Right from the first tip in the Convocation Center, the UTSA Roadrunners have brought the energy, as they look for their first series sweep this season in Conference USA (6-8, 2-5) against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (7-7, 3-4).
Jacob Germany owned the opening tip-off and was rewarded with a lob that he threw down for the first two points of the game. The Golden Eagles followed with a seven-point run, but the Roadrunners came right back with an eight-point run of their own. Germany has had a solid afternoon, scoring eight points and grabbing three rebounds in 15 minutes of action. It looked like he might take over early, using his height advantage and Southern Miss’ lack of size on their team, but the UTSA guards would soon take over.
Air Germany flies out of San Antonio International Airport, terminal B.
💻 https://t.co/IELLXaVYrY
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🎙 https://t.co/GYGDdc7TYo#BirdsUp 🤙 | #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/7NNllPGOpz— UTSA Basketball (@UTSAMBB) January 23, 2021
The Roadrunners, led in scoring by Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace with 12 and nine points respectively, shot 50% from three-point range as a team, and 47% from the floor. Freshman guard Jordan Ivy-Curry got 12 minutes of run often filling in for Eric Parrish who picked up three early fouls. In relief, Ivy-Curry shot and made two three-pointers.
UTSA had the momentum going into half, scoring six consecutive points off of a pair of Jhivvan Jackson threes, including a buzzer-beater with 1.1 seconds left on the clock to give the Roadrunners a 42-36 point lead. Their largest lead was 11 with five minutes left in the half.
1.1 is too much time for him. #BirdsUp 🤙 | #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/aQdd8YsPpj
— UTSA Basketball (@UTSAMBB) January 23, 2021
The Golden Eagles have hung around, and are looking for a series split. Leading Southern Miss are LaDavius Draine (14 points) and Tyler Stevenson (9 points) who each played the entire first period. The Golden Eagles shot well for the half, connecting on 53% from the floor and 44% from deep, but they shot half as many attempts, and the seven turnovers surely didn’t help anything.
This one looks like it may come down to the last shot. Come back after the game for a recap of the action.