SAN ANTONIO – Winners of five of its last seven games, UTSA will wrap up its nonconference schedule on Saturday, Dec. 29, when it hosts Southeastern Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
The game is slated for a radio broadcast on Ticket 760 AM with the pregame show beginning at 2:30 p.m. The Voice of the Roadrunners, Andy Everett, and Tim Carter will call the action. The broadcast also can be heard live via the free iHeartRadio app and online at goUTSA.com/Ticket760.
UTSA Roadrunners (5-7)
vs.
Southeastern Oklahoma State (7-2)
3 p.m. • Dec. 29, 2018
Convocation Center • San Antonio
Live video: CUSA.tv
Radio: Ticket 760 AM (2:30 p.m.) | goUTSA.com/Ticket760
Live stats: goutsa.com/livestats
Series vs. SE OK ST:UTSA leads, 1-0
Headlines and Storylines
• UTSA has won five of its last seven games after opening the year with an 0-5 mark. The Roadrunners enter the matchup with the Savage Storm winners of two straight and among its last seven games, the two losses came at Arkansas and vs. 10-win Texas State.
• A pair of dynamic scoring guards pace the UTSA offensive attack, including Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace. Jackson leads the team with 19.7 points per game – in just 23.3 minutes – while Wallace leads the team with 33.1 minutes per game and owns 18.8 points per outing.
• After Jackson, the reigning C-USA Freshman of the Year, suffered a season-ending injury late in the 2017-18 season and missed the first four games of the season, all UTSA losses, Jackson returned on a minutes restriction for the next five outings before being inserted in the starting lineup over the last four games.
• The Roadrunners faced Southeastern Oklahoma State for the first time in 2016, an 88-69 win at the Convocation Center, with Jeff Beverly leading the way with 19 points and eight rebounds.
• UTSA is in its 38th season of basketball. The Roadrunners are 551-551 (.500) all-time, which includes four NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Reigning Conference USA Gene Bartow Coach of the Year Steve Henson is in his third year at the helm of the Roadrunners. Henson is 39-41 at UTSA.
• UTSA returns four starters from its 2017-18 20-win campaign, including junior point guard Giovanni De Nicolao, sophomore shooting guard Jhivvan Jackson, junior small forward Byron Frohnen and senior power forward Nick Allen. Sophomore point/shooting Keaton Wallace, who started 19 games as a freshman, also returns to bring UTSA's experience to 234 combined career starts entering this season.
Scouting the Savage Storm
• Southeastern Oklahoma State enters the tilt with UTSA owning a 7-2 record, including a 3-2 record in Great American Conference action. SE Oklahoma State will count the game as an exhibition.
• The Savage Storm opened the year with an overtime loss at Little Rock in exhibition play before ripping off three straight wins to kick off the season. SE Oklahoma State owns wins over No. 5 Southern Nazarene [Okla.], SW Oklahoma State, NW Oklahoma State and Ecclesia College [Ark.].
• Kevin Buckingham leads the team with 17.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game over 30.6 minutes. Kellen Manek sports 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game over 29.3 minutes with Jett Jobe owning a team-high 35.3 minutes per game, adding 13.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, sporting 47 assists.
Series History
• The two teams have met just once, an 88-69 UTSA win on Dec. 10, 2016 at the Convocation Center.
• The Roadrunners outscored SE Oklahoma State 42-34 in the first and 46-35 in the second half, shooting 55 percent as a team. Jeff Beverly led the team with 19 points and eight rebounds. Then-freshmen Giovanni De Nicolao and Byron Frohnen each started, with De Nicolao limited to one shot and four fouls in 15 minutes. Frohnen had four points, four assists and a rebound in 24 minutes. Nick Allen was 1-for-8 with four points and four rebounds in 24 minutes. Gianpalo Riccio led the Savage Storm with 16 points, with Kevin Buckingham owning eight rebounds and nine points.
A win would ...
• Improve UTSA to 6-7 and give the Roadrunners wins in six of their last eight games
• Make the Roadrunners 552-551 (.501) all-time in program history
• Improve the Roadrunners to 2-0 vs. SE Oklahoma State
• Give UTSA a 6-7 record in non-conference play in 2018-19
Clutch Time Free Throws
• At the charity stripe when the game is on the line, over the last five minutes and in overtime, Jhivvan Jackson is a perfect 10-for-10. Keaton Wallace is 6-of-6. The duo has each totaled 27 points over the last five minutes of 2018-19, connecting on five triples each.
• Junior Atem Bior has gone 5-of-6 at the charity stripe over the last five minutes during the year.
Topping the Century Mark
• Twice in 2018-19 UTSA has reached 100+ points in a game, with the Roadrunners owning a 41-7 all-time record when reaching the century mark.
• UTSA owns a 104-74 win over Mid-America Christian and a 101-77 win over Bethany College.
• It marks the first time UTSA has topped 100 points twice in a single season since a pair of overtime losses in the 1996-97 season. The last time the Roadrunners topped 100 points twice in a season without the benefit of overtime came during the 1992-93 season.
