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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Sophomore Jeromie Hill led four Roadrunners in double figures with a season-high 20 points and UTSA overcame an early deficit and scored a 74-52 victory at Samford on Monday night at the Pete Hanna Center.
Hill was 8-for-10 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from behind the 3-point line, in posting the Roadrunners’ (5-4) third 20-point game of the season.
Meanwhile, junior Kannon Burrage scored all 16 of his points in the second half, as he connected on 6-of-8 shots after intermission, to help UTSA shoot 76 percent (19-of-25) after the break.
Seniors Alex Vouyoukas and Stephen Franklin added 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Franklin pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to help the Roadrunners to a 32-26 edge on the glass. The Roadrunners outscored the Bulldogs (1-5), 48-25 in the second half.
UTSA trailed by 11 early, but used a 19-3 run during the first eight minutes of the second half to improve to 11-2 all-time against Samford.
The Birds scored the first nine points after the half, including a layup and a dunk by Hill, to take a 35-27 lead. A layup and a long jumper by Burrage and a Franklin layup on three consecutive possessions made it 43-30 with 13:29 to play. Senior Sei Paye then found himself all alone for another layup to finish off the big run and give UTSA a 45-30 advantage.
The lead grew to 57-39 when Vouyoukas knocked down a 17-foot jumper from the right wing with just under nine minutes remaining. A trey from the left wing by Hill gave UTSA its largest lead at 72-50 with 1:22 remaining on the clock.
UTSA shot a season-high 60 percent (30-of-50) and made 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. The Roadrunners made their first four attempts from the line before a miss in the first minute of the second half snapped a streak of 35 consecutive free throws dating back to the 2:14 mark of the first half in the 76-48 victory against Cameron on Nov. 27.
Will Cook led Samford with 15 points and seven rebounds. The Bulldogs shot just 32.1 percent (17-of-53) for the game, including 30.8 percent (12-of-39) from downtown.
Samford drained its first four 3-point attempts to take an early 12-3 lead. A Tyler Hood layup at the 13:57 mark made it 14-3 before the Roadrunners used a 14-3 run to get back into the game. Vouyoukas had seven points during the stretch, including a short jumper from the left side of the lane that knotted the score at 17 midway through the half.
UTSA took its first lead of the game when Paye, who posted five points and five assists in logging all 40 minutes, found sophomore Igor Nujic on a no-look pass in the lane for a layup that made it 23-22 with just under five minutes remaining in the half. Franklin converted a 3-point play for a 26-24 advantage, but Jeffrey Merritt connected from long distance just before the halftime buzzer to hand Samford a one-point lead.
The Roadrunners will take two weeks off before returning to action against Wayland Baptist at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 19, at the Convocation Center.