Jhivvan Jackson explodes for 41 as UTSA races past Illinois StateJhivvan Jackson explodes for 41 as UTSA races past Illinois State
Vashaun Newman
Men's Basketball

Jhivvan Jackson explodes for 41 as UTSA races past Illinois State

SAN ANTONIO -- Jhivvan Jackson – the nation's leading scorer – went for a season-high 41 points to lead UTSA men's basketball to an 89-70 rout of Illinois State on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center. 
 
UTSA (5-7) earned its fourth win in its last five games, and its fourth straight home win, by besting Illinois State (5-7) with a well-rounded performance on Saturday. The Roadrunners rode a hot-shooting first half – including 25 points in the stanza from Jackson – to build a big early lead and cruise to the win over the Redbirds. 

"Our defense today was the main key," Jackson said. "We've been exercising that so much the last two weeks and we just came in the last two practices, that is all we worked on. We came out in the first half, played defense. I got a little hot. But other than that, it was all because of our shots."

A native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Jackson entered the day as the nation's leading scorer and upped his average to 26.8 points per game through UTSA's first 12 outings of 2019-20. He was 12 of 25 from the field and 5 of 11 from 3-point land, adding a perfect 12 of 12 mark from the free-throw line. It marked the seventh-most points in UTSA single-game history. 

"He's always had the ability and a lot of his big games are just the result of him making special plays," UTSA head coach Steve Henson said. "Texas State, the other day, he had 20 in the first half and that wasn't because of the plays we were calling necessarily. Although I do think we're using him better then we have at any point in his career, moving in space better. He was just hot, doing special things there. 
 
Jackson, a member of the Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List, given to the nation's best player, has four straight games with at least 28 points and has at least 20 points in 10 of 12 games as a junior. He owns a career-high five games with 30 or more points in 2019-20 and has scored 30 or more in 12 games in his career. It marked the second-highest scoring output of the career for Jackson, who went for a league-record 46 points at Western Kentucky as a sophomore. 
 
Last year, Jackson won the scoring title in Conference USA with 22.9 points per game, a season after winning C-USA Freshman of the Year in 2017-18.

Senior forward Byron Frohnen made his 112th consecutive start to open his career, moving into sole possession of second place in program history for career starts. Frohnen turned in his best game of 2019-20, going for 10 points, six
rebounds and two assists. 

"That was really, really good to see," Henson said about Frohnen's outing. "I told him in the pregame talk, usually you aren't talking about your own individuals, you are talking about the other team and what they are going to do. I looked right at Atem (Bior) and said this was going to be a game he could have a big impact because of his energy and rebounding. And Byron, this was going to be a game where you are going to snap out of it and do what you do, it's going to be a great game for you. He got off to a great start and you could just see his confidence. He's has a stretch where the ball just hasn't gone in for him. He's been getting some shots blocked and he just hasn't been able to get his head up and I certainly think that will help him moving forward to see that ball going through the net more than once and making some plays for us. He is an unbelievable player and he hasn't been playing like he usual self up until this point this year." 

Junior guard Keaton Wallace added five points, six rebounds and two assists. Junior Knox Hellums had eight points and five rebounds, with Atem Bior owning eight points and five boards. Luka Barisic had eight points and three rebounds. 
 
The Roadrunners shot 44 percent from the field, holding ISU to 40 percent shooting. UTSA was 7 of 18 from 3-point range, with ISU going 5 of 24. UTSA won the battle of the boards, 45-34, owning advantages in assists and a 23-12 margin in points off turnovers. 
 
UTSA will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 28, hosting Our Lady of the Lake at 3 p.m. in the non-conference finale of the 2019-20 regular season. The game will be on CUSA TV and also will be available on the Ticket 760 AM and goUTSA.com, with the Voice of the Roadrunners, Andy Everett calling the action.
 
The Roadrunners got the first two buckets of the game in the paint, with Luka Barisic opening the scoring and Frohnen cleaning up an offensive rebound for his first basket. ISU got on the board with consecutive 3-pointers from Zach Copeland, with Jackson and Frohnen each earning baskets in the paint for an 8-7 lead. 
 
Jackson sank his first 3-pointer, and Frohnen and Hellums each added paint buckets, to spark a 7-0 UTSA run that stretched the lead to 15-7 with just under 13 minutes left in the first. Jackson's and-1 floater took the lead to 18-9, with the Roadrunners owning an 18-11 lead at the second media timeout. 
 
After ISU cut the lead to five, Hellums drilled a deep triple for a 21-13 lead. The Redbirds scored the next five points to cut the lead to 21-19 but Jackson spurted out on a breakaway for a floater and then drilled a contested 3-pointer in transition, and Bior added a lay-in in transition for a 28-19 lead with 7:51 left. 
 
That's when Jackson truly took over, going on a personal 9-0 run, with a pair of free throws, a fadeaway midrange jumper, a deep 3-pointer and a coast-to-coast take to the rim. The run continued to 13-0 after a pair of Bior baskets in the paint, giving UTSA eight straight made shots and a 41-21 lead. Jackson answered a ISU 3-pointer with a trio of free throws for a 44-24 lead at the final media break of the first half. 
 
Free throws from Adokiye Iyaye and Wallace took UTSA's run to 19-3 and the lead to 47-24. Hellums got UTSA to 50 with an offensive rebound and putback for a 50-26 lead. The Redbirds closed with makes in their last four attempts, cutting the halftime lead to 53-36. UTSA shot 58-percent in the first half, with Jackson leading the way with 25 points on eight made buckets. 
 
ISU opened the second half with a triple but Frohnen and Jackson scored the next four to give UTSA a 57-39 lead. After a pair of makes from Illinois State, Wallace cleaned up a missed three with a putback for a 59-43 lead, with the lead going to 59-45 at the first media timeout of the second half. Adrian Rodriguez and Bior followed an ISU basket with a pair of their own for a 63-45 lead with just under 14 minutes left. 
 
A Jackson layup and a Czumbel 3-pointer saw the lead go to 68-52 and after a made ISU basket, Jackson hit a pair from the free-throw line for a 69-54 lead. Jackson continued after a made ISU trey, sinking a pair of threes on consecutive trips down the floor and then adding a pair at the charity stripe for a 78-57 lead. Barisic sank a pair at the free-throw line for a 20-point lead with just under seven minutes left. 
 
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