Tweet #BirdsUp
ESTERO, Fla. -- Sophomore guards Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace each notched double-figure scoring efforts but UC Irvine used a first-half run to build an early lead and post a 65-56 win over UTSA men's basketball in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase, on Monday afternoon at the Hertz Center.
UTSA (0-4) was handcuffed by a stout UC Irvine (5-0) defense throughout the game, shooting 30 percent from the field as a team and going just 5-for-24 in the first stanza. After the Roadrunners scored the first five points of the game, UCI's 13-0 run built an early advantage and the Anteaters took a 21-point lead into halftime, with the lead ballooning to 25 early in the second half.
UC Irvine, picked to win the Big West in the preseason, entered the game owning non-conference wins at Texas A&M and at Santa Clara. The Anteaters finished the game shooting 39.7 percent from the field, owning a 45-37 advantage in rebounding and a 40-21 mark in points off the bench.
Jackson, the 2017 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, made his season debut after missing the first three games while recovering from injury. Jackson was limited to 15 minutes and charted 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting, going 2-of-3 from behind the arc.
A six-foot guard out of Bayamòn, Puerto Rico and product of Euless Trinity High School, Jackson averaged 18.4 points per game last year before missing the final six games of the season due to a knee injury.
A native of Dallas, Texas, Wallace had a game-high 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, drilling three triples and hauling five rebounds. The sophomore guards combined for 33 of UTSA's 56 points, a total of 59 percent of the Roadrunners offensive output.
Junior forward Byron Frohnen had a team-high seven rebounds.
The Roadrunners will return to action on Tuesday, facing South Dakota State at 10 a.m. CT.
UTSA opened the scoring with a 5-0 run, including a dunk from Atem Bior and a triple from Wallace. UC Irvine then ripped off 13 straight to take a 13-5 lead before a lay-in from Adokiye Iyaye. UIC built the lead to 43-21 heading to halftime with UTSA held to 27 percent from the field.
The Roadrunners rallied in the second half, using a 16-5 run to cut the lead to 11 and a last-ditch rally that saw Wallace drill a triple to knife the lead down to eight.
- UTSA -
