SAN ANTONIO – Following a near-upset of 16th-ranked Memphis at the Convocation Center on Tuesday, the UTSA men’s basketball team (11-18, 5-12 AAC) will head out east one final time for the regular season, traveling to face Charlotte (10-20, 3-14 AAC) in the Queen City for the 49ers Senior Day and both teams’ in-season finales. On Sunday, March 9, the Roadrunners and 49ers will tip off at 3 p.m. CST (4 p.m. EST) at Halton Arena, and the game will air on UTSA radio and be streamed live on ESPN+.
On the Air and on the Web
Sunday’s 3 p.m. CST matchup with the 49ers at Halton Arena will be streamed on ESPN+, with Bobby Rosinski (play-by-play) and Jobey Thomas (analyst) on the call, alongside reporter Hannah Bradey.
The radio broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket with Andy Everett (play-by-play) covering the action live from Halton Arena. The broadcast will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show – available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
Charlotte Athletics will also provide Live Stats.
About the Roadrunners
UTSA snapped a losing streak on Sunday and then came within a hair of upsetting nationally ranked league leader Memphis on Tuesday. After completing the season sweep over Rice by an 84-56 margin, the matchup with the Tigers came down to the closing moments, as the score sat at 69-67 in Memphis’ favor for three minutes. Five solid opportunities arrived for the Roadrunners but the shots wouldn’t fall and Memphis held on for the 75-70 final. The final game this Sunday will solidify seeding for next week’s American Athletic Conference Championships in Fort Worth.
Coming into Sunday, the Roadrunners are ramping up after a 1-6 record in February was decided by a razor-close combined 27 points (3.9 points per decision). The top team in the AAC at taking the ball away, the Roadrunners rank 14th in the NCAA at turnovers forced (15.4) and seventh nationally at steals (9.7), on a league-best, NCAA-11th turnover margin of 4.3. Pacing fifth in the AAC in scoring at 76.9 ppg, UTSA is 10th nationally with 15.6 ppg off the fast break and tops the AAC with an NCAA 26th-ranked 10.0 three-pointers per game.
The Roadrunners’ scoring leaders have been steady, as Primo Spears now ranks 24th in the NCAA and tops the Roadrunners at 19.8 ppg, while Marcus Millender has been extra hot in the conference season and sits at 14.4 ppg. Raekwon Horton has 12.2 ppg and grabs 5.9 rpg off the boards, while Damari Monsanto leads the American Athletic Conference with an NCAA 17th-best 3.21 three-pointers per game on 41.3 percent shooting. Leading UTSA in rebounds and blocks, Jonnivius Smith grabs 7.6 rpg while logging 1.5 bpg. Pacing the Roadrunners in assists, Spears deals out 3.9 apg, ahead of Millender’s 3.4 apg.
About the Series
The now-14-game series between the Roadrunners and 49ers moved into The American last season with a home-and-home and Charlotte pulling out both wins. The series dates back to 2014 as familiar opponents from their shared time in Conference USA. In the last meeting, UTSA fell to a 79-70 setback at Halton Arena after the 49ers outbattled the Roadrunners in the second half on Feb. 15 2024. The last and only win for UTSA on the road was a 98-97 overtime triumph on Feb. 17, 2018. Then-freshman Jhivvan Jackson scored 30 against the 49ers, hitting a baseline jumper to go to the extra period, and then capped the one-point victory on a layup with 36 seconds remaining.
About the Charlotte 49ers
Charlotte finished last season as the No. 3 team in The American and was picked eighth in this year’s preseason poll after notable player losses. In the first full season under coach Aaron Fearne, things have not gone fully to plan as the 49ers come into the final game with a 10-20 (3-14 AAC) record and have essentially sat at the bottom of the standings from early in the year. The 49ers have dropped three straight, but claimed a win the last time at home on a 78-72 overtime victory over Temple.
Charlotte ranks 11th in the AAC offensively at 70.8 ppg while allowing 75.1 ppg, but do protect the ball with a league-leading lower limit of 9.8 turnovers per game. However, Charlotte is the last squad in conference rebounding at 31.5 rpg. As a team, Charlotte shoots 42.1 percent and their 75.5-percent free throw percentage keeps them in the fight with the highest free throws per game average in the league (17.4).
Returning junior guard Nik Graves leads the 49ers in the scoring column, averaging 17.5 ppg and a team-high 54 three-pointers on the year, shooting 42 percent from the field. Leading the team with 3.8 apg, Florida Atlantic grad transfer forward Giancarlo Rosado is averaging 11.7 ppg with a team-high 51.3 percent shooting, while pacing the rebound effort at 5.9 rpg. In addition, the primary scorers for the 49ers include Robert Braswell IV (11.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and Jaehshon Thomas (10.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg).
Up Next
The final day of the regular season could shake up the standings and the schedule for next week is not set in stone. The American Athletic Conference Basketball Championships is set for March 12-16 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
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