SAN ANTONIO – Winners of five of the last seven games, UTSA men's basketball will conclude its regular-season, non-conference schedule with a matchup against hometown foe Our Lady of the Lake University, with tipoff at the Convocation Center slated for 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The game will be broadcast live on CUSA TV with the Voice of the Roadrunners, Andy Everett, calling the action. Fans can also hear the game live on Ticket 760 AM and online at goUTSA.com.
UTSA (5-7) has won five of its last seven games after opening up the year with setbacks in the first five games, which included outings at Oklahoma and No. 17/19 Utah State. The Roadrunners are coming off a two-game week last week that featured a loss vs. Oregon State in Houston's Toyota Center and a 19-point win over Illinois State on Saturday at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners are buoyed by the nation's leading scorer, junior guard Jhivvan Jackson. The native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, paces the NCAA with 26.8 points per game and is the current United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week. Last week, Jackson exploded for 28 points vs. Oregon State and added a season-best 41 in a win over Illinois State. It marked his 10th game with 20 or more points on the year, his fifth 30 or more points game as a junior and his second career game with 40 or more points after establishing the Conference USA record with a 46-point outing at Western Kentucky last year. He enters the outing with OLLU owning 28 or more points in four consecutive games.
Jackson, a product of Dallas-Fort Worth's Euless Trinity High School, is a member of the Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List, given to the nation's best player. He is coming off a season where he won the C-USA scoring crown with 22.9 points per game – despite beginning the year on a minute restriction due to injury suffered during his 2017-18 C-USA Freshman of the Year season.
Jackson, tabbed the preseason C-USA player of the year by Blue Ribbon Yearbook, also averages 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He is joined in the backcourt by scoring dynamo Keaton Wallace, a junior guard out of Richardson High School in Dallas, Texas. Wallace, who averaged 20.2 points per game last season, averages 15.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as a junior.
Junior forward Luka Barisic has averaged 5.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, while freshman center Jacob Germany has averages 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Since inserting freshman point guard Erik Czumbel into the starting lineup, UTSA is 5-2 and Czumbel has upped his average to 5.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
Senior forward Byron Frohnen, who has made all 112 starts to open his career, leading the team with 6.2 rebounds per game and is coming off a 10-point outing vs. ISU. Junior guard Knox Hellums is shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point land and is averaging 5.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Senior forward Atem Bior is averaging 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
As a team, UTSA is averaging 75.9 points per game, shooting 41 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from 3-point range. UTSA is holding opponents to 75.2 points per game, and a 45.9 clip from the field, including a 32.6 percent mark from 3-point land. UTSA is averaging 38.8 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 13.3 turnovers, 6.8 steals and 2.7 blocks per game.
The outing with OLLU marks a homecoming of sorts for UTSA first-year strength coach Christian Wood, who played for the Saints from 2013-16 and served as their strength coach during the 2016-17 season. Wood was a two-time all-conference honoree with the Saints and was named to the 2015-16 all-tournament team. He was tabbed the 2015-16 OLLU Big Blue Top Saint and was named the 2015-16 defensive player of the year.
This marks the first meeting between Our Lady of the Lake University and UTSA. OLLU competes at the NAIA level in the Red River Athletics Conference. The outing with UTSA will count as an exhibition for the Saints, which boasts an enrollment of 3,173 students.
Our Lady of the Lake (4-10) is coming off a 102-82 loss to Southwestern Assemblies of God University of Dec. 19. OLLU has lost five of its last six games, earning a win over Texas Wesleyan, ranked No. 22 at the time. Senior guard Michael Saladin leads five players in double-figures with 15.1 points per game, adding 3.2 rebounds. Senior 6-6 forward Jared Embry averages 14.4 points and 5.2 rebounds, while 6-5 sophomore guard Ruben Monzon averages 13.1 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game.
As a team, OLLU is shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from 3-point land. Opponents are shooting 49.8 percent and 40.1 percent from 3-point range. OLLU is averaging 34.5 rebounds and 80.4 points per game.
- UTSA -
