UTSA Improves to 3-0 with 66-56 Victory over UC Irvine
UTSA 66, UC Irvine 56
RICHMOND, Ky. - Junior Devin Gibson scored 19 points and UTSA improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season with a 66-56 victory against UC Irvine on the first day of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Richmond Subregional held at McBrayer Arena.
The Roadrunners extended their non-conference winning streak to nine games and now have won 12 of their past 14 non-league matchups. The Anteaters fell to 2-2 on the season in dropping the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Gibson scored 12 of his 19 in the second half and was 7-for-10 from the field overall. The Cy-Falls High product added four rebounds, four assists and three steals and also extended his made free throw streak to 16 before missing from the line for the first time this season 12 minutes into the second half (finished 5-for-6).
Seniors Terry Fields and Morris Smith IV scored 11 apiece for UTSA, which shot 50 percent (25-50) from the field and scored 40 points in the paint. Senior Demarco Stepter pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with eight points, while seniors Omar Johnson and Josh Bonney posted eight and seven points, respectively. The Roadrunners also forced 18 UC Irvine turnovers, nine on steals, and tallied 19 points off the miscues.
UTSA used a 9-2 run over the final six and a half minutes of the first half to build a seven-point lead, the largest by either team in the frame. Fields had five points, one assist and a steal during the stretch and sophomore Sei Paye capped the run with a layup off a feed from Fields to make it 34-27.
Eric Wise scored 15 of UC Irvine's 27 points, going 5-of-7 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the line in the half, while Fields led UTSA with nine.
The UTSA run continued through the first 4:37 of the second half. The Anteaters cut the deficit to 34-31 on four consecutive points from Darren Moore in the first 1:27, but the Roadrunners responded by scoring 10 unanswered, the last two on a leaning bank shot by Gibson from the left side to make it 44-31.
The Roadrunners increased their lead to 15 on a rainmaker from the right wing by Smith IV, his second of the half, making it a 25-10 run over a 13-minute span going back to the 6:31 mark of the first half.
The lead grew to as many as 17 on a Gibson layup at the midway point of the second and UC Irvine would get no closer than eight down the stretch, as the Roadrunners held on for their 13th road win in the last 25 tries.
UC Irvine was held to 39.2-percent (20-51) shooting, including just 3-of-13 from behind the arc. Michael Hunter joined Wise in double figures with 15, while Wise and Adam Folker grabbed a game-best nine boards apiece.
The Roadrunners will face Fairleigh Dickinson (1-3) Tuesday at 7 p.m., CST.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 96, Texas State 77
FORT WORTH, Texas - Texas State dug itself a hole that in the end could not climb out of as Wisconsin-Milwaukee outlasted the Bobcats 96-77 in a NIT Tipoff Consolation game at the Daniel Meyer Coliseum Monday night.
The Bobcats trailed 16-0 before J.B. Conley hit a jumper in the lane to score Texas State's first points with 13:27 left in the first half. UWM's James Eyers opened the game hitting three treys in the first six minutes of the game. He ended the half with six three-point field goals and 22 points to lead the Panthers to a 50-24 lead at halftime.
UWM held a 79-54 lead with 8:56 left to play when the Bobcats mounted a furious comeback in the next four minutes. Texas State scored seven straight points in the next two minutes as John Bowman hit a three-point shot, Conley added a lay-up and John Rybak made a pair of free throws to pull the Bobcats back to within 79-61.
After Deonte Roberts made two free throws, Dylan Hale made a lay-up. On the UMW's next possession, Roberts made another free throw to give the Panthers an 82-63 lead.
That is when the Bobcats came storming back again. First, Uriel Segura hit a pair of free throws. Then, Ryan White, who made his first start of the season, and John Rybak each made a layup to pull Texas State to within 82-69 with 5:00 to play.
But, that was as close as the Bobcats could get. After Riley Walker made two free throws for UWM, Bowman and Dylan Hale missed back-to-back three-point shots following two Bobcat turnovers.
