Last night in a complete shut down of conference foe Rice, Giovanni De Nicolao of UTSA put on a clinic. Going for 19 points, 3-6 around the arc and getting the Runners the ball back a whopping five times, which 4/5 starters matched, De Nicolao stole the show.
He may not have had the most points Thursday night but anyone in attendance would tell you that when the Italian Stallion had the ball in his hands the crowd expected great things, and then got them. To celebrate the band and the fans chanted MAMA MIA every time De Nicolao made a shot. The place was alive whenever Gio had the ball.
With a team leading 35 minutes played it’s easy to say that Gio is a leader on this team, he’s aware he may not be the most efficient scorer on the team, which is a reason why he had a team leading, along with fellow star Keaton Wallace, had 7 assists. The man played good team ball on Thursday and the rest of the team fell into line and played good ball.
Jhivan Jackson had a stellar night as well, his team leading 24 points alongside Byron Frohnen, Nic Allen, Keaton Wallace and a very good UTSA bench helped the Runners keep The Rice Owls at arms reach or more the entire game.
Giovanni and the Roadrunners will face off against rival UNT in another Conference USA bout on Saturday at three O’clock central time, expect to see more about The Boys in Blue and Orange after that game as well.
Go Runners