MIAMI – Jhivvan Jackson broke the Conference USA record for made field goals as part of a 22-point outing, leading UTSA men's basketball to a two-game sweep at FIU 90-47, on Saturday afternoon at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
UTSA (10-9, 6-6 C-USA) completed the two-game sweep over FIU (9-12, 2-10 C-USA) behind the elite scoring of Jackson. A native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Jackson scored 20 first half points and scored 16 of UTSA's 18 points to conclude the first as the Roadrunners ripped off a run from which FIU couldn't recover.
Over the course of his hot-shooting run in the first, Jackson passed UTEP's Stefon Jackson as the all-time C-USA leader in career field goals made (813).
No player in @ConferenceUSA has ever made more shots ... EVER.
— UTSA Basketball (@UTSAMBB) February 6, 2021
Congratulations, @jhivvans! #BirdsUp 🤙 | #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/BwBdBborAP
The 6-foot senior guard who averaged a league-record 26.8 points per game last year, also ranks third in league history in career scoring (2,411 career points), third in career scoring average and third in career 3-pointers made. He owns UTSA records for career and single-season scoring, also owning career and season 3-point marks and field goal marks.
Jackson finished with 22 points on 7 of 11 shooting, including four 3-pointers, adding three rebounds and five assists.
The Roadrunners were led in scoring by Jackson's elite performance, with Keaton Wallace also adding a double-figure outing, a game after going for a season-high 33 points – his fifth career 30+ point game – on Friday night in the win. Wallace added 16 points, with five assists and four rebounds.
In addition to its dynamic senior guard combo, UTSA had 11 players score in the game, with seven making at least two buckets.
Freshman guard Jordan Ivy-Curry – a product of La Marque High School – had seven points and a career-high tying six rebounds. Junior forward Cedrick Alley Jr. – making his second consecutive start – had six points, two rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Eric Parrish, a native of Cypress, Texas, had 16 points – his fourth double-figure game of the year – with three steals and one rebound.
UTSA held a 49-25 lead at halftime after closing on an 18-2 run – featuring 16 straight points from Jackson. The lead grew into the 30s in the opening minutes of the second half, with UTSA owning a 39-point lead when emptying the bench with five minutes left. The lead grew to 43 with four minutes left, UTSA's largest lead of the year.
UTSA shot 52 percent in the win, holding FIU to just 35 percent, including a 4 of 22 stretch from 3-point range. UTSA was 7 of 14 from distance and made all 19 of its free throws. UTSA allowed FIU only 47 points, the fewest points allowed by the Roadrunners sincea win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 2011.
The Roadrunners made 32 total buckets, with 18 coming on assists. UTSA's 19 steals marked its most since going for 20 steals vs. East Central during in 2008. UTSA held a 37-28 margin in rebounds, a 13-6 margin in second-chance points, a 31-12 mark in bench points and a 38-24 lea in points in the paint.
FIU was led by Antonio Daye Jr.'s 19 points with four rebounds and two assists.
UTSA will return to action with a Friday-Saturday series against FAU at the Convocation Center in San Antonio. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
Jackson opened the scoring with a pair at the foul line and FIU answered to even the game. Jacob Germany's slam on an alley-oop gave UTSA a 4-2 lead. After a FIU 3-pointer, Wallace nailed a free-throw line jumper to take a 6-5 lead.
Antonio Daye Jr. got on the board with a 3-pointer for FIU before an Adrian Rodriguez take to the rim evened the game at eight. That sparked a 7-0 UTSA run, featuring two at the foul line from Jordan Ivy-Curry and a wing 3-pointer in transition from Ivy-Curry.
FIU responded to rip off five straight points and even the game at 13. Jackson then splashed his first 3-pointer and Cedrick Alley Jr. finished in the paint for an 18-13 lead.
After FIU cut the lead to 18-16, UTSA started a monster run to end the frame. Alley sank a pair at the line, Wallace finished a lefty floater and sank a pair of free-throws, and Parrish went for a 5-0 run with a runout dunk and a corner 3-pointer, giving UTSA a 29-16 lead after an 11-0 run.
Daye got to the rim twice to cut the lead to 29-20 after the 11-0 run. UTSA then ripped off an 18-3 run to finish the first half, getting 16 points in the run from Jackson. He started with a corner midrange fadeaway, then Alley stepped in for a dunk. Jackson took over following the dunk, draining a top of the key 3-pointer and a fadeaway midrange before an FIU 3-pointer.
Jackson continued with three straight possessions with top of the key 3-pointers in transition, as UTSA finished the half on a 47-23 run. UTSA shot 57 percent in the first half to FIU's 42, making 7 of 11 3-pointers and owning a 16-13 advantage in rebounds.
Ivy-Curry's layup in traffic gave UTSA a 51-25 led out of the break and Germany sank a pair at the line for a 52-27 lead. The lead grew to 62-33 with 14:29 left in the game and eclipsed the 30-point plateau as the clocked ticked under 12 minutes.
- UTSA -