First Off the Bench
• UTSA freshman guard Adokiye Iyaye has been the first player off the bench in a team-high seven games of 2018-19.
• Iyaye has emerged as UTSA's go-to sixth man, averaging 20 minutes and 6.1 points per game. A 6-foot-3 guard out of Oklahoma City, Okla., Iyaye has become a defensive stopper on the perimeter for the Roadrunners.
Third Season of the Steve Henson era
• The 2018-19 season marks the third of the Steven Henson era at UTSA. Henson, who came to the Alamo City from Lon Kruger's staff at Oklahoma, has guided the Roadrunners to a 39-41 overall mark to this point. Under Henson's tutelage, UTSA won a program-best 11 Conference USA contests last season and picked up UTSA's second consecutive Conference USA Tournament win. Moreover, Henson coached Jhivvan Jackson to C-USA Freshman of the Year and Deon Lyle to league Sixth Player of the Year.
Averaging a Point a Minute
• 2018 Conference USA Freshman of the Year Jhivvan Jackson made his return from a season-ending injury at the Gulf Coast Showcase on Nov. 19-21. The sophomore guard averaged 13.7 points in limited minutes (15.0 mpg) in the three neutral-site contests. Jackson drained nine 3-pointers and dished out five assists to help the Roadrunners to a 1-2 record, including scoring 21 on the strength of five treys to help UTSA to a 76-65 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on the final day of the tournament.
• In UTSA's win at Houston Baptist, Jackson went up to 21 minutes, collecting 21 points on a career-high 11 free throws. Days later in a rivalry matchup with Texas State, Jackson got off to a sluggish start but finished with a flourish, owning a team-high 22 points and connecting on five 3 pointers. In a non-conference win over Mid-America Christian, Jackson poured in 28 points.
• Jackson's 40-minute averages are staggering: 33.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He is averaging 0.84 points per minute.
• Since returning Jackson to the rotation, UTSA has improved its points per game average (77.9 from 76.6), field goal percentage and 3-point percentage (35.0 from 31.1).
• Jackson is averaging 29.5 minutes, 23.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game since returning to the starting lineup. He owns seven consecutive 20+ point games, the longest streak since a stretch of six straight for a Ryan Bowie in 2015-16.
• The second-team all-conference selection set the UTSA freshman scoring record with 534 points and led the team with 18.4 per game. He shot 43.1 percent from the field for the season and tallied three 30-point, 14 20-point and 25 double-figure scoring performances.
Sophomore Wallace a Steady Scorer
• Sophomore guard Keaton Wallace has emerged as a steady scoring option for UTSA through the first 12 games this season. The Dallas native ranks second on the team with 18.8 points per game and he has paced the team in points in six of the 12 contests. Wallace has reached double figures nine times, including back-to-back 20-point showings against UC Irvine (23) and South Dakota State (21) and has had a career high five 20+ point games in 2018-19.
• Wallace was blistering hot in a win over Mid-America Christian on Dec. 8, setting career highs in points (35), 3-pointers (nine), rebounds (nine) and blocks (three). His nine treys marked the second-most in UTSA single-game history.
• In a matchup with rival Texas State on Dec. 1, Wallace logged a career high 39 minutes, collecting 19 points.
• A 2017-18 Conference USA All-Freshman Team selection, Wallace averaged 11.4 points in 35 games last season.
Elite Guard Play
• UTSA's two dynamic sophomore guards, Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace have shouldered the scoring load in 2018-19. While Wallace has been a fixture in the lineup, with team highs in minutes (33.1) and ranking second points per game (18.8), Jackson has returned from injury to come off the bench in six straight games before making the last four consecutive starts as his minutes restriction has been lifted. The duo is averaging 38.5 points per game, accounting for 51 percent of UTSA's offensive production per game.
• Since Jackson's return to the playing rotation on Nov. 19 vs. UC Irvine – the fourth game of the season – Wallace is averaging 20.7 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per outing, with the pair combining for 52 percent of UTSA's scoring punch over the last nine games.
Frohnen's near-double-doubles
• Junior forward Byron Frohnen has opened the season with six near misses at registering a double-double, missing by no more than three points or rebounds. In a win at HBU, Frohnen set a career high with 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting. In a thriller vs. Texas State, Frohnen grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds.
• Frohnen has totaled seven double-doubles in his 81 games and has missed 23 others by three or fewer points or rebounds.
Allen among most used players in UTSA history
• Senior Nick Allen is leaving a large mark on the program over the course of his career. He has played in 112 games and started 82 in his career, ranking ninth in starts and seventh in games played.
Allen Spaces Floor
• Nick Allen has emerged as a threat from virtually anywhere on the floor, as the Surprise, Ariz., native is averaging 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game to go along with 11 assists and five steals through the first 12 contests. The 6-foot-8 forward is third on the team with 13 3-pointers and he is shooting at a 71-percent clip at the free-throw line.
