FRISCO, Texas -- Winners of 10 of its last 12 games, including a second-round win over Charlotte on Wednesday night, UTSA men's basketball has advanced to face Eastern Division top seeded Western Kentucky on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at The Star in Frisco in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Championships. The game will be broadcast live on Stadium/Fox Sports Networks.
UTSA (15-10) posted a 72-62 win over Charlotte on Wednesday night to open the league tournament. The Roadrunners built a 15-point lead at halftime and used a strong defensive effort to finish off the win in the second half. The Roadrunners got a 20-point outing from Keaton Wallace, 18 first-half points from Jhivvan Jackson and the fifth double-double of the year from Jacob Germany (16 points, 10 rebounds). UTSA shot 45.3 percent in the win, holding Charlotte to 31.5 percent from the field.
The Roadrunners will be facing Western Kentucky for the second time in a neutral-site meeting, with the last coming in 2016-17, a 56-52 win over the Toppers in the league tournament. WKU owns a 4-3 series advantage vs. UTSA, with each of the last three meetings going to overtime.
Last year, WKU got a late bucket from standout Taveion Hollingsworth to post a 77-73 win in San Antonio, avenging an 81-76 win the year before in Bowling Green that saw Jhivvan Jackson go for 46 points at E.A. Diddle Arena. UTSA has won three of six under Coach Steve Henson vs. WKU.
WKU (18-6, 11-3 C-USA) is led by the C-USA Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Charles Bassey, who has averaged 17.6 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Taveion Hollingsworth, a native of Lexington, Ky., averages 14.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Josh Anderson sports 9.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
As a team, WKU is averaging 73.9 points, 38.3 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.3 blocks per game. WKU has shot 45.6 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from range, holding foes to 42.3 percent and 36 percent from 3-point distance. The Toppers have won three of their last five games, splitting last weekend vs. Old Dominion in Bowling Green.
UTSA is led by senior guards Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace, with Jackson averaging 20.5 points per game to lead the league for the third consecutive year. Wallace averages 16.2 points, and career highs in rebounds (5.5) and assists (3.4) per game. Jackson is shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from distance, while Wallace is shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from 3-point range.
Sophomore center Jacob Germany averages 10.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, with freshman Jordan Ivy-Curry – a selection to the C-USA All-Freshman Team – averaging 7.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Juniors Cedrick Alley Jr. and Eric Parrish have been fixtures in the rotation in their debut seasons, with Alley averaging 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and Parrish chipping in 6.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per outing.
As a team, UTSA is averaging 79.3 points and 38.7 rebounds per game, shooting 45 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from 3-point range. Opponents are shooting 42.1 percent and 33.9 percent from 3-point distance.
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