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EDITORS NOTE: This is the sixth 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 Ride of March Series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

In 2001 the NCAA tournament had expanded to 65 teams and created a play-in game for the two lowest seeded teams. 10 years later the NCAA tournament grew to its current size of 68 teams. The play-in game became the First Four.

On Sunday March 13, 2011 the newly crowned Southland champion UTSA Roadrunners found out they would be one of four 16-seeds to take part in the First Four (The other matchups of that inaugural first four pitted two 12-seeds against each other and two 11-seeds against each other).

UTSA entered the 2011 NCAA tournament as the 67th team out of 68. The Roadrunners were matched with the 68th seed Alabama State Hornets in the First Four. Alabama State earned their ticket by winning the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) tournament. The Hornets were 17-17 as they prepared to face the Roadrunners. If they were to beat UTSA it would mark the first time they were above .500 all season.

UTSA and Alabama State would meet in Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday March 16. The game would start at 6:40 p.m. in Dayton (5:40 p.m. in San Antonio).

The winner of UTSA-Alabama State would head up the road to Cleveland, Ohio where Ohio State, the top-overall seed in the tournament, was waiting for a Friday contest. Whoever won between UTSA and Alabama State would also claim the first NCAA tournament win in program history. In the case of UTSA a win would be the first by any Roadrunner team in an NCAA tournament.

Both teams were in their fourth ever trip to the NCAA tournament. UTSA had gone to the 1988 tournament as a 14-seed but lost to 3-seed Illinois in the round of 64. In 1999 and 2004 the Roadrunners had been 16-seeds and lost in the round 64 to Connecticut in 1999 and Stanford in 2004.

Alabama State was in its second trip to the tournament in three seasons. The Hornets also entered the game 0-3 all-time in the NCAA tournament.

Both UTSA and Alabama State entered the tournament with long winning streaks. The Roadrunners were on a five-game winning streak and had won six of their last seven. The Hornets were riding a three-game winning streak but had won 11 of their last 12 heading into the NCAA tournament.

Even though UTSA was the higher seed the Roadrunners elected to wear their road Blues that they had gone 4-0 in during the month of March. Now they would put their streak on the line against the Hornets.

One team's winning streak--and season--was going to end on March 16, 2011.

UTSA won the opening tip but it took 31 seconds for the Roadrunners to get on the board. Melvin Johnson III did the honors by getting a layup and adding a free throw to give UTSA a 3-0 lead with 19:29 on the clock.

The Hornets answered with a layup at the other end to cut the deficit to 3-2. Jeromie Hill got his first points of the evening on a layup to put the Roadrunners back in front by three, 5-2 with 18:53 left in the first half.

Johnson added two free throws just 46 seconds later to put UTSA up 7-2. The two teams swapped layups in the next minute of play. The score remained locked at 9-4 until the 16:14 mark when Johnson drove for a layup to give UTSA an 11-4 lead.

Between the under-16-minute-media timeout and the under-12-minute media timeout the Roadrunner lead grew from 11-4 to 17-4 with Johnson, Devin Gibson and Larry Wilkins scoring in that stretch for UTSA.

The Hornets got their first points in nearly six minutes with a layup at the 11:25 mark of the half. UTSA answered at the other end as Sei Paye knocked down what turned out to be his only three of the night to put UTSA up 20-6 with 11:07 left in the first half.

Between Paye's three and the next media timeout the Roadrunners went on a 11-7 run to hold a 31-13 lead with 7:31 remaining in the half. Johnson accounted for 16 of the Roadrunners first 31 points.

By the time the first half ended Johnson had scored 25 of the Roadrunners points and UTSA went into the locker room with a 48-21 lead. The Roadrunners final three points of the half came as the clock expired when Tyler Wood made his only shot attempt of the game from beyond the three-point line.

The Roadrunners made 18 of their 34 shots in the first half for a 52.9 shooting percentage. UTSA was 3-of-11 from beyond the arc in the first half and 9-for-11 from the free throw line.

The Roadrunners returned to the court for the second holding a 27-point lead and just 20 minutes away from their first NCAA tournament win in program history. It seemed the Roadrunners had one foot in the round of 64.

Someone forgot to tell Alabama State. After UTSA built its lead to as large as 28 early in the second half the Hornets adopted a full-court press that caused the Roadrunners problems. Alabama State's first half shooting woes did not reappear in the second half. In the second half the Hornets shot 40.6 percent and 35.3 percent from three. In the first half the Hornets had shot 30 percent and 11 percent from three-point range.

UTSA didn't help their own cause in the second half. The Roadrunners only made five shots the entire second half out of 20 attempted. UTSA also only made one three in the second half out of five attempts. What helped the Roadrunners hold on was their 11-of-19 from the free throw line in the final half.

After his 25-point first half, Johnson was limited to four points in the second half.

The Hornets chipped away at the Roadrunner lead the entire second half. With 2:54 remaining Alabama State cut the deficit to single digits, 64-55. That proved to be as close as they got the rest of the half. The Roadrunners continued to do just enough to keep the Hornets at bay until the clock ran out. UTSA had won 70-61.

From Dayton to San Antonio there was celebration among the Roadrunner fanbase. That they faced the top seed Ohio State in the next round didn't matter at that moment. On Wednesday March 16, 2011 nobody thought about the fact a 16-seed had never beaten a 1-seed (A 16 wouldn't beat a 1 until 2018). Once again the Roadrunners had won. Their improbable run of March 2011 would continue.

Two days later the Roadrunners would be in Cleveland to face Ohio State. Nobody predicted UTSA to be the first 16 to beat a 1. That would be decided in Cleveland. In Dayton it was time to celebrate. UTSA was now a school that could claim an NCAA tournament win.

Next up: The Ride of March Part 7 -- The Roadrunners ride to Cleveland, Ohio where they face the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament

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