SAN ANTONIO – UTSA men's basketball continues a stretch of five road games in a six-game span, traveling to face Southern Miss on Thursday, with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
UTSA (8-18, 1-12 Conference USA) will embark on its final road swing of the 2021-22 season, traveling to face Southern Miss on Thursday and Louisiana Tech on Saturday. It continues a stretch of five road games over six outings that has seen UTSA travel over 3,600 miles since Feb. 2. UTSA completed a seven-day road trip on Feb. 8, part of a three-game swing that saw the Roadrunners compete at Rice, North Texas and Middle Tennessee.
The Roadrunners are coming off a 71-65 loss vs. Western Kentucky on Saturday, a game that saw UTSA rally from a 12-point hole in the opening 10 minutes to narrow the halftime lead to two and earn a three-point lead late in the game, only to have WKU point guard Dayvion McKnight explode for a personal 6-0 run to secure the WKU win with 89 seconds left. Jacob Germany chipped in his seventh double-double of the year in the loss vs. WKU, going for 26 points and 11 rebounds in 40 minutes of a matchup against the nation's tallest player, 7-foot-5 center Jamario Sharp.
UTSA has averaged 66.7 points, 39.5 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 5.6 steals and 2.8 blocks per game as a team in 2021-22, shooting 38.6 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from 3-point range. Opponents are shooting 45.5 percent and 36.3 percent from distance, scoring 72.1 points per game.
Sophomore guard Jordan Ivy-Curry has averaged 15.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game to lead the Roadrunners, shooting 35.2 percent from deep. Junior center Jacob Germany averages 14.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while junior guard Dhieu Deing sports 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Senior guard Darius McNeill averages 6.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, with a 42-27 assist-turnover ratio.
Southern Miss (6-18, 1-10 C-USA) comes into the matchup with UTSA having lost seven straight games after a 100-50 win over Southeastern Baptist on Jan. 19, a break from conference play. The Golden Eagles own one league win on the year, a 74-73 result vs. UTSA in San Antonio that saw UTSA's game-winning attempt in the paint rim out at the buzzer. Southern Miss has lost 14 of their last 16 games.
The Golden Eagles are averaging 62.9 points, 33.5 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 5.0 steals and 2.9 blocks per game as a team in 2021-22, shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from 3-point range. USM opponents are averaging 72.4 points per game, shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from deep.
Tyler Stevenson leads the Golden Eagles with 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while Isaih Moore sports 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Jaron Pierre Jr. averages 10.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, shooting 34.2 percent from deep. DeAndre Pickney averages 8.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Southern Miss leads the all-time series with UTSA, 8-7 and have won all seven meetings in the series in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles posted the first road win in the series when the two teams met in San Antonio on Jan. 6, 74-73. Jordan Ivy-Curry had a game-high 23 points but Southern Miss escaped with the win as Cedrick Alley Jr.'s attempt at a game winner in traffic in the paint rimmed out at the buzzer. UTSA trailed by 10 in the first half and rallied from a seven-point hold with 2:50 left in regulation to have a chance at the winner. UTSA also got 10 points and nine rebounds from Jacob Germany and an 11-point, seven-rebound game from Aleu Aleu. Darius McNeill added seven points late in the game. UTSA shot 38 percent and Southern Miss finished at 49 percent. Jaron Pierre Jr. had 18 points for USM, with Tyler Stevenson going for 14.
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