Tirade from Henson ignites Roadrunners
As the calming tones of “Last Christmas” by Wham! pumped through the Convocation Center speakers, UTSA coach Steve Henson was irate.
With just a few hundred fans in attendance, his sharp rebukes during a timeout cut through the gym. After a sloppy first 20 minutes, UTSA was still struggling to find a rhythm, clinging to a narrow lead against Lamar early in the second half.
Henson said he rarely threatens to remove players from the game for a single mistake, but he would not be as forgiving for the rest of Tuesday night. Simple errors like being in the wrong spot defensively or not inbounding the ball properly were not going to be tolerated.
After play resumed, a more-focused UTSA ran off seven straight points and never looked back, cruising to an 88-66 win Tuesday night.
“You can’t do that every game, every timeout. But the message at that point was really just do what you’re supposed to do,” Henson said. “I think they responded. I think they got in the right spots a little more the rest of the game, and certainly were able to pop the game open.”
Luka Barisic, who posted his first career double-double with game highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds, said Henson’s message was to play relentlessly. UTSA followed that directive after the heated timeout, putting the game away by building a 20-point lead with about 5 minutes left.
Keaton Wallace said the Roadrunners looked like they were conserving energy to start the second half, and he called Henson’s comments during the timeout the “turning point of the game.”
“We don’t get to see that side often,” Wallace said. “We knew he was frustrated then. So we had to make corrections and fix that.”
Barisic’s scoring and rebounding efforts marked new career highs, and he gave the Roadrunners a lift during a lackluster first half.
He finished the game 7-of-11 shooting from the field, hitting 3 of 6 attempts from beyond the arc.
“I’m just feeling good,” Barisic said. “I made some shots that
raised my confidence, and then it’s much easier to play.”
The Roadrunners shot just 35.5 percent in the first half, including 1 of 12 from long range. UTSA also struggled at the free-throw line, connecting on just 11 of 21 tries.
In the second half, UTSA hit
65.6 percent from the field, knocked down 4 of 7 from 3-point range, and connected on 8 of 11 free throws.
Henson said the Roadrunners weren’t moving the ball well or cutting hard enough offensively during the early stages Tuesday,
slogging through a choppy game in which the teams combined for 51 fouls. But UTSA found a spark on defense, holding the Cardinals to 42.9 percent shooting with 20 turnovers.
“We just fed off of our defensive energy, which is a good sign for us,” Henson said. “We can’t rely on our shooting to be the source of energy.”
UTSA’s most potent scoring threats were quiet for much of the night, as Jhivvan Jackson had just nine points on 3-of-13 shooting and Wallace dropped 12 on 4-of-8 shooting.
While UTSA’s starting five shot 41.5 percent, the Roadrunners’ bench combined to hit 68.2 percent, with the bulk of that production coming from Barisic.
“He was doing his thing today,” Wallace said. “He was scoring it. He was getting rebounds. He was doing a lot for us. He really put us on his back, for sure.”
Tuesday marked UTSA’s first win over a Division I opponent this season, culminating what Henson described as a series of positive steps during the past week and a half. The Roadrunners have been focused on rebounding, building a more aggressive defensive mindset, and trying to restore confidence in a free-flowing offense that hasn’t hit the same peaks as previous seasons.
After lopsided losses at UTRGV and Oklahoma, UTSA traveled to Oregon State last week and led most of the way before slipping late. Tuesday’s win was a welcome bright spot, but Henson said the Roadrunners still have work to do during the next nine days before beginning the Conference USA season against Rice on Jan. 1.
“If we can get our confidence pumped up on the offensive end and fight and compete and dig and dive on the floor — you’re seeing more of that right now, guys diving on the floor and taking charges,” Henson said. “Those are positive signs for us.”