SAN ANTONIO – Jacob Germany recorded his 25th career double-double in his final game as a Roadrunner en route to a 78-73 victory over Charlotte Thursday evening at the Convocation Center.

With a 4-16 conference record and sitting 10-21 overall, there has been little to cheer for as a UTSA basketball fan. Perhaps motivated by his final two games in the orange and blue uniform, Germany scored 17 points with 10 rebounds on senior night.

Senior Erik Czumbel, along with Germany, were honored for their contributions to the team over the last four years. The two were accompanied by loved ones as they were honored on the court before fans packed into the Convocation Center for the game.

As the regular season comes to an end for some upperclassmen, Germany and head coach Steve Henson reflect on the season and their experiences from the last four seasons. 

Germany largely credits learning virtues such as honor and integrity from his family and role models in his life, such as his coaches.

“A big part of that is that I didn’t want to quit on my team,” Germany said. “I committed here, and I wanted to play all four years here. I also promised my grandma that I’d get a degree here.” 

“Our assistant coach, [Scott] Thompson, he’s a big figure in my life,” Germany said. “I made a promise to him as well that I’d stay here and really just stick it out through thick and thin. He helps me in so many ways, and if I would’ve left, I would’ve been heartbroken.”

The coaching environment Thompson, Henson and assistant coaches Mike Peck and Adam Hood bring helps build up seniors like Germany and Czumbel and motivate them to stay at the university.

“We have a good coaching staff, and I imagine that they will do a good job recruiting the right players to fit this program,” Germany said. “They are big on bringing in good people. That’s half the game right there, practicing with people you want to be around all day with. I’ve seen Erik the last four years of my life every single day. He’s one of my best friends, and if they can recruit people like that, then they will definitely have a shot.” 

“Those two guys in particular [Czumbel and Germany] have just been terrific teammates and terrific members of this program,” Henson said. 

“They’ve been here for four years,” Henson said. “They are loved by their teammates, and they’ve had a huge impact on the program. “The record books will be all over [Germany] with statistics, and Erik was the ultimate teammate. He’s [Czumbel] been on the starting lineup his whole career. That guy would just do anything we asked of him; he played four different positions for us, [and] all he cared about was helping his team. I’ll miss those two a lot.” 

Before the fall season, Henson came up with an acronym for process, accountability, consistency and excellence — PACE. He wanted his players to utilize it to help keep their spirits high and remind them to maintain good teamwork. 

“The P in PACE is trusting the process, and that message has continued to be hammered home all year long, and they definitely did that,” Henson said. “On the court, they wanted to be held accountable, and they wanted to be challenged every day, so those two things were terrific.”

 “Consistency, we may not have gotten an A in that category, and with the results, it’s hard to say that we were excellent, but I think trusting the process was outstanding. There are good leaders in that locker room,” Henson said.

Despite the season not having the outcome that the team or UTSA would have liked to see, Germany and Henson were very hopeful for the team’s future and in high spirits after their win. 

“We didn’t like the results this season, but I love this team, I love the players, I love the way they handle the losses,” Henson said. “We try to keep our guys engaged, try to keep practicing in the right way, try to keep their spirits up. We’ve done that, and we’re not done yet.”

Germany had some parting wisdom to share with the underclassmen entering March Madness for the first time, and that was to “be ready for that jump” and made one last comment to his team; “thank you for the last four years.”