SAN ANTONIO – With two consecutive victories under their belts, the UTSA men’s basketball team (3-3) will head west for the first and only time this season, traveling to Moraga, California, to face Saint Mary’s (7-1) on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at University Credit Union Pavilion in the first meeting between these programs. The game will be live on UTSA radio and will be streamed on ESPN+ with a 9 p.m. CT tip time.
On the Air and on the Web
Tuesday’s outing against the West Coast Conference opponent will be broadcast 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.
The game will also appear live on ESPN+ with Brian Brownfield (play-by-play) and Steve Kroner (color commentator) on the call.
Saint Mary’s Athletics will also provide live stats here.
About the UTSA Roadrunners
UTSA has picked up back-to-back victories that saw the Roadrunners deliver when adversity presented itself. Against Merrimack in Alabama, the Roadrunners both saw a 16-point lead and rallied from a 14-point deficit to capture a slump-snapping 76-74 win. UTSA led by 15 in the first half at home against Houston Christian, but a flurry of scores early in the second brought the game close with six ties and eight second-half lead changes. Down the stretch, the Roadrunners came together to lock up the defensive effort and finish strong at the line in the 78-71 victory. Over the past week, Florida State transfer guard Primo Spears has emerged into an even bigger role than expected, leading UTSA in both comebacks with key scoring, rebounds and assists. On the week, he averaged 26.7 ppg, 4.0 apg and 3.0 rpg, shooting 43.8 percent across three games. Raekwon Horton also came up big for the Roadrunners, dropping 19 points against HCU with nine rebounds. In the win over Merrimack, Jonnivius Smith became only the third UTSA player to collect 20 rebounds, scoring 11 – turning around to get three key blocks, including the game-sealer, against HCU.
Spears leads the American Athletic Conference and ranks fourth in the nation in scoring with a 23.7 average, shooting 43.8 percent with 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game (ranking fourth in the AAC). He is third among AAC players in assists per game. In addition to his 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds, Horton ranks 46th in the NCAA and leads the AAC with a 2.40 spg average. Making his collegiate debut and having an impact in the two wins with 3.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg, Baboucarr Njie was announced as AAC Freshman of the Week on Monday, while Spears received Honorable Mention for weekly player awards.
Coming up at 19.83 per game, the Roadrunners rank ninth in the nation in fast-break points, second in the AAC. Playing into that effort, UTSA is also ninth in the nation in steals per game with an AAC-leading 10.8 average – forcing a conference-high (31st NCAA) 16.17 turnovers per game. After making 23-of-25 against HCU, the Roadrunners remain among the best in the nation at the free throw line, shooting 82.5 percent. Pacing that effort, point guard Marcus Millender is 20th in the NCAA and third in the AAC with a 95-percent average.
Series History with Saint Mary’s
This will be the first meeting between these programs. However, head coach Austin Claunch is in his second trip to Moraga, traveling to the Gaels in his third season at Nicholls (Dec. 2020), with the Colonels suffering a 73-50 setback. Although the Roadrunners traveled to USC for a charity exhibition before the season, this will mark the first regular-season game in California for UTSA since the 2016-17 season.
About the Saint Mary’s Gaels
Saint Mary’s is receiving votes in this week’s AP Poll and is a nationally recognized program that Randy Bennett has built up over the past 24 years, clocking in a 540-217 record in that span. The Gaels have jumped out to a 7-1 start to this season – downing USC, 71-36, before falling to Arizona State, 68-64, in the Acricsure Classic last week. Coming off their lone loss of the year and aiming for their fourth consecutive 26-win season, the Gaels have a lockdown defensive effort while scoring 77.4 points per game. Defensively, SMC is holding the opposition to an NCAA 25th-ranked 61.6 points on average, helped along by a commanding 11th-ranked 43.5 rebounds per game – dominating the margin with the second-best mark in the nation, +14.9.
The Lithuanian tandem of guard Augustas Marciulionis and forward Paulius Murauskas holds a commanding spot in the scoring stats, built on experience. Last year’s WCC Player of the Year, Marciulionis is scoring 14.0 ppg on 43.5 percent shooting, dishing out 5.5 assists on top of 2.8 boards. A transfer from Arizona, Murauskas adds 13.3 ppg, shooting 50.6 percent with a team-leading 9.5 rebounds per game. Barrett Luke is also big on the boards for SMC, grabbing 7.6 rpg along with 10.6 ppg, while Mikey Lewis is chipping in 11.4 ppg off the bench.
Up Next
UTSA will travel to Fayetteville to face John Calipari’s highly-lauded Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, Dec. 7 at historic Bud Walton Arena.
-UTSA-