Men's basketball to host Mid-America Christian on SaturdayMen's basketball to host Mid-America Christian on Saturday
Men's Basketball

Men's basketball to host Mid-America Christian on Saturday

SAN ANTONIO -- Winners of two of its last three games, UTSA will return to action on Saturday when it hosts Mid-America Christian at 3 p.m. at the Convocation Center. 

The game will be streamed live on CUSA.tv and broadcast live on Ticket 760 AM with the pregame show beginning at 2:30 p.m. Andy Everett and Tim Carter will call the action. The broadcast also can be heard live online at goUTSA.com/Ticket760 and via the free iHeartRadio app. 

UTSA Roadrunners (2-6) vs. Mid-America Christian (6-3, 2-0)
3 p.m.  •  Dec. 8, 2018
Convocation Center • San Antonio, Texas
Live video:CUSA.TV | goUTSA.com/MBB_video
Radio: Ticket 760 AM (2:30 p.m.) | goUTSA.com/Ticket760

Headlines and Storylines
• UTSA enters the matchup with Mid-America Christian winners of two of their last three games. 
• The Roadrunners are coming off a 69-68 loss to rival Texas State last weekend. TXST sank a game-winning free throw with 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
• UTSA and Mid-America Christian will be meeting for the first time. 
• UTSA's offense has been spurred by the return to 2017-18 C-USA Freshman of the Year Jhivvan Jackson, who is averaging 16.8 points per game in just 18.4 minutes. Jackson is 16 of 38 from 3-point land and is averaging 1.4 rebounds, connecting on a team-best 24 of 27 free throws. 
• UTSA is in its 38th season of basketball. The Roadrunners are 548-550 (.499) all-time, which includes four NCAA Tournament appearances. 
• Reigning Conference USA Gene Bartow Coach of the Year Steve Henson is in third year at the helm of the Roadrunners. Henson is 36-39 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.
• UTSA was selected fifth in the Conference USA Preseason Poll, as voted by the league's head coaches.

Scouting Mid-America Christian
•  The 2015-16 NAIA National Champions, Mid-America Christian is a strong program under Coach Josh Gamblin, the 2015-16 NAIA Rawlings Coach of the Year. 
• Gamblin led MAC to a 21-14 record last season, a 16-16 mark in 2016-17 - coming off a national title - and a 28-9 mark during its championship run. 
• Four Division I transfers dot the MAC roster in 2018-19, including FAU transfer William Gibbons, Oklahoma State transfer Charles Beauregard Jr., Little Rock transfer Anthony Black and Louisiana-Lafayette transfer Torrey Young. 
• The Evangels boast a veteran team, including 10 seniors, with upperclassmen accounting for 87 percent of the minutes played by MAC in 2018-19 and 90 percent of the points scored. 
• Mid-America Christian is coming off a 107-61 win over Ecclesia on Wednesday night. The Evangels have won two of their last four games after dropping a pair to kick off league play in the Sooner Athletic Conference. 
• Four Evangels average in double figures, with Anthony Black leading the team with 14.4 points in 22.4 minutes per game. Khalil Thompson and Charles Beauregard, Jr. each average 13.1 points per game, with Justin Bogle sporting 13 points per game. 
• The Evangels are led in rebounding by Bogle (6.2 per game) and Daniel William (5.2 rpg). 
• As a team, MAC is averaging 92.8 points per game, outscoring opponents by an average of 17.1 points. The Evangels are shooting 45 percent from the field and 30 percent from three, averaging 41.9 rebounds and 13.9 assists per game. 

MAC-UTSA connections
• UTSA and Mid-America Christian's coaching staffs have several connections, including UTSA head coach Steve Henson and MAC head coach Josh Gamblin. The two were on Lon Kruger's staff at Oklahoma in 2014-15, with Henson as an assistant coach and Gamblin serving as graduate assistant coach. 
• UTSA assistant coach Scott Thompson was also on the OU staff with Henson and Gamblin in 2014-15. 

Roadrunners vs. the Sooner State
• UTSA is 2-20 all-time vs. schools from the state of Oklahoma, playing Oklahoma State the most, a total of 10 times. UTSA has played both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in 2018-19 and has faced OU in consecutive years. 

A win would ...
• Improve UTSA to 3-6 and give the Roadrunners winners in three of their last four games
• Make UTSA 1-0 in the series with Mid-America Christian
• Improve Coach Steve Henson to 24-10 at the Convocation Center

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 36-40 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 plaudits in 2017-18.

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. 
• 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.
• 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 three pointers. 
• Jackson's 40-minute averages are staggering: 36.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and three assists. He is averaging 0.91 points per minute on the floor. 

Sophomore a Steady Scorer
• Sophomore guard Keaton Wallace has emerged as a steady scoring option for UTSA through the first half dozen games this season. The Dallas native leads the Roadrunners in scoring with 17.6 points per game and he has paced the team in points in four of the eight contests.  Wallace has reached double figures six times, including back-to-back 20-point showings against UC Irvine (23) and South Dakota State (21). 
• In a matchup with rival Texas State on Dec. 1, 2018, 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) and points per game (17.6), Jackson has returned from injury to come off the bench in the last five games. The duo is averaging 34.4 points per game, accounting for 48 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 20.4 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per outing, with the pair combining for 51 percent of UTSA's scoring punch over the last five games. 

Frohnen near-double-doubles
• Junior forward Byron Frohnen has opened the season with four 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 75-game career and has missed 21 others by three or fewer points or rebounds. 

Senior Spreads the Floor
• Senior Nick Allen has emerged as a threat from virtually anywhere on the floor, as the Surprise, Ariz., native is averaging 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game to go along with seven assists and four steals through the first eight contests. The 6-8 forward is third on the team with 10 3-pointers and he is shooting at a 78-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).

De Nicolao double-doubles
• 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 7.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and a team-high 3.3 assists per game this season.

Defending home court
• Under head coach Steve Henson, UTSA has posted a 23-10 record at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners went 11-3 at home last season 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.