SAN ANTONIO – Winners of three straight and coming off a Thursday night win over UTEP, UTSA men's basketball will again face the Miners, this time in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT at the Don Haskins Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
UTSA (8-8, 4-5 Conference USA) is looking to complete the two-game sweep of rival UTEP (7-8, 3-6 C-USA) in El Paso on Saturday, after besting the Miners on Thursday in San Antonio, 86-79. UTSA used a stingy defensive effort and got a game-best 32 points from senior Jhivvan Jackson, who led three Roadrunners in double figures.
In addition to Jackson's 32 points on Thursday – his 21st career game with 30 or more – UTSA got 19 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and four steals from stat-stuffing senior guard Keaton Wallace. Wallace was joined in double figures by freshman Jordan Ivy-Curry, who made his first career start count with 14 points in a career-high 28 minutes. The Roadrunners held UTEP to 40.6 percent shooting in the game, shooting at a 50.8 percent clip including a 10 of 23 mark from 3-point range.
UTSA enters the matchup with a one-game edge on UTEP and Southern Miss in the league standings and sit a half game shy of Rice (4-4).
The Roadrunners have dominated the series with UTEP under Coach Steve Henson, winning eight of 10 meetings after Thursday's win in San Antonio.
Overall, UTEP leads the all-time series, 11-10. UTSA has won seven of the last eight meetings in the series, with UTEP using a monster second-half comeback in the first meeting last year to post an 80-77 overtime win in El Paso. UTSA rebounded with an 86-70 win in the finale in San Antonio three days later. UTSA seniors Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace are 7-1 against UTEP in their careers.
UTSA is averaging 77.3 points, 38.7 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 12.4 turnovers, six steals and 3.2 blocks per game as a team. The Roadrunners are shooting at a 42.7 percent clip and a 31.6 mark from 3-point range, holding foes to a 43.4 percent mark from the field and 35.9 percent from distance.
The Roadrunners are led in scoring by their senior guard combination of Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace. Jackson, UTSA's all-time leading scorer and the third-highest scorer in league history, averages 20.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Last year, Jackson – who leads all NCAA's active players in career scoring – set a new C-USA standard with 26.8 points per game. Wallace, a native of Dallas, Texas, averages 14.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Sophomore center Jacob Germany averages 10.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while freshman guard Jordan Ivy-Curry – who made his first career start on Thursday – averages 7.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per outing. Juniors Cedrick Alley Jr. and Eric Parrish have been fixtures in the lineup, with Alley averaging 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per outing. Parrish averages 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Prior to Thursday's loss at UTSA, UTEP posted a two-game split with Louisiana Tech last weekend and have lost five of its last six games entering the matchup in El Paso with UTSA. In league, the Miners split with Southern Miss and Rice – including a 101-89 win on Jan. 8 – and were swept by defending league champion North Texas in Denton, including a 63-33 result. Last weekend, the Miners won the opener with the strong Louisiana Tech squad in El Paso, 82-74, before falling in the finale on Saturday, 73-55.
Guard Souley Boum leads the Miners in scoring, averaging 17.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. All-Conference USA standout Bryson Williams averages 15.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per outing. Jamal Bieniemy, a transfer from Oklahoma, averages 10.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Keonte Kennedy sports 8.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while Tydus Verhoeven averages 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
As a team, UTEP averages 72.5 points, 34 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 10.3 turnovers, 6.6 steals and 2.7 blocks per game. UTEP shoots at a 42.7 percent clip from the field and 32.6 percent from distance, while opponents are shooting 44.5 percent and 35.9 percent from range.
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