SAN ANTONIO – Heading out to Alabama for the beginning of Thanksgiving week, UTSA (1-2) will face host Troy (3-2) and Merrimack (1-4) on Monday and Wednesday at the Trojan Turkey Tipoff. Hosted at Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama, both UTSA games in the tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+.
On the Air and on the Web
Taking on back-to-back games with Trojans as the opponent, UTSA will open the week on Monday’s matchup with Troy at their Trojan Arena. Both games will air live on the radio in San Antonio with Andy Everett (play-by-play) on the call. The radio broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket and, as always, will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show – available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
Both games will also appear on ESPN+. The Troy game on Monday will be called by Barry McKnight (play-by-play) and Jerry Miller (analyst), with a direct link here. The Merrimack game on Wednesday will have Gavan Baxley on play-by-play, with the direct link here.
Troy Athletics will also provide live stats for the Troy and Merrimack matchups, live from Trojan Arena.
About the UTSA Roadrunners
The Roadrunners are looking to use the two Thanksgiving-week games in Alabama to bounce back from consecutive losses early this season. In both setbacks, at Bradley and against Little Rock, a late scoring drought in the first half created a hole for UTSA to climb back out.
The Roadrunners are putting up 79.7 ppg as a team, but in the early games it’s been 81.0 ppg for the opponents. UTSA is looking to balance things out, as they utilize a heavy press and collect an NCAA-leading 14.0 steals per outing, ranking 10th in the country with a +7.3 turnover margin and are second nationally with 20.0 turnovers forced per game. However, right now the Roadrunners are looking to settle out a 12.7 turnover per game average of their own.
In the first year under head coach Austin Claunch, UTSA is led by Florida State transfer guard Primo Spears, who has led the Roadrunner scorers in each outing this season. Averaging 20.7 ppg at fourth in the American Athletic Conference, Spears is shooting 43.8 percent from the field, 85 percent at the line and adds 4.0 assists per outing. Also steady for the Roadrunners early with three straight double-figure games, Marcus Millender is averaging 14.0 points and 4.0 assists, leading UTSA with an AAC sixth-best 91.7 percent at the free throw line. Led by this pair of guards, UTSA is among the best free throw shooting teams in the country, ranking second with an 83.3 percent average. Raekwon Horton has shown the ability for taking over games in the past and has 10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.5 spg averages so far. Jonnivius Smith leads the squad on the boards with a 9.0 rpg average, added to 8.0 ppg.
Series Histories with Troy and Merrimack
This will be the fifth meeting between UTSA and Troy, with the series dating back to 1998, the latest game in 2011 and a 3-1 UTSA lead. UTSA is 2-0 at home, but split dates in the two games played at Troy. On Dec. 22, 2011, during the last meeting, UTSA came away with a 76-70 win at Sartain Hall. UTSA used an 18-9 run to rally from a six-point halftime deficit and outscored Troy by 12 in the second half – even overcoming 16 Troy threes on 41 attempts from the perimeter. Melvin Johnson III was 9-for-12 with 6-of-7 from the perimeter for 25 points to lead UTSA.
UTSA and Merrimack will meet for the first time on Wednesday at noon.
About the Troy Trojans
UTSA will meet Troy for the fifth time on Monday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. The Trojans are coming off their third consecutive 20-win season into the sixth year under Scott Cross. Troy was picked to finish third in the preseason Sun Belt Coaches Poll after a 20-12 season in 2023-24.
The Trojans come in with a stable roster and no transfer defections in the offseason, returning five players with notable starts, including forwards Jackson Fields (27 starts in 2023-24, 11.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Miles Rigsby (25 starts in 2023-24, 11.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.6 spg). Rigsby is leading Troy in scoring at 12.0 ppg, adding in 3.8 rpg and 2.0 spg. Fields chips in 11.0 ppg with a team-leading 6.0 rpg.
About the Merrimack Warriors
UTSA will meet Merrimack for the first time on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 12 p.m. The Warriors are 1-4 to open their second year as a full Division I member, in the ninth year under alum Joe Gallo. Their inaugural full DI year was a 21-12 finish with a 13-3 mark in NEC play.
This year, the Warriors are entering the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and faced some notable programs coming into the week – with consecutive losses to VCU, Princeton, No. 24 Rutgers and at Butler. MC plays UMASS-Lowell on Monday, and they take Wednesday/Friday for their trip to Troy. Last year’s NEC Rookie of the Year, guard Adam “Budd” Clark is leading the Warriors again, averaging 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds. 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals. Graduate student Sean Trumper is adding 10.0 points and a team-high 5.6 boards per outing.
Up Next
When the Roadrunners travel back to San Antonio for the holiday, they’ll stick around for the weekend, hosting Houston Christian at the Convocation Center at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30, for Fansgiving and Youth Day at the Convo.
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