SAN ANTONIO — Jhivvan Jackson’s 20 points led five in double figures, helping spur UTSA men’s basketball to a fourth straight win and a seventh in the last eight games, topping Florida Atlantic, 86-75, on Saturday evening at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (12-9, 8-6 Conference USA) improved its winning streak to four games with the nine-point win over FAU (8-9, 3-5 C-USA). The Roadrunners posted an 84-80 win on Friday night to open the series.
The Roadrunners have now won seven of their last eight games and improved to 10-1 in 2020-21 and 54-17 under Coach Steve Henson at the Convocation Center.
UTSA built upon a six-point halftime lead, outscoring FAU by four in the final stanza. UTSA improved to 11-2 on the year when leading at halftime and 59-17 under Henson.
UTSA was led by Jackson’s 20 points, a career-high nine assists and seven rebounds. He was 8 of 13 from the field and 2 of 4 from 3-point range. The senior guard out of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, averages a league-leading 20.4 points per game in 2020-21, a year after setting the league standard with 26.8 points per game as a junior.
Jackson ranks second in league history in career scoring (2,461) and 3-pointers made (352), owning the C-USA record with 832 made field goals. Jackson owns UTSA records for career and single-season scoring, and career and single-season 3-pointers and field goals made.
He moved into a tie for 86th all-time in college basketball history with his 20-point outburst on Saturday. Jackson passed notable names on the NCAA’s all-time list, including Michigan’s Glen Rice, Florida’s Vernon Maxwell, UTEP’s Stefon Jackson and Duke’s Christian Laettner. Only Marshall’s Jon Elmore – who ranks 31st in NCAA history with 2,638 points – has scored more than Jackson in C-USA history.
Jackson was one of five Roadrunners in double figures, marking the first for UTSA in two seasons. Eric Parrish had 15 points, five rebounds and two steals, while Keaton Wallace chipped in 14 points, five assists and four rebounds. Wallace now has 1,964 career points, ranking second in school history, and ninth in league annals.
UTSA also got 11 points from sophomore guard Erik Czumbel, who nailed three 3-pointers, and 10 points from Cedrick Alley Jr., who had two rebounds. Jacob Germany added nine points and seven rebounds.
The Owls were paced by 15 point performances from Karlis Silins and Kenan Blackshear.
The Roadrunners shot 51 percent in the win, holding FAU to 45.2 percent and a 6 of 24 mark from 3-point range. UTSA was 10 of 21 from distance. FAU finished with a 43-33 margin in rebounding.
UTSA had 20 assists over its 33 made buckets, its most since a 20-assist outing at Rice.
UTSA will return to action on Friday and Saturday, traveling to face Charlotte on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
Germany opened the scoring with a putback and after an FAU bucket, Alley sank a foul-line jumper and finished a transition run out on a Jackson outlet pass.
Germany sank one at the line and then nailed a jumper for a 9-4 lead at the media timeout. After the media timeout, Coach Steve Henson drew up a 3-pointer for Wallace, who drilled it from the wing for a 12-4 lead. FAU then scored the next seven points to cut the lead to 12-11 before Erik Czumbel sank a 3-pointer for a 15-11 lead with 13 minutes left in the first.
The Owls evened up the game at 15 at the 12-minute mark before Jordan Ivy-Curry sank a top-of-the-key 3-pointer. FAU netted the next six points to take a 21-18 lead before an Eric Parrish bucket in the paint narrowed the lead to one at the under-eight minute media timeout.
Jackson sank a pair at the line to flip the one-point advantage out of the timeout and the Owls responded with their own bucket.
Jackson then got hot, sinking a 3-pointer before Ivy-Curry drilled a midrange jumper. Jackson’s midrange wing jumper answered a FAU bucket and he then responded to an FAU 3-pointer with his own triple, this time from the corner.
FAU cut the lead to two before a Parrish bucket in the paint. FAU answered with a three before Parrish finished run out on outlet passes from Jackson and Wallace to give UTSA a 38-31 lead with 3:17 left in the first, forcing an Owls timeout.
FAU cut the lead to 38-35 before a Germany foul-line jumper, which was answered by an Owls bucket. Wallace sank a pair of free throws for a 42-37 lead with 25.2 left in the first and Wallace gave UTSA a 44-37 lead with a buzzer-beating floater in the lane. UTSA shot 50 percent in the first and FAU finished shooting 48 percent. Jackson led all scorers with 10 in the first half, adding six assists and five rebounds.
Germany’s free throws answered an FAU bucket to open the second stanza. After a second FAU bucket of the half, Jackson drilled a stepback midrange jumper and on the next possession took the lead up to nine after another midrange jumper.
Wallace nailed a corner trifecta for a 53-44 lead but FAU scored the next four to cut the lead. Czumbel and Alley followed with 3-pointers on consecutive trips for a 10-point lead.
The Owls cut the lead to eight before Phoenix Ford’s jumper in the paint. Parrish finished a bucket in the paint and Wallace sank a 3-pointer. Parrish then drilled a corner trey for a 14-point lead.
Parrish sank a pair at the foul line before FAU ripped off four straight points to cut the lead to 11 and force a timeout from Henson with a 70-59 lead and 6:49 left in regulation.
Alley finished the paint and added one of two free throws for a 73-60 lead before an FAU bucket cut the lead to 11. Jackson drilled a tough midrange jumper for a 13-point lead. Czumbel’s 3-pointer on the wing was sandwiched by 3-pointers from the Owls as the UTSA lead was 78-67 with 3:21 left.
Czumbel’s take to the rim took the lead to 80-67 with three minutes left. The teams traded buckets inside the arc before a 3-pointer from Nicholas Boyd cut the lead to 82-72 with two minutes remaining.
Jackson’s take to the paint gave UTSA a 12-point lead with 60 seconds left. Wallace answered a 3-pointer from the Owls with a slam in transition for an 86-75 win.