UTSA Upsets Nicholls, Advances to Southland Finals
KATY, Texas ? The UTSA men’s basketball team defeated Nicholls State in a 57-55 thriller to advance to the program’s fifth State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament final Friday at the Merrell Center. The No. 6 Roadrunners will take on the winner of the second semifinal game between No. 1 Stephen F. Austin and No. 4 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The 2009 men’s championship game will be televised live on ESPN2 at noon on Saturday.
An underdog for second time in as many days, UTSA (19-12) needed contributions from its entire roster to pull off another upset of a higher seed. Joey Shank was one Roadrunner that delivered in the clutch. He went 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and led all scorers with 19 points. Arguably his most important triple came just after No. 2 Nicholls State (20-11) took a lead with only 55 seconds left in regulation. Calling for the ball just off the wing, teammate Travis Gabbidon set Shank up with a perfect pass, and the southpaw nailed the deep jumper for a 49-45 lead. While Nicholls State failed to give up hope, the Colonels were unable to mount a comeback as the Roadrunners hit all eight of their free throws in the final minute.
Omar Johnson was a big reason UTSA was in the position it was in the second half. In addition to hitting all six of his free throws, including four in the final minute, Johnson had five points and five of his game-high six assists in the span. One of those helpers came midway through the period when Shank hit another big triple for a 38-34 lead.
Though it couldn’t quite keep pace in the final 20 minutes, Nicholls State ended the first half on a 12-0 run, swapping a seven-point deficit out with a five-point, 24-19 advantage by the break. Kellan Carter started the rally with an offensive rebound and put-back to cut the deficit to 19-14. Ryan Bathie and Anatoly Bose then each added a three-pointer and a layup. Both teams were held scoreless in the final 1:28 of the half, which was the end of a dry spell that saw UTSA score only five points in the final 10:26 after taking a 14-9 lead.
In addition to Shank’s hot-shooting night, Johnson added 11 points while Travis Gabbidon, Josh Bonney and Demarco Stepter netted six apiece. Bathie led the Colonels with 18 points and seven rebounds while Bose poured in 17 points.