Furious comeback upends defending league champsFurious comeback upends defending league champs
Bobbie Modica
Men's Basketball

Furious comeback upends defending league champs

SAN ANTONIO -- Jhivvan Jackson poured in 31 points – featuring 26 in the second half – to lead UTSA men's basketball to a second-half comeback 77-69 win over the defending league champions North Texas, on Saturday evening at the Convocation Center. 
 
UTSA (5-6, 1-3 Conference USA) and North Texas (5-5, 1-1 C-USA) squared off in a back-and-forth affair that saw the game tied 12 times and the lead change changes 21 times over the course of the game. The Roadrunners trailed by three at halftime and after a 12-1 Mean Green run midway through the second half, UNT sported a 55-50 lead with 7:56 left. 
 
UTSA then went to work, outscoring North Texas 27-14 over the final 7:56 in the game, outscoring the Mean Green 46-35 in the final period. UTSA scored the final six points of the game, with Keaton Wallace's deep 3-pointer with 43 seconds left giving UTSA a two-possession lead, with Jackson and Jacob Germany sinking critical free throws in the final minute of the game. 
 
UTSA was led by Jackson, a senior guard out of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and the league record holder after averaging 26.8 points per game as a junior. Jackson had a season-high 31 points, marking his 19th career 30+ point performance. Jackson was 11 of 15 from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range, adding six rebounds, three assists and a crucial chase-down block. 
 
For the second consecutive game – in a back-to-back setting – Jackson, the all-time leading scorer in UTSA history, played the full 40 minutes. He had a stretch late in the game where he scored eight straight points for the Roadrunners, helping UTSA regain the lead with 4:43 left. 
 
Jackson owns a program-record 2,240 career points – tops among the NCAA's active players – and ranking third in league history. 
 
Wallace, a native of Dallas, had 14 points with four rebounds and two assists. Germany, a four-star recruit out of Kingston, Okla., had 16 points, six rebounds and an assist on 7 of 10 shooting. UTSA also got six points, two rebounds and three steals from Eric Parrish and five points, four rebounds and two assists from Erik Czumbel. Wallace owns 1,791 career points, third-best in UTSA history and 15th in C-USA annals. 
 
The Roadrunners held North Texas to just 38.9 percent from the field – including a 30 percent clip in the second half – while limiting the Mean Green to 5 of 22 from 3-point range. UTSA shot 51 percent – highlighted by a 60 percent clip in the second half – and was 10 of 23 from distance. 
 
North Texas made 22 of 25 free throws, while the Roadrunners were 11 of 15 from the free-throw line. UNT owned a 35-30 margin in rebounds but UTSA held a 30-26 lead in points in the paint. 
 
The Roadrunners improved to 5-1 at home in 2020-21 and 49-17 under Coach Steve Henson. UTSA owns a 35-6 mark when holding foes under 40 percent and are 24-6 when holding opponents under 70 points under Henson. 
 
UNT was led by 18 points from Javion Hamlet, who was voted C-USA Player of the Year last year after averaging 14.6 points per game. 
 
 
UTSA will return to action on Friday, traveling for the first of two games at Louisiana Tech in Ruston. Tipoff on Friday is slated for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM. 

 
The teams traded three buckets at the first media timeout, with Germany flushing a pair at the rim and Phoenix Ford cleaning up the offensive glass. 
 
The Mean Green netted the next four points before Jackson laid in a basket in transition. Luka Barisic sank a wing 3-pointer to cut the lead to one and Wallace executed a drive to the bucket, giving UTSA a 13-12 lead with 10:43 left in the first. 
 
Jackson struck for his first 3-pointer to even the game at 16 but UNT responded with a basket from Thomas Bell to regain the lead at the under eight-minute media timeout. 
 
A pair of 3-point plays – a corner trey from Wallace and an Czumbel and-1 – gave UTSA a 22-20 lead. 
 
The teams traded the lead – including an Eric Parrish lefty lay-in – until the Mean Green went on a quick 4-0 run to take a 27-24 lead at the final media break of the first stanza. 
 
The Mean Green took a 29-25 lead before UTSA went into the paint to Germany, who flushed three consecutive lefty hook shots on consecutive trips down the floor to cut the lead to 34-31 at halftime. Germany led all scorers with 10 points at the break. UTSA shot 43 percent in the stanza – including 3 of 11 from distance – while UNT shot 50 percent, going 1 of 7 from 3-point range. 
 
Jackson splashed a pair of wing 3-pointers to open the second half, giving UTSA a 37-34 lead and prompting a timeout from the Mean Green. 
 
UNT sank a three to even the game before Jackson's floater gave UTSA the lead at 39-37. Consecutive 3-pointers from the Mean Green – including one from Rubin Jones and Mardrez McBride – gave the Mean green a four-point lead before a Jackson midrange jumper cut the advantage to 43-41 with 15:02 left. 
 
Parrish evened it with a righty hook shot in the paint, before Wallace and Jackson hit 3-pointer on straight trips down the floor, good for a 10-0 run and a 49-43 UTSA lead. 
 
UNT ripped off a 7-0 run, including a 3-pointer off a rebounded free throw attempt, to regain the lead. Parrish then evened it with the front end of two at the free-throw line. The run continued to 12-1 after a James Reese and-1 off a UTSA turnover, stretching the lead to 55-50 with 7:56 left. 
 
Jackson spurted off on a personal 6-0 run, with an and-1 and a top of the key 3, before Javion Hamlet sank a pair at the charity stripe to regain the lead with just over six minutes left. Thomas Bell completed a post move for UNT to take the lead to 59-56. 
 
Jackson's move to the basket cut the lead to 59-58 and Czumbel secured the rebound and was fouled on the other end after a defensive stop, sinking both from the free throw line for a 60-59 lead. 
 
Zachary Simmons, playing with foul trouble, used a post-move bucket to regain the lead at 61-60 but Jackson sank a corner midrange jumper to take a 62-61 lead. Simmons sank both from the free-throw line for a 63-62 lead with 3:30 left and Germany answered with a paint bucket.  
 
Wallace added to the lead with a top of the key 3-pointer, owning a 67-63 margin with 2:40 left. JJ Murry hit both from the free-throw line to cut the lead to two and Germany slammed home a dunk on the other end for a four-point lead with 2:15 left. 
 
Hamlett sank two at the free throw line with 1:49 left, cutting the lead to 69-67. Jackson hit both of his free throws for a 71-67 lead with 1:25 left. 
 
Simmons laid in a basket in the paint to cut the lead to 71-69 as the clock ticked under a minute. 
 
Wallace drilled a top of the key 3-pointer for a five-point lead and after a defensive stop, Jackson was fouled. Hitting one of two free throws for a 75-69 lead. 

 
UTSA forced a missed 3-pointer on the defensive end and Germany grabbed the rebound and was promptly fouled. Germany hit both free throws to seal the win. 
 

- UTSA -