Jackson’s point total was impressive, but the talk in the locker room was about defense.
“We talked so much about defense,” said Roadrunners coach Steve Henson. “I put 33 percent on the board. They were shooting 33 percent the first 17 minutes of the game and we had a bad stretch to finish the half and they got to 40.
“In the second half and that last layup put them exactly at 40. We’re a little disappointed that we didn’t finish it off that way.”
The emphasis on the defensive side was on the heels of a loss on Wednesday to Oregon State. The Pac-12 school shot 55.8 percent in the Beavers’ 88-78 win over UTSA in Houston.
UTSA (5-7) has now won five of seven games since starting the season with five losses.
“I think our defense today was the main key,” Jackson said. “We’ve been emphasizing it for so long. We came in the last two practices. That’s all we worked on (on defense).”
The nation’s leading scorer at 26.8 points per game also found time to practice some offense. Jackson was a big part of a 13-0 UTSA run in the first half that put the Roadrunners up by 24.
The run was highlighted by Jackson’s long distance 3-pointer from the center court logo.
“That three I shot from the volleyball line. After I made that three I knew it was one of those days,” Jackson said.
He went 12 for 25 from the field, including 5 of 11 from beyond the arc.
“(Jhivvan) has always had the ability,”said Henson.” A lot of his big games are a result of him making special plays. We are using him a little better now than we have at any point in his career.”
Byron Frohnen contributed 10 points. UTSA’s second leading scorer, Keaton Wallace, was held to five points, 10 below his season average, on 1-of-7 shooting.
Illinois State (5-7) came into the game holding opponents to 74.5 points per game. They were led by Keith Fisher III who finished with 20 points.
The Roadrunners play one more non-conference game before starting Conference USA play.
“Our confidence is pretty high,” Henson said. “Our record is not where we would have wanted it to be. Not the kind of start we wanted. We want to use this game to springboard as we head into one more game right after Christmas and then head into league play.
“We continue to make progress defensively. I think we are in a position because of our chemistry, because of our mindset right now and being healthy that we can do something special.”
Jackson’s 41 points total fell short of his all-time career mark of 46 at UTSA.
When asked if he was going for a personal best at the end of the game, the junior said, “we were just trying to keep them under 40 percent. And they still got 40 percent.”