| Freshman Devin Gibson scored 20 points in his collegiate debut. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Freshman Devin Gibson led three Roadrunners in double figures with 20 points and the UTSA men’s basketball team defeated Hardin-Simmons, 69-47, in the regular season opener Friday night before 1,593 fans at the Convocation Center.
Gibson was 6-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line and added five steals, four rebounds and an assist in his 31-minute debut. Junior Travis Gabbidon drained 5-of-8 from the field en route to a 14-point effort, while junior Joey Shank hit three 3-pointers as part of a 13-point performance.
The Roadrunners improved to 23-4 all-time in season openers and 13-3 against Hardin-Simmons in the first meeting between the two former Trans America Athletic Conference rivals since 1990.
UTSA overcame a sub-par shooting performance in the first half, converting 13-of-27 from the floor in the second half in the win. The Roadrunners forced 29 turnovers ? 15 of those steals ? and posted 16 second-chance points to just three for Hardin-Simmons.
Despite going 0-for-7 from behind the 3-point line, the Roadrunners still held a comfortable 29-19 lead at the break. Gibson had half his 20 points in the stanza.
Shank quickly ended the scoring drought from downtown, draining two treys to key an 8-0 run over the first 1:28 of the second half that put UTSA up, 37-19. He nailed another 3-pointer to make it 42-22 with just over 15 minutes to play.
A Charlie Pannell three from the left wing cut the Cowboys’ deficit to 45-31 at the 8:44 mark. UTSA pushed the lead back to 20 on a Gibson jumper at the 6:34 mark, but Hardin-Simmons answered with a 6-0 run to pull back to within 14 with 4:25 left.
That was as close as the Cowboys would get the rest of the way as free throws by senior Isaiah Allen and lay-up from freshman JohnMark Ludwick and sophomore Dezon Otis in the final two minutes put the game away for good.
Pannell led the Cowboys with 13 points, while Steven Luckey chipped in with 11.
The Roadrunners travel to Austin to face No. 15 Texas on Monday. Tip is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on FOX Sports Southwest in the state of Texas.