SAN ANTONIO – Heading into this week’s game with a 2-1 finish on Thanksgiving week, the UTSA men’s basketball team (3-4) welcome the Lamar Cardinals (4-3) to the Convocation Center for a rematch of the birds, with the Roadrunners looking to avenge a loss earlier this month in Beaumont. Thursday night’s game will be the nightcap on a women’s and men’s double feature after the women’s team takes on Texas State in the Battle of I-35 at 5 p.m. The Roadrunners and Cardinals the series to its 38th edition, with an 8 p.m. tipoff slated to air on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket with live streaming on ESPN+
On the Air and the Web
Thursday’s game will tip at 8 p.m. at UTSA’s Convocation Center and will air live on the Radio with Andy Everett doing play-by-play live alongside Tim Carter with analysis. The broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket and will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show and will be available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
To watch the game live, ESPN+ subscribers can catch the Roadrunners on the streaming platform. Karl Schoening (play-by-play) and Devin Brown (analyst) will be on the call.
UTSA Athletics will also provide LIVE STATS from the Convocation Center.
Men's Basketball Tickets:
UTSA Men’s Basketball Home Schedule
Single-Game Tickets
Direct Link: https://bit.ly/UTSATix
Single Game Adult $13
Single Game Military/Youth (ages 3-18)/Senior (ages 65+): $11
Students: Free Admission with UTSA ID, download tickets at goUTSA.com/studentlogin.
One ticket gets buys admission into both games of the double feature.
Men’s basketball season ticket holders with reserved seats may attend the women’s basketball game but should sit in general-admission seating in sections 106, 107 and 108 or in the upper deck for the women’s basketball game. Men’s season ticket holders will then move to reserved seats for the men’s basketball game at the conclusion of the women’s basketball game.
Last Time Out
‣ The Roadrunners won their second game of the week, in addition to a road victory at Houston Christian, dominating the second half to defeat UIW in the Roadrunner/Cardinal Classic at the Convocation Center, 90-80.
‣ UTSA is 2-1 at home this season after the win over the other Cardinals from UIW.
‣ A pair of dueling late-half scoring runs ended the opening period with a 33-33 tie, as the Roadrunners faced shooting challenges (33 percent) and uncharacteristically high turnovers (nine in the first half, leading to 13 UIW points).
‣ Dre Fuller Jr. turned a physical drive and-one into the spark UTSA needed early in the second half, launching a 10-0 run that stretched UTSA to its first double-digit advantage at 14:32.
‣ Though the Cardinals battled behind guard Sky Wicks, the Roadrunners leaned into their hot-shooting opportunity, at 54.8 percent in the second half, and reached a 13-point lead on consecutive threes from Adante' Holiman and Isaiah Wyatt – cresting a game-high 14 on a pair of Carlton Linguard Jr. free throws with 3:47 to go. Though the Cardinals forced a rally, UTSA knocked down 9-of-11 free throws in the final three minutes to secure the 90-80 victory.
‣ PJ Carter collected a career-high 17 points on 50-percent shooting, while Linguard made 9-of-12 at the line for a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Christian Tucker chipped four assists, scoring 11 for his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring game. Tying a season high with 10 points, Wyatt rounded out five players in double-figures, also grabbing a season-high seven boards.
‣ Across three games last week, Tucker delivered 15 more assists to bring his total to 37 on the season, maintaining his lead atop the American Athletic Conference and 26th in the NCAA. Tucker also tops the AAC in assists per game with a 5.3 average, ranking 46th nationally thanks to collecting at least three assists in all seven games this year.
‣ Tucker is also leading UTSA with a 12.4 ppg average, grabbing 3.1 rpg with a team-high seven steals.
‣ Fuller leads the Roadrunners on the glass with 7.6 rpg, while also scoring 12.3 ppg and recording a team-high five blocks.
‣ UTSA is averaging 77.0 ppg as a team, while shooting 40.8 from the field. The Roadrunners allow 11.6 turnovers per game to rank 119th nationally.
Series with Lamar
Thursday’s contest will mark the 38th meeting between these programs and the second this season. The series dates to UTSA’s inaugural men’s basketball season in 1981-82. Since that Jan. 20, 1982 loss, the series has been roughly even with a 20-17 advantage in Lamar’s favor. Playing twice a season as members of the Southland Conference, the series has slowed since 2012 with only five outings since UTSA left the SLC. With Steve Henson leading the Roadrunners, UTSA has won three of the last four outings, claiming three victories in San Antonio.
The last home meeting was Nov. 24, 2021, ending in a 79-73 UTSA win at the Convocation Center. The most recent meeting was on Nov. 14 at Lamar’s Neches FCU Arena in Beaumont. After San Antonio Wagner High-product Ja'Sean Jackson hit a well-covered buzzer-beater at half to go up 42-40, the result hung in the balance through six second-half lead changes. The Roadrunners led as late as the four-minute mark, but the Cardinals overcame game-long free throw struggles to put away eight straight from the charity stripe and secure the 90-82 win.
Holiman blew away his career high in finishing with 22 points to lead all scorers in the first meeting, shooting 7-for-16 with four from long range – while also grabbing four rebounds with two steals.
Scouting Lamar
‣ Alvin Brooks has Lamar at 4-3 in his third season leading the Cardinals and 15-52 in his time at Lamar.
‣ Last time around, Lamar hit 11 threes against the Roadrunners, with Tulsa transfer guard B.B. Knight hitting four of his six field goals from long range, and senior guard Chris Pryor knocking down all three of his scores from beyond the arc. Knight tops the Lamar scorers at 12.0 ppg, tying Pryor for the team lead at 16 threes. Pryor is scoring 11.4 ppg and ties Jackson with 20 assists on the year.
‣ Junior forward Terry Anderson scored a game-high 20 on a double-double that included 11 rebounds, in addition to four assists and two blocks. Anderson is among the top rebounders, grabbing 5.9 boards per game, while scoring 11.4 ppg.
‣ The Cardinals are averaging 83.7 ppg as a team and averaging 43.5 percent from the field. Lamar is shooting 40.4 from long range and are averaging 9.6 made threes per outing. They average 14.6 turnovers per game, but opponents are averaging 15.4.
Up Next
The Roadrunners get their first real break of the season, taking 10 days between games with class finals on the horizon. UTSA will be back in action at the Convo on Dec. 10, with Arkansas-Fort Smith visiting San Antonio for the first meeting of the series. The Roadrunners and Lions are scheduled to meet in a 12 p.m. tipoff for the first UTSA game in December.
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