Jason Averkamp made a lay-up with 2:24 left to play to give the Panthers an 89-69 lead. Segura answered with another pair of free throws and Hale made a lay-up, but Ja'Rob McCallum made a lay-up and Lonnie Boga hit one of his two free throws to make the score 92-73 with 1:22 left to play.
Eayrs ended the game with 28 points and Deonte Roberts added 14 for Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Conley led Texas State with 17 points off the bench, while Ryan White finished with 14 points and Segura netted 12 points and team-high three assists for the Bobcats.
UWM improved to 3-2 overall this season, while the Bobcats fell to 1-4 in 2009-10. Texas State will play TCU in its final NIT Consolation game on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Ohio 71, Lamar 46
ATHENS, Ohio - Lamar had its lowest scoring game of the season and allowed Ohio to pull away in the second half for a 71-46 win at the Convocation Center on Monday.
Lamar (2-3) dropped its third-straight game on its current four-game road trip and shot just 25 percent while committing 20 turnovers.
The Cards were led offensively by Charlie Harper with 11 points and seven rebounds. Anthony Miles had seven points while Kendrick Harris came off the bench to score six. Justin Nabors had a team-best nine boards.
Ohio (4-0) remained perfect on the season with its fourth home victory. D.J. Cooper had 16 points.
Ohio turned a one-point game at the half into a 13-point lead with a 21-9 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Seven of the Bobcats' eight field goals during the run came in the paint as they finished the game with a 36-22 scoring edge in the lane.
The Bobcats were forced to go inside on the Cardinals because of Lamar's strong perimeter defense. Ohio entered the game averaging just over eight 3-pointers per game but were held to just 3-for-17 by Lamar.
Lamar led for the opening 14 minutes of the game but suffered through a six minute scoring drought that saw Ohio turn a 15-8 Cardinal lead into a 17-15 edge for the Bobcats. The teams battled back-and-forth the remainder of the period before a layup by Coy Custer pulled Lamar to within one at 24-23.
The Cardinals committed 11 miscues in the second half which led to 13 Bobcat points. Lamar did record a season-high eight steals which they turned into eight points.
Lamar will conclude its four-game road trip at Marshall (2-1) in Huntington, W.Va., on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m., CST.
Samford 68, McNeese State 52
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - McNeese State cut an 18-point lead by Samford at the half to just four points but couldn't hang on as it fell at the Pete Hanna Center 68-52 Monday night.
A Diego Kapelan 3-pointer followed by a Patrick Richard layup would put the Cowboys within striking distance with just over four minutes left in the contest, but a 15 point Bulldog run would clinch the win for Samford.
"We generated some turnovers and got within four but we just couldn't finish," McNeese coach Dave Simmons said. "C.J. (Collins), Stephan (Martin) and Diego played well. We just needed a little more production from our big guys."
McNeese (1-4) never held a lead in the game but did manage to tie up the contest early in the first half with a Richard 3-pointer, one of his four baskets on the night.
Twice in the first half the Cowboys managed to cut the Bulldog lead to single digits, but a four-minute scoring drought followed by a five-minute cold spell from the field would stifle the Cowboys come from behind attempts.
"We had some foul trouble early on and had to go to our bench a little sooner than we would have liked," Simmons added. "We definitely sent them to the line a little too much and that's something we'll have to address."
Foul trouble would haunt the Cowboys all game as they gave up 31 free throws to Samford. The Bulldogs finished up the game going 23-31 from the charity stripe compared to the Cowboys 3-for-10.
Junior Stephan Martin continues to lead McNeese in scoring as his 13 points puts him at 70 on the young season, going 5-for-12 from the field with three 3-pointers during the game. Diego Kapelan would also put in three 3-point balls as he scored a team-high 15 points.
After coming into the game shooting 39 percent from the 3-point line, McNeese would sink just seven of their 31 attempts from beyond the arc. The Cowboys did manage to walk away with 10 steals, however, which they turned into 18 points during the contest.
"We had some opportunities getting turnovers and setting up some three-point plays but we just couldn't convert," Simmons said of the three-point total.
Up next for McNeese is a home game against Louisiana-Lafayette. The matchup against the Ragin' Cajuns will start at 7 p.m. Saturday at Burton Coliseum.