Nov. 19, 2005
Contact: Rick Nixon, 210-458-4551
UTSA opens season with 81-78 win over Angelo State
Box Score
SAN ANTONIO - Andre Owens (Irving, Texas) scored 18 points and the UTSA Roadrunners overcame a second half charge by the Angelo State Rams to hold on for an 81-78 victory on Saturday afternoon at the UTSA Convocation Center.
UTSA received 36 points from its bench, including 13 from junior Gabe Bernard (Los Angeles, Calif.) who was the Roadrunners' only other double-figure scorer.
Angelo State, which fell to 1-1, was led by Quinn Barfield's 26 points, while Rashawn Childs chipped in 14.
"It was a game just like I expected," said UTSA coach Tim Carter. "Angelo State was an experienced team that played hard and was very athletic. It feels good to start with a win, even though we didn't play a very smart game overall. We will need to be better next game."
UTSA, 1-0, never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a 7-0 lead to start the game.
The Roadrunners, who connected on 32 of 50 (64.0 percent) shots from field for the game, led 42-32 at halftime as Bernard and Kurt Attaway (Flower Mound, Texas) led the way with eight points apiece.
UTSA built a 57-43 margin with 12:58 to play, thanks to nine points off the bench by freshman Aldric Reynolds (Houston, Texas) in the second half. His 3-point field goal and a pair of free throws gave UTSA a 14-point lead.
Angelo State rallied behind the shooting of Barfield, who scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. The Rams used a 10-2 scoring run to draw within 68-66 on two free throws by Marlow Rockwell with 4:55 to play.
UTSA answered with a 9-0 run of their own, fueled by a jump shot by Kyile Byrd (Grand Prairie, Texas) and five points from Bernard to lead 77-66 with 2:31 to play.
Leading 80-70 with only 25 seconds to play, UTSA saw Angelo State end the game on an 8-1 run to make it close. Childs scored a 3-point basket at the final buzzer to make the final three-point margin.
"Andre played a nice all-around game today," said Carter of Owens who added eight assists and seven rebounds in the winning effort. "The bench really gave us a lift and we are going to need that all season long."
The Roadrunners will return to action on Nov. 23 with a 7 p.m. home game against Cameron at the Convocation Center.