The Texas A&M-San Antonio women’s team defeated Southern University at New Orleans, 89-73, while the men’s team fell in the nightcap, 86-75.
Chris Dial couldn't help be a fan first Monday. The Texas A&M - San Antonio men's basketball coach knew what the moment might mean to a kid watching his first basketball game on a college campus on the south side of town.
A standing room crowd of students, community members and dignitaries including Mayor Ron Nirenberg, former Mayor Henry Cisneros, State Sen. Pete Flores and Councilmember Dr. Adriana Rocha Garcia, watched and cheered as the Jaguar teams tipped off their inaugural campaigns against Southern University at New Orleans inside the Student Recreation Center on Monday. “It was awesome,” Dial said. “It was so cool. It’s tough because you don’t get this win tonight for them, but there was a part of me tonight that was still in almost a fan kind of allure of this situation. I was a kid that grew up south of I-10 and you couldn’t have gone to this game before this. 'You couldn’t have gone to an indoor event like this, a men’s and women’s basketball event on this side of town. It just didn’t exist. The overarcing positives, the feel good thing is that we were here. It happened, it came to fruition.” On the court A&M-San Antonio, which is competing in the NAIA-affiliated Red River Athletic Conference this season, came up with a split decision, though, with the women’s team defeating the Wolfpack, 89-73, while the men’s team fell in the nightcap, 86-75. The A&M-San Antonio women’s team trailed 54-53 at the end of the third quarter, but turned the game around in the fourth quarter, outscoring Southern 36-19 in the final period to secure the win. “I thought we dictated the tempo pretty well,” A&M-San Antonio women’s coach Chris Minner said. “I thought we overcame the nerves in the first quarter. I think they were all kind of excited. So, I thought once we settled down and kept playing hard and not making mental mistakes, I thought we dictated the game and started making shots.” Minner said the atmosphere and energy brought by the fans in the stands was a factor in getting his team over the hump. “I think the crowd really helped us,” Minner said. “I think the energy in the gym really helped us in the fourth . I think our players really got excited when the crowd got excited and I think it gives us energy. It’s great. It’s always nice when people get excited because you feel energized, your energy level goes up.” The Jaguars were led by guard Evelyn Lorenzo, who scored a team high 20 points and scored the first three points in the program’s history, the first point came on free throw and then she made the first ever basket on a layup. A&M-San Antonio had five players scored in double figures. Leading the men’s team was guard Journee Phillips, a fifth-year senior from Wagner, who scored 30 points for the Jaguars. “I was really proud that Journee Phillips had a great game,” Dial said. “It’s a special moment for him too. He competes, he plays with a warrior tenacity all the time, almost to a fault. I thought he was exceptional tonight, definitely a positive there.”
Southern University At New Orleans Texas A&Amp Jaguar Wolfpack Southern 36 NAIA Jaguars Chris Dial Chris Minner M A&Amp Adriana Rocha Garcia Evelyn Lorenzo Journee Phillips Henry Cisneros Pete Flores Ron Nirenberg Wagner San Antonio Student Recreation Center I-10 Red River Athletic Conference A&Amp
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