ASU can't battle back from slow start in NCAA tournament game

DAYTON, Ohio -- Ala­bama State was hoping to make history on Wednes­day night.

Those dreams fell apart quickly against Texas-San Antonio. The Roadrunners roared out to a 27-point halftime lead to earn the team's first NCAA Tour­nament victory, hanging on for a 70-61 win over the Hornets in the "First Four" at the University of Dayton Arena.

Texas-San Antonio (20-13) will face the tour­nament's No. 1 overall seed, Ohio State, on Fri­day in Cleveland.

Texas San Antonio wins 'First Four' game

DAYTON, Ohio — Shot by shot, Melvin Johnson III played up to his penmanship. The smooth guard with "SWISH" scrawled on the side of each orange shoe scored a career-high 29 points Wednesday night, putting on the most scintillating show so far in the NCAA tournament while leading Texas San Antonio to a 70-61 victory over Alabama State in the "First Four" round.

The Roadrunners (20-13) and their smooth guard head to Cleveland for a game Friday against top-seeded Ohio State, which won't allow all those open shots.  Against Alabama State (17-18), Johnson took advantage of...

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Texas-San Antonio to open NCAA Tournament play against Alabama State on Wednesday night

INDIANAPOLIS — The UTSA men's basketball team learned its NCAA Tournament destination and opponent on Sunday evening and the Southland Conference Tournament Champion Roadrunners will square off against Alabama State, which won this weekend's Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament. The two squads will play at 5:40 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday at UD Arena as part of the newly-created "First Four" games on the campus of the University of Dayton.

UTSA, winners of five consecutive outings in the last 11 days, will bring a 19-13 overall record into its fourth "Big Dance" appearance in program history and first since 2004 (1988, '99 are the others). The No. 7 seed Roadrunners earned the Southland's automatic bid following their 75-72 championship game victory against top-seeded McNeese State on Saturday afternoon. Senior guard Devin Gibson was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player and he was joined on the All-Tournament Team by freshman Jeromie Hill.

NCAA MEN'S BRACKET

Hornets To Face Texas-San Antonio In NCAA Tournament

The Alabama State men's basketball team will face Texas-San Antonio in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. central time in Dayton, Ohio. The two teams will be a part of the newly created “First Four” games on the campus of the University of Dayton.

The Hornets emerged from the fourth seed in the Farmers Insurance SWAC Tournament to win the title and the league's automatic berth for the fourth time in school history and second time in three seasons.

“We're excited to have an opportunity to be in the NCAA Tournament again,” Hornets' head coach Lewis Jackson said. “It's great for our players, Alabama State University, the community of Montgomery and people around the city and the state. Guys will have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament again and that's big. That's as high as it gets, and we're excited about being in it.”

Alabama State (17-17) enters the NCAA's as one of the nation's hottest teams, being victorious 11 of their last 12 games. That lone loss, a 74-73 decision at Grambling on March 5, was avenged in the tournament championship game Saturday night with a 65-48 win over the Tigers.

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