SAN ANTONIO – Winners of two straight games and three of its last four, UTSA men's basketball will play host to UT Permian Basin on Sunday, with tipoff at the Convocation center slated for 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on CUSA TV and Ticket 760 AM, with the Voice of the Roadrunners, Andy Everett, calling the action.
UTSA (3-6) has won three of four games entering the matchup with the Falcons. The Roadrunners opened the year with five consecutive losses, including setbacks at Oklahoma and No. 17/19 Utah State, before a home-opening win. UTSA's winning streak stands at two after a 89-67 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at home and a 77-71 rivalry win at Texas State last Saturday.
In the win at Texas State, UTSA got a combined 50 points from junior guards Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace. Jackson had a game-high 33 points, while Wallace chipped in 17. In the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Wallace had a season-best 31 points, including a school record 15 free-throw makes without a miss.
Jackson and Wallace lead the Roadrunners in scoring, with Jackson ranking third in the nation with 24.9 points per game. Wallace adds 15.3 points per game, ranking seventh best in Conference USA. The pair combined to lead the nation's backcourts with 43.1 points per game as sophomores last year, ranking as the fourth-highest scoring duo in the NCAA. Wallace averaged 20.2 points per game in 2018-19, while Jackson won the C-USA scoring crown with 22.9 points per game.
A member of the Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List, given annually to the nation's top player, Jackson has added 4.8 rebounds per game, shooting 82.2 percent from the free-throw line and totaling 32.3 minutes per game. Wallace, a 6-foot-3 product of Dallas' Richardson High School, averages 5.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.4 steals per game, playing a team-best 34.3 minutes.
Freshmen Erik Czumbel and Jacob Germany have been key contributors in 2019-20, with Czumbel making four consecutive starts at point guard, a positive development after UTSA has had to replace three-year starting point guard Giovanni De Nicolao to graduation in 2019-20. With Czumbel, a 6-foot-3 native of Verona, Italy, running the point, the Roadrunners are 3-1. Czumbel averages 5.8 points 1.7 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game. Germany, a 6-foot-11 native of Kingston, Okla., averages 5.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and just over a block per game.
Junior forward Luka Barisic has made eight of nine starts in the post, averaging 5.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Senior forward Atem Bior has made six starts, averaging 4.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per outing. Junior guard Knox Hellums, who is making his UTSA debut in 2019-20 after transferring from Pepperdine, averages 4.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
Senior forward Byron Frohnen, who has made 109 consecutive starts to open his career, leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per game, playing 25.3 minutes per outing.
The Roadrunners have averaged 71.8 points per game in the early season, shooting 39.5 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from 3-point range. UTSA is averaging 36.8 rebounds per game, with 12.7 assists, 12.9 turnovers, 7.6 steals and 2.6 blocks per game. Opponents are averaging 76.7 points per game, shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from 3-point land.
This will mark the second all-time meeting between the two schools, after UT Permian Basin claimed the lone meeting in the series, 90-85 during the 2015-16 season. UTPB took a 40-35 lead at halftime and matched UTSA's second-half scoring barrage to post the win, registering 19 points off turnovers. UTSA shot 48.3 percent from the field but a 12 of 32 outing from 3-point land lifted the Falcons to the win. Four UTPB players reached double figures in the win, including 20 points from Gary Akbar. UTSA was led by a 27-point, 13-rebound effort from Ryan Bowie, who went 9 of 12 from the charity stripe. A.J. Cockrell had 16 points and seven boards, while Nick Allen added eight points and four rebounds. Gino Little has 10 points and five rebounds, with J.R. Harris adding 10 points.
UT Permian Basin (9-2, 2-0 Lone Star Conference) will play a league game on Saturday at 4 p.m. before traveling to face the Roadrunners on Sunday afternoon. The Falcons are averaging 93.5 points per game, shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from range. UTPB averages 36.5 rebounds, 17.4 assists, 14.9 turnovers, 8.6 steals and 2.5 blocks per game. Opponents are scoring 81.5 points per game, shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from 3-point distance. After dropping their first two games, UTPB has won nine consecutive games, including league tests vs. Western New Mexico and MSU Texas.
A senior guard transfer from Boise State, Pat Dembley leads the team with 23.0 points per game, adding 3.3 rebounds per outing. Jordan Horn, a North Dakota State transfer, has made six starts and averages 16.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Milwaukee transfer Carson Newsome has averaged 13.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while 6-foot-8 Denver transfer Donovan Carlise averages 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Miles Washington, a 6-foot-8 Mississippi State transfer, leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per game, adding 10.0 points. Denver transfer Elvin Rodriguez (9.6) and Arkansas Fort-Smith transfer Adam Rivera (9.4) give UTPB seven players averaging at least nine points per game.
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