the team is coming up with a league-best 10.5 steals per contest (3rd/NCAA). Led by 2007-08 NCAA steals champion Devin Gibson, a sophomore who leads the nation with 3.7 thefts per game despite going steal-less against Oklahoma State and Navy, all 13 Roadrunners have teamed up to record 209 steals this year. That number includes 124 in 10 home games (12.4 spg), highlighted by a Brooks Thompson era best of 20 against East Central.
Taking Care Of The Rock: UTSA has been effective in taking care of the basketball this season. The Roadrunners are averaging 15.2 turnovers per game and boast the top turnover margin (+5.1) in the Southland Conference (8th/NCAA). UTSA has topped 20 turnovers in a game just three times this season, but still forced more by two of those opponents in victories against Texas Wesleyan and Texas-Pan American. The season-low of seven came in the 76-72 win at UMKC on Dec. 22.
Hitting The Trifecta: The Roadrunners have been productive from beyond the 3-point line this season. Even with the arc moved one foot further from the basket, UTSA has shown it still can fill it up from downtown. Led by senior Joey Shank (45) and juniors Omar Johnson (39), Morris Smith IV (38), the Roadrunners have drained 181 threes for a conference-leading 9.1 per-game average (10th/NCAA), as 10 different Roadrunners have contributed from behind the arc this season. UTSA has made at least one 3-pointer in all 79 games under third-year head coach Brooks Thompson, including five or more 54 times and six or more in 17 games this season. UTSA had made at least one three in 439 consecutive contests dating back to Jan. 5, 1994 (vs. Texas).
Balanced Attack: Led by senior Travis Gabbidon (14.0), junior Omar Johnson (14.2) and sophomore Devin Gibson (11.1), UTSA has displayed a balanced scoring attack this season. Seven other Roadrunners are averaging at least four points per contest: senior Joey Shank (8.8) and juniors Morris Smith IV (8.9), Josh Bonney (6.5), Demarco Stepter (5.4), Chris Allen (5.0), Richie Frohlich (4.0) and Terry Fields (4.1).
Double-Double Tracker: UTSA has registered nine double-doubles this year, including ateam-best three by senior Travis Gabbidon and junior Demarco Stepter.
Demarco Stepter, East Central (Nov. 22): 12 points, 11 rebounds
Devin Gibson, Texas-Pan American (Dec. 18): 16 points, 10 assists
Demarco Stepter, UMKC (Dec. 22) : 15 points, 11 rebounds
Demarco Stepter, SMU (Dec. 29): 10 points, 10 rebounds
Josh Bonney, Nicholls (Jan. 14): 15 points, 13 rebounds
Richie Frohlich, UT Arlington (Jan. 17): 14 points, 10 rebounds
Travis Gabbidon, UT Arlington (Jan. 17): 23 points, 10 rebounds
Travis Gabbidon, UT Arlington (Jan. 24): 23 points, 12 rebounds
Travis Gabbidon, Texas State (Jan. 28): 18 points, 10 rebounds
Gibson Up For Cousy Award: Sophomore Devin Gibson, the 2007-08 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, has been named a preseason nominee for the Bob Cousy Award, given annually to the nation’s top point guard. The Cy-Falls High product is one of three SLC players (Eric Bell, Stephen F. Austin; Kenny Dawkins, Lamar) and one of 46 nationally now on the watch list. Gibson, the 2007-08 NCAA steals leader (3.3 spg), is averaging 11.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.7 steals (1st/NCAA) per game this season. Gibson has missed the last three games due to injury (back).
Moving On Up: Sophomore Devin Gibson is making his way up a pair of UTSA career charts. The Houston native currently has 156 steals in 45 career games (3.7 spg), which is sixth on the school’s all-time chart and only four behind Keith Horne (160) for fifth place. No Roadrunner has recorded more thefts than Gibson in less than two full seasons. He also has tallied 585 points (13.0 ppg), ranking him 38th, is eighth in free throw percentage (.701) and stands ninth with 223 free throws. He also is on pace to appear on the school’s top-10 career list for assists (203, 10th=214) this season and the top 50 chart for rebounds (174, 50th=193).
More Preseason Accolades: In addition to making the Cousy Award preseason list, Gibson also has been named preseason first-team all-conference and a CollegeHoops.net Preseason Mid-Major All-American.
