| Freshman JohnMark Ludwick had a career-high 23 points in his first start as a Roadrunner. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Freshman JohnMark Ludwick made his first career start a memorable one, draining 6-of-6 from behind the 3-point line en route to a season-high 23 points to help lead UTSA to an 81-77 victory over Central Arkansas on Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
Ludwick, who started in place of the injured Travis Gabbidon, led four Roadrunners in double figures in the regionally-televised game on FOX Sports Southwest. Senior Melvin Smith poured in a season-high 20 points on 9-of-12 from the floor, while senior Isaiah Allen added 14 points on the strength of a 7-for-8 performance from the free throw line. Freshman Devin Gibson posted his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a season-high 13 assists, one shy of the school record, as UTSA improved to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in Southland Conference play.
York Sims and Nate Bowie paced the Bears (11-6, 1-2 SLC) with 24 and 22 points, respectively, while Landrell Brewer and Brian Marks pulled down eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
Neither team led by more than 10 points in a tightly-contested matchup that came down to the wire. Trailing 78-72 with 21 seconds left, Sims converted a pair of free throws and answered a UTSA freebie with a layup with 10 ticks remaining. On the ensuing inbounds play, UCA’s Ryan Williams came up with a steal and fed the ball to Bowie who missed a trey from the right wing. Williams then came up with the loose ball off the long rebound and was fouled with four seconds left. He made the first free throw, but his intentional miss on the second did not hit the cylinder, giving the ball to the Roadrunners. Smith was fouled on the inbounds and made 1-of-2 free throws to seal the win for UTSA.
The Roadrunners built a 10-point lead midway through the second half as a jumper by senior Keith Spencer capped a 9-2 run. The Bears fought back to within 62-61 on a Sims jumper at the 5:51 mark but never got any closer.
UCA jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the first half, but managed to tie the game just one time, 33-33 with 1:43 left in the half, the rest of the game
The game also marked the return of senior Andrew Francis, who scored four points and grabbed two rebounds in eight minutes of action, to the lineup since Nov. 9 when he was injured in the second half of the season-opening win over Hardin-Simmons.
The Roadrunners host Northwestern State at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
NOTE: UTSA announced that junior forward Travis Gabbidon will miss the remainder of the season due to a broken right foot. The Roadrunners also played without the services of junior guards Orrin Greer (knee) and Omar Johnson (leg).