WEST POINT, N.Y. – The UTSA men’s basketball team (6-5) is looking to extend its win streak to four games in the final non-conference offering of the 2024-25 season, traveling to face Army West Point (5-6) on Sunday, Dec. 29, on the campus of the United States Military Academy. The Roadrunners and Black Knights will face off at Edward C. Christl Jr. Arena with a 2 p.m. CST tipoff, set for broadcast on UTSA Radio and ESPN+.
On the Air and on the Web
Sunday’s matchup at Christl Arena will air live on the radio 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.
Streaming live on ESPN+ for subscribers, Justin Rocke (play-by-play) will call the action for the telecast.
Army West Point Athletics will also provide Live Stats.
About the UTSA Roadrunners
The Roadrunners are seeking their first non-conference finish at least two games over .500 since the 2009-10 season as they hem up the slate at West Point and enter the weekend riding the momentum of three consecutive wins over North Dakota and Southwestern Adventist. The last outing against an outmatched SWAU, provided the Roadrunners with numerous season highs in a 117-58 thrashing at the Convocation Center on Dec. 19, allowing the Roadrunners to rack up 63 points from the bench and put seven players in double-figures. The most steadfast performers saw more limited minutes against SWAU, but still added big numbers toward their averages. Leading that charge since the start of the season, senior guard Primo Spears is still at No. 7 among DI scorers with 22.3 ppg on 44.7 percent shooting, in addition to averages of 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals. Hitting the boards hard this season, senior forward Jonnivius Smith is 22nd in the country on a team-high 9.4 rebounds per game, while also putting up 7.0 ppg and a 39th-ranked 1.90 blocks per game – listing second in the American Athletic Conference. Damari Monsanto and Marcus Millender are both posting 11.4 ppg averages – with Monsanto hitting 41 percent from beyond the arc on an NCAA 20th-best 3.4 triples per game, while Millender ties Spears with 3.5 assists per outing
One of the fastest teams in the country with the 27th-fastest tempo, the Roadrunners are sixth in the NCAA and second in the AAC with 18.4 ppg off fast breaks. Those numbers are bolstered by sheer defensive tenacity, as UTSA is fifth in the nation with 10.5 steals per game and 20th with 16.1 turnovers forced on average – leading the conference in both marks. The Roadrunners maintain their elite status at the charity stripe, ranking second nationally at 82 percent from the line – vaulted by Spears’ 88.3 percent and Millender’s 83.9 percent as the most frequent shooters.
About the Series
Meeting for only the second time and in back-to-back seasons, the Black Knights came away from the Convocation Center last Dec. 21 with a 63-53 win, overcoming UTSA’s lead late in the first half with an 11-5 run. A 1-for-14 UTSA stretch in the closing minutes cut a Roadrunner rally short, coming at close as six in the final minute. Set to face the Roadrunners again on Sunday, guard Josh Scovens led all scorers with 25 points.
About the Army West Point Black Knights
In the second season under Kevin Kuwik, the Black Knights enter the weekend at 5-6 after falling to Binghamton at home on Dec. 22nd for their third consecutive loss. Army is 4-2 at home this season. Delivering the discipline expected from a service academy, Army is 52nd nationally in limiting turnovers to a Patriot League-best 10.5 per game but have not proven as dangerous in taking away the ball – averaging just 11.1 forced turnovers a game. Army is putting up 80.3 ppg as a team, nudged along by a 56th-ranked 9.5 three-pointers per game, while shooting a 28.5 per-game volume with just a 33.2-percent average. Playing slower, methodical possessions with good ball movement, Army is 29th in the country with a 17.5 per-game assist average, posting a 218th-ranked pace of play and only 10.4 fast break points a game. Despite a smaller roster height, the Black Knights are collecting 40.2 rebounds on average (36th NCAA).
Taking the scoring lead for the Black Knights, senior guard Jalen Rucker is at the top of his third-consecutive season averaging double-figures, knocking down a Patriot League-high 18.2 ppg, along with 3.7 apg. Scovens is only a step behind with 17.7 ppg in his second season at Army, shooting 47.3 percent from the floor. Pacing the Black Knights beyond the arc with 44-percent three-point shooting and a team-high 4.4 apg, Ryan Curry is putting up 12.5 ppg. Senior forward AJ Allenspach is averaging near a double-double at 11.1 ppg and a conference-topping 9.3 rpg – registering a team-high 75.4 shooting from the floor and four double-doubles this year.
Up Next
With non-con out of the way, UTSA starts the New Year on the road in the American Athletic Conference opener, traveling to New Orleans to face Tulane on January 4, 2025, at Devlin Fieldhouse.
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