Welcome Back: Senior Travis Gabbidon and junior Omar Johnson both were plagued with injuries last season, but have emerged as two of the team’s top scorers this year. Gabbidon, a Phoenix native and JUCO All-American at College of Southern Idaho, was UTSA’s leading scorer (13.9) and rebounder (5.8) until he went down with a season-ending injury at Lamar on Jan. 12. That happened one game after he scored 31 ? the program’s first 30-point outing since 2003-04 ? and grabbed nine boards against Texas-Pan American. Gabbidon is averaging 14.0 points (11th/SLC) and 6.5 rebounds (T-10th/SLC) per game this season, including 14.7 points (12th/SLC) and 8.4 boards (T-2nd/SLC) in conference play. Johnson, a Philadelphia native and JUCO All-American at Barton County, missed all of last season with a stress reaction, but has made an immediate impact in his first 19 contests (missed Dec. 18 UTPA game with concussion). He leads the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game (10th/SLC) behind 39-of-92 (42.4%) shooting from beyond the 3-point line and has dished out a team-best 87 assists (4.6 avg, T-3rd/SLC).
Model of Consistency: Senior Travis Gabbidon has been one of UTSA’s most consistent players in his two-year career. In his 34 games with the Roadrunners, the Phoenix native has reached double figures in scoring 28 times, including a career-best 31 against Texas-Pan American last year and a season-high 25 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He also has grabbed five or more rebounds 21 times, including a career high of 14 against Texas Wesleyan in 2007 and a season-high 12 versus Texas-Pan American on Jan. 21. His 210 career rebounds stand 47th on UTSA’s career list. Gabbidon has been named Southland Conference Player of the Week twice this year (Jan. 5, 26).
No Shank Shots: Senior Joey Shank has been a consistent threat from behind the arc in his 48 games with the Roadrunners. Last year, the Folsom, Calif., native drained 67 threes, the sixth-best season in school history, and made three or more in a game 12 times. He put his name next to the program’s single-game record with eight treys in a win over Northwestern State last January and he nearly matched that effort with seven against Rice on Dec. 4 of this season, tallying a career-best 26 points in both contests. Shank, who has connected from downtown 45 times this year, is ninth on UTSA’s career chart with 112 threes (4th among two-year players). Additionally, his 36.6 career 3-point field goal percentage stands fifth in the school record book. This year, Shank is tied for sixth in the Southland Conference in 3-pointers made per game (2.3).
Wiping The Glass: The junior duo of Josh Bonney and Demarco Stepter has made an immediate impact on the glass this season. Bonney, a native of White Castle, La., posted his first double-double in a UTSA uniform with 15 points and a season-high 13 rebounds in the 62-55 win at Nicholls and is averaging 4.9 boards per contest. He is averaging 8.4 points and 6.0 boards (T-12th) in SLC games. Stepter, who hails from Memphis, Tenn., ranks second on the team with a 6.1 rebounding average (16th/SLC). He is one of two Roadrunners and nine league players with three or more double-doubles this season. He tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds against East Central, a season-high 15 points to go along with 11 boards against UMKC and 10 and 10 at SMU. He nearly posted his fourth with 10 points and nine rebounds in the double-overtime loss to Sam Houston State.
On The Tube: UTSA has at least eight regular season games scheduled for television this season. The Roadrunners already have played five contests on the tube, dropping their first two at Oklahoma State (Cowboy Sports Network) and Iowa (Mediacom Connections) before winning the past three at UMKC (Metro Sports), at SMU (Time Warner Cable/Metro Sports) and against Texas State (Time Warner Cable). The Roadrunners also will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Time Warner Cable (Feb. 18) and they make two appearances on Southland TV: at Southeastern Louisiana (Feb. 7) and at UT Arlington (Feb. 14).
SLC Preseason Polls: UTSA has been picked to finish third in the West Division of the Southland Conference by the league’s sports information directors and fourth by the head coaches in the preseason polls. The Roadrunners received two first-place votes and 43 points in the SIDs poll to rank behind UT Arlington and Lamar, while they tallied 39 points for fourth behind UT Arlington, Lamar and Sam Houston State in the coaches poll. Stephen F. Austin is the unanimous choice to win the East.
Up Next: UTSA will host Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
