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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Junior Kannon Burrage led four Roadrunners in double figures with 17 points, but James Kinney and Keith Shamburger combined for 48 to help San Jose State rally from a 14-point deficit for a 72-66 victory against UTSA on Wednesday night at The Event Center.
The Roadrunners (4-4) led by nine with just over seven minutes to play, but the Spartans (3-4) rallied behind the outside shooting of Kinney and Shamburger, who scored 32 of their points in the second half.
Kinney’s sixth trey of the night made it a five-point game with just over six minutes remaining. Wil Carter was fouled underneath the basket and made both to pull San Jose State to within 64-61 one minute later.
Shamburger then came up with a steal after a UTSA rebound and was fouled on a layup. He missed the plus-one free throw, but a lane violation was called. He promptly made his second try to knot the score with 3:43 to play.
Hill was fouled and made both free throws (UTSA was a perfect 22-for-22 at that point), but Kinney found his range again, this time from the top of the key to give San Jose State its first lead of the night, 67-66. Shamburger found the bottom of the net from the free-throw line with 1:24 on the clock to give the Spartans a two-point cushion.
UTSA missed a baseline jumper and had to foul. Shamburger converted both to make it 71-66 with 21 ticks left. The Roadrunners could not convert at the other end and the Spartans held on for the six-point win that evened the series at one game apiece.
Kinney was 10-of-17 from the floor, including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, en route to a game-high 30 points, while Shamburger posted 18 on 5-of-10 shooting, including three 3-pointers, and he dished out a game-leading 11 assists.
Senior Stephen Franklin (14) and juniors Michael Hale III (13) and Melvin Johnson III (12) joined Burrage in double figures. The Roadrunners equaled a school record by going 22-for-22 at the free-throw line, but they shot just 37.3 percent from the floor and 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) from downtown, including 5-of-19 and 2-for-8, respectively, in the second half.
UTSA stormed out to a 15-2 lead through the first five-and-a-half minutes, as Hale III and Franklin combined for 11 early points. Johnson III caught fire from the floor, as his second deep trey of the half gave UTSA a 34-21 advantage at the 3:28 mark.
The Spartans crept back to within single digits in the final 45 seconds of the half after a Kinney layup and 3-pointer at the buzzer made it 36-28.
Johnson III was 5-of-7 from the field for a dozen points in the half and UTSA turned nine San Jose State turnovers into 14 points.
Shamburger knocked down a trey to start the second half and pull San Jose State to within five, but UTSA responded by with a 12-3 run that was capped by Burrage layup that made it 48-34 with just under 15 minutes to play.
The Spartans quickly cut the deficit to less than 10, as Kinney connected from long distance and then drained a pair from the line to pull them within six (52-46) midway through the half.
The Roadrunners' road trip continues on Monday, Dec. 5, when they travel to Birmingham, Ala., to face Samford (1-3) in a 7 p.m. contest.