UTSA hosts Houston Baptist Saturday night

SAN ANTONIO – UTSA men's basketball renews its series against Houston Baptists for the first time since 1989 when the teams meet Saturday night in the Alamo City. Tipoff from the Roadrunners' Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.
 
For the fans
• Saturday's game will feature a Star Wars theme as fans will have a chance to secure limited edition posters, compete in a costume contest and interact with members of the 501st Legion.
• In addition, one lucky UTSA student will win $1,000 for being in attendance, while five others will have a chance to compete for $200.
 
Game overview
• UTSA plays its 11th game of the 2017-18 season with a Saturday evening contest against Houston Baptist. The game will tip at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center in San Antonio. UTSA enters the game sporting a 5-5 record, while HBU is 3-6 on the season. The contest will air on the Roadrunners Sports Network (92.5/93.3 FM The Bull in San Antonio) with Andy Everett providing play-by-play. The game will be televised live on KCWX-TV in San Antonio with Mike Lefko (play-by-play) and Chuck Miketinac (analyst) on the call. KCWX-TV can be found on the following channels:

 
Series history vs. Houston Baptist
• Houston Baptist and UTSA have met eight prior times on the hardwood, but not since March 1989 when both programs were members of the Trans-America Athletic Conference. The Huskies won the first four games of the series and the Roadrunners' the next three before HBU captured the most recent meeting 88-84 (OT) in San Antonio on March 4, 1989.
All-Time Meetings vs. Houston Baptist
Overall: Houston Baptist leads 3-5
H: 1-3, A: 2-2, N: 0-0

Jackson gets buckets at Oklahoma
• Eleven on 17 attempts to be exact. 
• Freshman combo guard Jhivvan Jackson scored a game and season-high 31 in the Roadrunners' 85-point effort at Oklahoma on Dec. 4. The 31, which were the most scored by a Bird this season, came on seven twos, four threes and five free throws. In addition, the Bayamón, Puerto Rico native, grabbed three rebounds and had two steals in his 26 minutes off the bench.
• Jackson outdueled Oklahoma star freshman and then nation's second-leading scorer Trae Young, who finished with 28 points (9 of 22 FG, 2 of 11 3FG, 8-9 FT) in 32 minutes of play.
 
Wallace earns second C-USA freshman honor
• Keaton Wallace was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Week, for the week ending Dec. 3. The honor is the second of the season for Wallace and third for a Roadrunner. Wallace was also recognized after the season's opening week and Jhivvan Jackson a week later.
 • Wallace concluded the week averaging a 15.0 points on 40.5 percent shooting (38.1 percent from three) and 4.0 assists per game, playing three games in a five-day period. The Dallas native opened the week with 17 points on six buckets, including four 3-pointers in Roadrunners' 96-point effort at Tulsa. He scored 14 of UTSA's 45 first-half points in 17 minutes against the Golden Hurricane. He then scored seven points and dished out four assists in a season-low 22 minutes against Ottawa. Wallace closed the week with a game-high 21 points (8 FG, 3 3FG) in 22 minutes to go along with a season-high tying five assists at Utah Valley. He scored 12 points in the opening 20 minutes against the Wolverines, then scored four points late in the second half to twice cut the Roadrunners' deficit to two possessions.
 
Deon Lyle's Emergence
• After struggling to a 4.8 points per game average through the season's first four contest, junior Deon Lyle is averaging 11.8 points over the Roadrunners' last five game. 
• During the five-game stretch, Lyle is shooting 52.3 percent (23 of 44) from the field, including an even 46.4 percent (13 of 28) from three.
• The Cloud County Community College transfer has totaled five double-digit scoring games off the bench, including a season-high 16 points against Ottawa and at Oklahoma. 
 
Hello from the outside
• After ranking 345 of 351 in the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage last season, the 2017-18 edition of the Roadrunners have had no problem knocking down the outside shot.
• UTSA currently ranks 27th in the nation at 10.4 made threes per game and 155th with a 35.5 3-point field goal percentage.
• In the season's 10 contests, UTSA has connected on 104 3-point attempts. Freshmen guards Keaton Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson lead the way with 27 and 25 triples, respectively, while Deon Lyle has 19.
• Both the Roadrunners' 104 made 3-pointers and 292 attempts lead Conference USA as do their 10.4 made triples per contest.
• The Roadrunners are on pace to total 322 3-pointers for the season, which would shatter the school-record of 272 set by the 2011-12 team.
 
The helping hand
• UTSA ranks fourth in Conference USA with 162 total assists on 296 makes -- a 54.7 percent assist rate. The Roadrunners average 16.2 helpers per game and totaled a season-high 23 on 28 makes against James Madison (11/19/17).
• Giovanni De Nicolao lead the way with 36 dimes. Keaton Wallace has 31 helpers, while Byron Frohnen has 24 and Jhivvan Jackson 20. 
 
Getting to the line
• UTSA has shot a C-USA-best 221 free throws through 10 games, making 161. The Roadrunners are averaging 22.1 attempts from the free-throw line per game. 
• The Birds attempted a season-high 31 against James Madison (11/19/17), making a season-high 25.
• Jhivvan Jackson (55 of 66) has been to the line the most, followed by George Willborn III (20 of 37).
 
Up Next
• The Roadrunners return back to the Convocation Center on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. to take on Bethany. The game, which will feature youth jersey and faculty/staff appreciation promotions, will air live in San Antonio on KCWX-TV.