SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men's basketball team will return to action with a two-game swing in Ruston, La., taking on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at the Thomas Assembly Center, with tipoff on Friday set for 6:30 p.m. and Saturday's slated for 6 p.m.
Both games are set for a broadcast on ESPN+, with Chris Mycoskie (play-by-play) and legendary Louisiana broadcaster Lynn Rollins (analyst), calling the action. The games will also be on Ticket 760 AM, with the Voice of the Roadrunners, Andy Everett, calling the game.
The matchup will mark a stiff test for the Roadrunners, who venture to the Thomas Assembly Center, a place the Bulldogs have earned a 7-1 record at in 2020-21. The Bulldogs have won 80% (405-104) of their games at the Thomas Assembly Center and went 15-1 at home last year during a 22-8 season that included a 13-5 overall mark in league play.
UTSA (5-6, 1-3 Conference USA) is coming off a two-game split with the defending league champions, North Texas, last weekend in San Antonio. UTSA fell in the opener, 77-70 before bouncing back with a second-half comeback win on Saturday, 77-69. Senior guard Jhivvan Jackson went for 57 combined points over the last two games, including 26 of his 31 points in the second half comeback vs. UNT. UTSA held UNT to 38.9 percent from the field in the win on Saturday.
The Roadrunners are averaging 79.2 points, 40.4 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 6.5 steals and 3.2 blocks per game as a team. UTSA is shooting 43.7 percent as a team, including 30.7 percent from distance, while foes are shooting at a 43.6 percent clip and 35.5 percent from 3-point range.
UTSA is led by senior guards Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace, a pair of the top 15 scorers in league history. Jackson ranks third – and tops in UTSA history – with 2,240 career points, tops among all active NCAA players. Wallace ranks 15th in league history – and third in UTSA history – with 1,791 career points, ranking seventh among active NCAA division-1 players. Jackson averages 18.7 points per game – third in the league – while Wallace chips in 13.4 points per outing. Both players average 4.3 rebounds per game.
In 2020-21, Jackson and Wallace have been joined by a more balanced scoring ledger, which includes the development of sophomore center Jacob Germany – a former four-star recruit who marked the highest ranked signee in program history. Germany averages 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and combined with Luka Barisic, who averages 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, the pair averages 17.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game over 32 minutes per game.
Juniors Cedrick Alley Jr. and Eric Parrish have been weapons in their debut seasons as 6-foot-6 transfer student-athletes. Alley averages 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while Parrish chips in 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, averaging 3.3 assists.
Freshmen Jordan Ivy-Curry and Lachlan Bofinger have played in all 11 games off the bench, with Ivy-Curry averaging 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Bofinger averages 3.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Erik Czumbel has made five starts and averages 5.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
Louisiana Tech (9-4, 2-2 C-USA) snapped a quick two-game skid in conference play with a five-point win at Western Kentucky on Saturday. The Bulldogs have won five of their last seven games and sport non-conference wins over UT Arlington, Northwestern State, ULM, Southeastern Louisiana, Jackson State and Lamar, falling at LSU and Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Bulldogs have averaged 72.9 points, 38.4 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 6.6 steals and 2.2 blocks per game as a team. LA Tech is shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from distance, while foes are shooting 40.3 percent and 30l7 percent from range, averaging 66.9 points per game.
After averaging 11.6 points per game in six starts last year, Kalob Ledoux leads the team with 12.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 2020-21. Isaiah Crawford averages 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, with Kenneth Lofton Jr., an early front-runner for C-USA Freshman of the Year, sporting 9.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. JaColby Pemberton leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game, adding 9.2 points per outing. Amorie Archibald (9.3) and Cobe Williams (8.2) found out a balanced roster that has six players averaging at least eight points per game.
Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series with UTSA, 12-7, including a 6-2 mark in games played in Ruston. UTSA has won three of the last four meetings and four of the last six, including an 89-73 win last year in San Antonio. UTSA fell in the 2018-19 season in Ruston, 72-67 but have won two of the last three meetings at LA Tech.
In the meeting last year, UTSA won a 89-73 showdown on ESPNU that saw Jhivvan Jackson explode for 37 points, six assists and five rebounds, draining eight 3-pointers. UTSA got 16 points – on 6 of 8 shooting – in 25 minutes from Luka Barisic and 13 points and six rebounds from Keaton Wallace. Byron Frohnen grabbed 10 rebounds and added nine points, four assists and one steal. UTSA shot 49.2 percent – including 55.9 percent in the first half that saw UTSA build a 53-27 lead. LA Tech shot 48.1 percent, outscoring UTSA 46-36 in the second half. Kalob Ledoux and Daquan Bracey each had 12 points to lead the Bulldogs.
- UTSA -