• Allen opened the campaign with 15 points and eight rebounds against St. Edward's and he also has scored in double figures against Oklahoma (15), South Dakota State (12) and Florida Gulf Coast (13).
Italian runs the Point
• Junior point guard Giovanni De Nicolao recorded his first career double-double in his 70th career game as the Italian scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds against Oklahoma on Nov. 12. De Nicolao made four shots from the field, including two threes, and connected twice from the free-throw line. His 10 rebounds consisted of two offensive boards and eight on the defensive glass.
• De Nicolao is averaging 7.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and a team-high 3.2 assists per game this season.
Defending Home Court
• Under head coach Steve Henson, UTSA has posted a 25-10 record at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners went 11-3 at home in 2016-17 and 12-4 in 2017-18.
• Prior to the last two seasons, UTSA last posted consecutive 11-win home seasons when the program went 11-3 in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 as members of the Southland Conference.
• The 1991-92 team was the last Roadrunners squad to win more than 12 games at the Convocation Center, finishing 14-1.
Seven New Birds
• Seven newcomers will don the UTSA Blue and Orange for the first time in 2018-19, including four freshmen, a sophomore and two transfers.
• The freshmen class is composed of Texas high school products Tamir Bynum (Lamar HS), Mateo Escheik (Prestonwood Christian Academy) and Austin Timperman (The Woodlands HS), along with Oklahoman Adokiye Iyaye (Oklahoma City/Putnam North HS).
• Sophomore Christian Plummer joined the team as walk-on out of Coppell HS.
• Junior college transfer forward Atem Bior (New Mexico Military Institute) is joined by four-year transfer Knox Hellums (Pepperdine) as newcomers to the junior class. Hellums is required to sit out the 2018-19 season due to NCAA transfer policies.
Rodriguez's Return to Floor
• After suffering a season-ending knee injury in last year's opener, redshirt freshman Adrian Rodriguez is medically cleared for the 2018-19 season.
• Before suffering the injury, the 6-foot-7 forward from Tulsa, Okla., scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench against East Central.
• The 6-foot-7 big man played 12 minutes against St. Edward's in the season lid-lifter, collecting five rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists. He followed that performance with six points and four boards in 16 minutes against Oklahoma. Rodriguez recorded five points in 10 minutes versus UC Irvine and two points and two boards in the victory over FGCU.
81 straight starts
• Juniors Byron Frohnen and Giovanni De Nicolao are projected to make their 82nd consecutive starts on Saturday vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State. The first two signees of head coach Steve Henson in Spring 2016 have started all 81 games of their careers. Frohnen has started at both the small and power forward positions, while De Nicolao has been the stalwart at point guard.
3-Point Record in 2017-18
• After making just 172 3-pointers all of 2016-17, the 2017-18 Roadrunners set the UTSA single-season team record with 353. The previous record was 272 by the 2011-12 squad.
• The Roadrunners' 10.1 triples per game led Conference USA and ranked 19th in the NCAA.
• UTSA's 353 makes last season ranked fifth on the Conference USA single season list. The conference record is 375 by the 2007-08 Houston Cougars.
• Deon Lyle (who elected to depart the program to pursue a professional career in the Junior Basketball Association after his junior season), Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace lead the Roadrunners from deep with 96, 77 and 74 made triples, respectively. Junior point guard Giovanni De Nicolao made 36 and senior big man Nick Allen stepped out to hit 33 threes, which was 13 more than his first two seasons combined.
• Led by Wallace's 45 3-pointers, UTSA has made 97 threes through the first 12 contests this season, an average of 8.1 per game.
748 straight with a Trey
• UTSA has made at least one 3-point field goal in each of its last 748 consecutive games, which ranks as the 21st-longest streak in the nation. The last time the Roadrunners failed to connect from long range came on Jan. 5, 1994, in a 91-69 loss to Texas (0-for-6). To put the time frame in perspective: Bill Clinton had not yet completed his first full year as POTUS, Hero by Mariah Carey was on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Mrs. Doubtfire was the No. 1 movie in the box office and the Dallas Cowboys were 15 days from winning Super Bowl XXVIII, 30-13, over the Buffalo Bills.
Frohnen on the Boards
• Junior forward Byron Frohnen leads UTSA and ranks fifth in Conference USA with 7.8 rebounds per game through the first 12 contests.
• The Las Vegas native has reached double figures on the boards in four games with 10 in the season opener against St. Edward's and 11 at Oklahoma State. In a rivalry tilt vs. Texas State, Frohnen grabbed 12 boards, adding 12 boards vs. Arkansas.
• Frohnen's 583 rebounds in 81 career games is seventh on the UTSA career list. He sits behind Bruce Wheatley (1987-90) for sixth (668) in career history.
Up Next
• The Roadrunners kick off C-USA play on Thursday, Jan. 3, vs. UTEP Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The game will be televised live on ESPN+ and broadcast live on Ticket 760 AM, with the Voice of the Roadrunners, Andy Everett, calling the action.
