UTSA Takes Down No. 1 Seed McNeese State to Reach NCAAsKATY, Texas - A week ago, UTSA was uncertain if even a trip to the Southland Conference tournament was in the offing. One week later, coach Brooks Thompson's squad sits atop the conference, and a trip to the NCAA tournament to boot. Conference freshman of the year Jeromie Hill scored 25 points to go along with Devin Gibson's inspirational performance to give seventh-seeded UTSA (19-13) a thrilling 75-72 win over top-seed McNeese State on Saturday to give the Roadrunners their first conference crown since 2004 and the school's third overall. UTSA defeated the tourney's top three seeds - McNeese, Northwestern State and Sam Houston State - in order to reach the field of 68. 'I didn't think it would be this quick, but it shows the character of these guys,' said Thompson, who suited six freshmen and just one senior in Gibson, who overcame an early injury to finish with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists en route to earning tournament most valuable player honors. The character of UTSA was tested in the final 81 seconds as McNeese mounted a furious comeback from a nine-point deficit and nearly forced overtime before all-conference standout Patrick Richard's game-tying attempt from the right corner glanced off the rim just as the horn sounded. Trailing 69-60, the Cowboys, who were 4 for 23 from beyond the arc in the first 38:39 of the contest, hit four straight treys to whittle the lead down to 74-72. The regular season champions actually had a chance to take the lead, but C.J. Collins stepped out of bounds after grabbing his own rebound from what would have been the go-ahead 3-pointer. After Melvin Johnson III missed the second of two free throws with six seconds, Richard pulled down the rebound and pushed the ball toward the corner. He got his shot off, but Stephen Franklin stuck his hand in Richard's face just long enough to alter a shot that would have provided one of the wildest finishes in the history of the Southland tournament. 'It felt good... it looked good,' said Richard, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds. 'It just didn't go down.' Having won the regular season title, the Cowboys will play in the National Invitational Tournament and will find out their first round opponent on Sunday night. The loss denied McNeese State a chance to become the first team in conference annals to have both their men's and women's teams win both the regular season and tournament crowns in the same season. McNeese struggled from the field until the closing flurry, as UTSA's zone defense kept the Cowboys' perimeter offense off balance. After Diego Kaplan's 3-pointer cut the margin to 32-31 with 18:26 remaining, McNeese did not hit another triple until Kapelan (20 points) found the mark with 3:44 left. 'We just didn't have our 'A' game from the perimeter,' said Cowboys coach Dave Simmons. Hill, however, did. The freshman from Australia picked up the slack when Gibson was hit in the face just 2:06 into the game. Gibson stayed on the floor briefly before moving to the bench. He returned a couple of minutes later, but struggled for the bulk of the first half. Meanwhile, Hill scored 13 points in the first half, including a dunk and an ensuing free throw with 4:30 left that brought UTSA within 26-25. He then followed with a layup that gave the Roadrunners the lead for good with 3:26 remaining. Hill's scoring outburst continued after intermission, where he nailed consecutive 3-pointers that helped keep McNeese at bay. 'I got confident,' he said. 'I knew that if I could see daylight, I knew they'd keep falling in.' For Gibson, Saturday marked the climax to a vision that began in the living room of his home in Houston four years ago. It was there where Thompson convinced the young man to come up help re-establish a program that had won just seven games the previous season. Four years and 70 wins later, Gibson's goal of a Southland Conference championship ring was realized, a moment that finally struck him as he began to cut down the nets. 'I was like, 'wow, it's really happening,'' said Gibson, who was joined on the all-tournament team by Hill, Richard, Kapelan and Sam Houston State's Gilberto Clavell. The Roadrunners will learn their first round fate when the NCAA tournament bracket is unveiled on Sunday evening. Having experienced the excitement of two trips to the tournament while playing at Oklahoma State, Thompson knows his team will be in for a thrill ride, however long it lasts. 'It's going to be the greatest experience of their basketball lives....so far,' he said. 'I can't wait to go through that with them.' Courtesy of Southland Conference Southland Conf. Regular Season Standings Southland Conf. Tournament Final: Mc Neese St. - UTSA 72-75 Southland Conf. Tournament Semifinals: Sam Houston St. - UTSA 70-79 Mc Neese St. - Texas St. 91-83 All-Southland Conf. Awards 2010-11
Player of the Year: Gilberto Clavell (6'6''-F-89) of Sam Houston St. All-Tournament MVP: Devin Gibson (6'0''-G) of UTSA Freshman of the Year: Jeromie Hill (6'8''-F) of UTSA Newcomer of the Year: Bo Ingram (6'5''-F-90) of Texas Arlington Coach of the Year: Dave Simmons of McNeese St. 1st Team F: Gilberto Clavell (6'6''-89) of Sam Houston St. F: Patrick Richard (6'4'') of McNeese St. G/F: Anatoly Bose (6'6''-88) of Nicholls St. G: Devin Gibson (6'0'') of UTSA C: Jereal Scott (6'7''-89) of Stephen F. Austin 2nd Team F: Tony Bishop (6'6''-89) of Texas St. F: Will Pratt (6'5'') of Northwestern St. C: William Mosley (6'7''-89) of Northwestern St. G: Diego Kapelan (6'3''-87) of McNeese St. F: Jordan Glynn (6'7''-89) of Stephen F. Austin 3rd Team G: Ryan White (5'10''-88) of Texas St. G: Trent Hutchin (6'1''-87) of SE Louisiana G: Brandon Fortenberry (6'3''-90) of SE Louisiana F: P.J. Alawoya (6'7''-88) of McNeese St. F: Demond Watt (6'7''-89) of Texas A&M - C.C. Honorable Mention Josten Crow (6'4''-F-87) of Sam Houston St. Bo Ingram (6'5''-F-90) of Texas Arlington Devon Baker (6'1''-G-87) of Northwestern St. Anthony Miles (6'1''-G-89) of Lamar Cameron Johnson (6'7''-F-88) of Texas St. Fred Hunter (6'5''-G-89) of Nicholls St. Melvin Johnson (6'5''-G) of UTSA Devon Lamb (6'2''-G) of Lamar Jeromie Hill (6'8''-F) of UTSA All-Tournament Team Devin Gibson (6'0''-G) of UTSA Jeromie Hill (6'8''-F) of UTSA Diego Kapelan (6'3''-G-87) of McNeese St. Gilberto Clavell (6'6''-F-89) of Sam Houston St. Patrick Richard (6'4''-F) of McNeese St. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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