Roadrunners roll

» Jackson, Wallace combine for 54 points in rout of UAB.

With less than three minutes remaining in a lopsided win against UAB, UTSA seniors Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace checked out of the game, waved to the few hundred fans giving them a standing ovation and stepped off the Convocation Center floor for possibly the final time.

Wallace said his emotions were high throughout the day of UTSA’s last scheduled home game, and Jackson said part of him wished he could’ve stayed on the court longer.

Jackson matched his season high with 32 points, and Wallace added 22 as UTSA closed the regular season with a 96-79 thrashing of UAB on Saturday in the Convocation Center.

“My emotions, I was calm,” Jackson said. “I was a little sad it’s going to be my last game probably in the Convo, because it’s my favorite gym, actually, but everything was smooth. I wasn’t too emotional. I just wanted to get this win today, for sure.”

The program’s two all-time leading scorers continued to cement their names in the record books, as Jackson became the first Roadrunner to cross the 2,500point threshold and Wallace became the second to reach 2,000. Jackson also became Conference USA’s all-time career leader in made 3-pointers.

“There were a lot of nights where one or the other was clicking the last four years, but for both of them to have monster nights like this on senior day is very, very special,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said.

Jackson connected on 13 of 21 shots, including 6 of 10 from beyond the arc, chipping in five assists and three rebounds with one turnover.

Wallace knocked down 8 of 13 shots from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range, adding seven rebounds and seven assists against one turnover.

“It’s just a blessing to be able to make history at our school,” Wallace said. “Just for two guys to score the ball like we do in the backcourt is big time. It speaks volumes. I just appreciate all the love.”

With the win, the Roadrunners (13-10, 9-7 Conference USA) look to the league tournament March 9-13 having won eight of their past 10 games, washing away Friday’s 6457 loss to the Blazers (19-6, 11-5).

UTSA was held to 38.3 percent shooting and 26.1 percent from beyond the arc with a season-high 19 turnovers Friday before staging a complete offensive turnaround Saturday. The Roadrunners hit 57.6 percent from the field and 59.1 percent from 3-point range with just nine turnovers.

“It was one of our better games in a lot of areas. We fixed some things we didn’t handle very well last night,” Henson said. “I thought today we really, really locked in. … We knew we were going to play better today, and our guys really responded.”

When the team gathered this morning to review Friday’s loss, Henson showed the Roadrunners clips of nine wide-open 3-pointers they missed and noted the many mistakes and errant passes that led to turnover problems.

Jackson said the Roadrunners felt like their shots “were bound to go in” Saturday, and Wallace said UTSA was much more composed against UAB’s pressure defense.

“Yesterday, we weren’t clicking and weren’t as smooth and crisp as we usually are,” Wallace said. “Today, everything started coming together. People were playing off of each other’s energy, and we started playing defense and things like that, so that’s important.”

Jackson and Wallace both said this week that they will wait until the end of the season before deciding whether to return for the 2021-22 campaign under a blanket waiver provided by the NCAA in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, both were honored on the court, along with forward Phoenix Ford, before Saturday’s game, and Henson said he does not anticipate either player returning next year.

Jackson said he tried to treat Saturday as just another game, hopeful that UTSA has plenty of postseason play remaining.

“The last game of my career is after we go to the tournament and lose one,” Jackson said. “But at the end of the day, we’re on a roll, and we’re not going to lose.”

With last weekend’s trip to face Charlotte canceled because of winter weather conditions in San Antonio, UTSA is scheduled to enter the conference tournament having played just two games during the previous 24 days.

For that reason, Henson said he’s making an effort to schedule one final matchup this week, even as he described the endeavor as a “logistical nightmare.”

“We’re trying to explore every possibility,” Henson said. “We’d like to get somebody in here. We feel like there’s a decent chance we can do it.”