| Senior Melvin Smith scored a season-high 14 points on Saturday. |
SAN DIEGO, Calif. ? Senior Melvin Smith led three Roadrunners in double figures with 14 points, but Brandon Johnson poured in a game-high 18 to help lead San Diego to a 69-54 win over UTSA on Saturday afternoon at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Smith’s 14 were a season high, while junior Travis Gabbidon and senior Isaiah Allen added 13 and 11, respectively for the Roadrunners (5-5). Gabbidon and junior Antoine Dade pulled down a team-high five rebounds apiece.
Gyno Pomare scored 15, while Rob Jones posted 11 points and a game-best eight rebounds and Trumaine Johnson added 10 points as the Toreros moved to 6-8 on the year.
San Diego shot 57.1 percent from the field and 76.9 percent from the free throw line, and outrebounded UTSA, 28-24. The Roadrunners converted 42.2 percent from the floor, including six 3-pointers, and were 10-of-15 from the charity stripe.
The Toreros fought back from an early 11-4 deficit, taking their first lead at 19-18 on a Pomare dunk at the 8:38 mark. The two teams traded leads until San Diego used a 9-0 run to open up a 35-26 lead with just under three minutes left in the half. Gabbidon converted a pair of free throws, but a Pomare layup and a Brandon Johnson trey gave the Toreros a 40-28 advantage at the break.
San Diego built its lead to 15 through the first seven minutes of the second half, but a 9-0 stretch by UTSA capped by a Gabbidon jumper cut the deficit to just 49-43 with 9:27 remaining.
San Diego responded with a 14-1 stretch that resulted in a 19-point lead with just under four minutes left.
The Roadrunners return home to host McMurry next Friday, Dec. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.