Wallace’s record-breaking night leads UTSA past IslandersWallace’s record-breaking night leads UTSA past Islanders
Jeff Huehn/UTSA Athletics
Men's Basketball

Wallace’s record-breaking night leads UTSA past Islanders

SAN ANTONIO – Keaton Wallace had 31 points and went a program-record 15 of 15 from the free-throw line, leading UTSA men's basketball to an 89-67 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, on Tuesday night at the Convocation Center. 
 
UTSA (2-6) used a record-setting performance from junior guard Keaton Wallace in the win. The product of Dallas' Richardson High School eclipsed the school record by making all 15 of his attempts from the free-throw line. Wallace, who drew nine fouls in the game, is one of nine UTSA players to finish 100 percent from the free-throw line, in at least 10 attempts, and his 15 made free throws passes the previous mark set by Ais Olajuwon vs. Sam Houston State in 1993, when he made 14 of 14 attempts. 
 
Wallace, a member of the Lute Olson Preseason Player of the Year Watch List in college basketball, added 31 points – on 8 of 12 shooting – with nine rebounds and four assists. It marked his fourth career game with at least 30 points and his first of 2019-20. A year ago, Wallace averaged 20.2 points per game, earning All-Conference USA honors, finishing with the eighth-best free-throw shooting percentage in program history, 85.5 percent (95 of 111). 

UTSA had four players in double figures, including junior guard Knox Hellums, who went 4 of 4 from 3-point land. Freshman center Jacob Germany had 12 points and four rebounds, while Jhivvan Jackson finished with 12 points, two rebounds and two assists. 
 
Byron Frohnen added five rebounds, with Luka Barisic finishing with seven points and five rebounds. 
 
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-5) was led in scoring by an 18-point outing from Nolan Bertain, with Myles Smith adding 16 points. 
 
The Roadrunners finished the game shooting 54.5 percent (30 of 55) from the field and 6 of 13 from 3-point land. UTSA owned a 34-27 margin in rebounding with a 15-11 margin in assists.  

UTSA will return to action on Saturday, traveling to face Texas State at 4 p.m. at the Strahan Arena. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and will also be available on the Roadrunners Sports Network, with the Voice of the Roadrunners, Andy Everett, calling the action. Fans can hear the game live on The Bull 93.3/92.5 and goUTSA.com. 
 
The Islanders opened the scoring with an offensive rebound and putback but Barisic answered on the next trip down the floor with a post-move basket. UTSA scored four of the next six points, with both baskets coming on an offensive rebound and score from Wallace. 
 
UTSA continued a 12-2 run to stretch its lead to 16-6 at the second media timeout. Jackson splashed a step-back 3-pointer and a fadeaway jumper in the paint, Wallace sank a pair from the charity stripe after an aggressive take to the rim, and Knox Hellums drilled a 3-pointer from the wing for the first double-figure lead of the game. 
 
Wallace stretched the UTSA run to 7-0 after hitting a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 18-6 with 11:31 left in the first period. A Germany and-one dunk and a pair of free throws from Jackson extended the run to 12-0 and a 23-6 lead. 
 
Frohnen, making his 108th consecutive start to open his career, got on the board with a basket in the paint after an Islanders bucket, taking the lead to 25-8 with 9:24 left in the first. The lead was extended to 20, up to 31-11, after four straight from Wallace at the charity stripe. 
 
UTSA got a basket from Bior and a 3-pointer from Makani Whiteside to stretch the lead to 36-18 at the under four-minute media timeout. Wallace added a powerful dunk in the closing seconds but the Islanders banked in a deep 3-pointer for the margin at the break, 41-25. UTSA shot 52 percent from the field in the first, going 12 of 23, while TAMU-CC was 11 of 26 for 42 percent from the field. 
 
UTSA came out hot in the second, getting early in the half and-1's from Barisic and Jackson. After the Islanders sank a pair of 3-pointers, Jackson drilled his fourth bucket on a jumper to get the lead back to 51-31 with three minutes gone in the second. 
 
Wallace took the lead to 53-33 after he hit his 11th and 12th attempts from the free-throw line. After Nolan Bertain drilled his second trey of the game to cut the lead to 16, Erik Czumbel took the ball to the rim for his first basket of the game and a 55-36 lead a the under 16-minute media timeout. 
 
Jordan Hairston's 3-pointer cut the lead to 55-41 before Germany's lay-in at the offensive end. Wallace improved to 13 of 13 from the charity stripe to take the lead to 60-43. 
 
The Islanders went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 60-49 until Wallace got two at the rim for a 62-49 lead with just over 10 minutes left. Wallace made his 14th and 15th consecutive free throw attempts but TAMU-CC struck for a jumper from Myles Smith. Hellums followed with a triple for a 67-53 lead but Bertain drilled his third out of a timeout to cut the lead to 69-56. A basket from Wallace – giving him 31 – and a pair of 3-pointers from Hellums in the corner took the lead to 79-58. 
 
- UTSA -