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SAN ANTONIO — Senior Stephen Franklin posted his second double-double of the season and UTSA overcame a 19-point deficit, but the Roadrunners fell short in the end in a 50-49 setback to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
Franklin posted 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds, six on the offensive glass, to lead UTSA (9-7, 2-1 SLC), which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end. Meanwhile, the Islanders improved to 2-13 overall and 1-2 in the league with their first win since Nov. 22, which snapped an 11-game losing streak.
Sophomore Jeromie Hill nearly turned in his first double-double of the year with 10 points and nine boards, while junior Melvin Johnson III and sophomore Igor Nujic scored eight apiece.
The Birds rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit and trailed by as many as 19 early in the second half before coming all the way back to take the lead in the final minutes. However, UTSA could not overcome their worst shooting night of the season. The Roadrunners shot just 27.3 percent (18-of-66) — 22.6 percent in the first half — and made only 3-of-22 (13.6 percent) shots from behind the 3-point line.
Trailing 37-20 at intermission, UTSA saw Texas A&M-Corpus Christi take a 19-point lead on a layup by Chris Hawkins-Mast on the first possession of the second half.
The Roadrunners steadily cut into the lead, as a 7-0 run capped by a Hill 3-pointer made it 41-30 with 15:31 remaining. Nujic then completed an acrobatic three-point play at the 11:12 mark to trim the deficit to single digits at 43-34.
Back-to-back baskets by junior Kannon Burrage pulled UTSA to within five (43-38) with just under nine minutes left on the clock.
Johnson III ended a 3:49 scoreless drought by both teams with a three-point play off a fast-break layup to make it a two-point contest with 5:06 remaining.
Meanwhile, UTSA held A&M-Corpus Christi scoreless for more than 10 minutes before Hawkins-Mast pushed the advantage to 45-41 with a layup at the 4:53 mark. The Roadrunners responded with a 5-0 run and took their first lead since early in the first half on a driving layup by senior Sei Paye.
Myron Dempsey gave the lead right back to the Islanders with a short jumper with 2:06 to play.
Hill answered with a layup to make it 48-47, but Terence Jones knocked down a three from the left wing with 1:11 left to put Texas A&M-Corpus Christi up, 50-48.
Hill was fouled at the other end and made 1-of-2 at the free-throw line to make it a one-point contest with 56 ticks left and Jones misfired from long distance to give the ball back to UTSA with 18 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, Burrage, who made the game-tying and winning baskets in Sunday’s victory at Sam Houston State, could not get a jumper from the left elbow to fall.
Forced to foul with one to give before the bonus, UTSA eventually sent Kennon Dvorak to the line with 6.5 seconds showing, remarkably the Islanders’ first trip of the evening. He missed and Johnson III grabbed the rebound and dribbled up the floor, but his 30-footer was off the mark as the final buzzer sounded, ending UTSA’s seven-game home conference winning streak.
Jones led A&M-Corpus Christi with 12 points, while Hawkins-Mast added 10. Dempsey posted eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Islanders, who shot 46.8 percent for the game, despite struggling to a 31.6-percent effort in the second half.
UTSA forced 20 turnovers, the fifth game this season with 20-plus, and registered a 40-33 advantage on the glass. The Roadrunners turned 22 offensive boards into 20 second-chance points and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's 0-for-1 night at the charity stripe set school records by opponents for fewest free throws made and attempted.
The Islanders took advantage of cold shooting by UTSA in the first half, as the Roadrunners made just six of their first 28 field goal attempts in falling behind by 10, 26-16. A&M-Corpus Christi increased the lead to 17 at the half behind a pair of treys from Jones in the final 62 seconds.
UTSA shot just 22.6 percent (7-of-31) in the half and made just 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Islanders shot 57.1 percent (16-of-28) and were 5-for-11 (45.5 percent) from downtown.
The Roadrunners will travel to Nacogdoches to face Stephen F. Austin (9-7, 3-0 SLC) at 6 p.m. on Saturday.