UTSA opened the 2011 conference tournament against the two seed Northwestern State
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EDITORS NOTE: This is the third installment of a seven part series looking back at the 2010-11 Roadrunner men's basketball team and their unlikely run to an NCAA Tournament berth
The Roadrunners arrive in Katy as the seven seed
On March 9, 2011 eight teams arrived in Katy, Texas with the same goal: To win three games and lift a trophy on March 12.
Some teams had better odds than others and very few were picking UTSA to even get past the two-seed Northwestern State, let alone make it to the conference championship game.
Earlier in the season, on January 19, UTSA had gone into Natchitoches, Louisiana and beat Northwestern State 63-58. Now less than two months later the Roadrunners and Demons would meet at noon on the court at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
It would be the second time that UTSA and Northwestern State had met in the Southland Conference tournament. The other meeting had been exactly 10 years earlier, on March 9, 2001 in the conference semifinals played in Bossier City, Louisiana.
That day in 2001, the Demons defeated the Roadrunners 86-73. Northwestern State would then go on to beat McNeese State in the championship game to claim their first Southland Conference championship.
As the Demons entered the 2011 tournament they were looking to win their third conference tournament after winning in 2001 and 2006.
UTSA also entered the tournament with hopes of winning their third Southland conference tournament after having won in 1999 and 2004. The Roadrunners also entered with a belief, a two game winning streak and a slogan that was the "Triangle of Toughness" of its day: "Everybody Eats."
When the Roadrunners took the court against Northwestern State not too many thought they would be eating in Katy for very long.
The first half against Northwestern State
From the beginning of the game Devin Gibson made it clear he planned to let everybody eat. In the first minute of the game Gibson got his first rebound and first assist. The assist came when he started a fast break to Jeromie Hill. Hill made the layup to give UTSA a 2-0 lead with 19:06 left in the first half.
A little less than a minute later Gibson got his first points of the day when he got a layup to retake the lead at 4-3.
UTSA and Northwestern State then traded the lead back and forth. The Demons got their second three of the day to go ahead 6-4. Stephen Franklin answered with a three of his own to put UTSA ahead 7-6. Franklin added a layup to put UTSA up by three, 9-6. That was to be the largest lead for UTSA the entire afternoon.
The Demons quickly tied it at 9 with another three pointer. Northwestern State opened the game with five threes made in the first four minutes of action. By the end of the game the Demons had tied a conference tournament record with 14 made three pointers.
Northwestern State's fourth three of the afternoon gave them a 12-9 lead with 16:54 left in the first half. The Demons lead got to as high as 11 points in the first half before the Roadrunners battled back.
UTSA tied the score at 38-38 with 6:46 left in the first half. 40 seconds later UTSA had a chance to retake the lead but Gibson's shot bounced off the rim. The Demons went ahead 40-38 with 5:47 left in the first half.
Over the last five minutes of the half the Demons lead bounced from four points to eight points. With two seconds left in the half Larry Wilkins got a layup to cut the deficit to six points. UTSA would head into the locker room at halftime trailing 49-43.
The second half comeback
The first points of the second half for both teams came at the free throw line. Northwestern State made both of theirs, UTSA made one of two and the score sat at 51-44 with 19:21 left in the second half.
The Demons opened the half on a 6-1 run to take a 55-44 lead with 18:00 left in regulation. Over the span of the next three minutes the Demons lead bounced from a low of nine to a high of 14. With 15:07 left to play Northwestern State led 63-49. UTSA then went on a 10-1 run to get within five points, 64-59 with 12:18 left in the second half.
Northwestern State then went on a 17-8 run to take an 81-67 lead with 7:40 left to play. UTSA continued to chip away at the deficit. By the final media timeout with 3:53 left to play the Roadrunners trailed by nine, 91-82.
UTSA went on a 6-0 run in the minute after the media timeout to cut the deficit to three, 91-88 with 2:47 left to play. The Roadrunners kept fighting and eventually tied the score at 93 when Gibson made a three with 1:12 left to play.
The score remained tied at 93 until there were 21 seconds left when UTSA took its first lead since the first half with a jumper from Gibson. The Demons retook the lead at 96-95 with 10 seconds left when they got a layup and free throw.
It was the final points of the season for Northwestern State. The Roadrunners got the ball to Jeromie Hill who dunked the ball through the hoop to send UTSA into the semifinals with a 97-96 win.
UTSA would keep eating in Katy, at least for one more day. The Roadrunners would learn that afternoon that they would face the three-seed Sam Houston Bearkats, a team they had lost twice to in the regular season. Sam Houston were victorious over the six-seed Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks.
It turned out that the Roadrunners were the only team to upset a better seed in the quarterfinals on March 9, 2011. As the calendar turned to March 10 the question was would the Roadrunners pull off another upset or would they be sent back westbound on I-10 by the Bearkats?
Next up: The Ride of March Part 4 -- Third time is the charm as UTSA beats Sam Houston in conference semifinals
FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way
