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| SLC Freshman of the Year candidate Devin Gibson poured in a career-high 27 points on Saturday. |
SAN MARCOS ? Senior Melvin Smith and freshman Devin Gibson combined for 46 points to lead five Roadrunners in double figures and UTSA won an overtime thriller at Texas State, 103-96, on Saturday night at Strahan Coliseum.
Gibson scored a career-high 27 behind a 12-for-14 night at the free throw line, while Smith poured in 19 on 7-of-12 shooting, including six in the extra period, as the Roadrunners won their fourth straight game to improve to 12-13 overall and 6-6 in Southland Conference play. UTSA moved into sole possession of third place in the West Division and is tied with Southeastern Louisiana for fifth place overall, but the Roadrunners own the tiebreaker against the Lions.
Junior Antoine Dade posted his first career double-double with season highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Isaiah Allen and freshman JohnMark Ludwick added 13 points apiece. Senior Keith Spencer pitched in eight points and six boards, as the Roadrunners won for the first time in the series since March 4, 2005.
Brandon Bush and Brent Holder led the Bobcats (12-14, 5-8 SLC) with 18 points each. Meanwhile, Brent Benson (16) and Ryan White (12) also reached double figures and Ty Gough matched Dade with a game-high 12 rebounds.
UTSA led 77-69 after a pair of Gibson free throws with 1:04 to play. The Bobcats rallied to within four at 80-76 after two Bush freebies with 23 ticks left. Gibson converted 1-of-2 from the line, but a Dylan Moseley 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining made it a one possession game.
Texas State was forced to foul, but UTSA missed both free throws. However, Moseley missed a trey and Gibson appeared to grab the clinching rebound with three seconds on the clock, but he was called for traveling as he fell to the floor with the ball. The Bobcats found Bush on the ensuing inbound play and he was fouled, converting both free throws with two second left to send the game to overtime tied at 81.
Two free throws and a trey by Gibson ? who also posted five steals, four assists and four rebounds in 41 minutes of action ? helped UTSA get out to an 88-83 lead to start the extra period. White cut the deficit to one on an old-fashioned 3-point play off of Gibson’s fifth foul with 2:24 to play. Bush then came up with a steal and went in for a fast-break slam dunk but was whistled for a technical for hanging on the rim. Smith converted both free throws for the Roadrunners to put them back on top, 91-90. Ludwick then was fouled and made both freebies to push the advantage to 93-90, but White quickly answered with a layup with 1:22 to play. Smith and Gough traded baskets, but a Spencer layup and a big rebound from Dade off a missed 3-pointer by White helped seal it for UTSA, as the Roadrunners went 6-for-6 from the line in the final 28 seconds to ice it.
A tight game throughout, the two teams traded leads early in the first half behind hot shooting from the floor. UTSA used an 11-2 run to open up a 29-20 lead midway through the half behind two dunks and a layup from Dade.
The Bobcats fought back take a 39-38 lead on a pair of Jonathan Sloan free throws at the 2:11 mark, capping a 13-6 run. Dade responded with a dunk and Sloan and Dade traded free throws to make the halftime score, 41-40, in favor of the Roadrunners.
Ludwick scored nine straight points in a 1:28 span to give UTSA a 63-57 lead at the midway point of the second half. Texas State answered with back-to-back treys from Holder and Corey Jefferson. The Roadrunners ran off six straight points behind two steals and layups from Gibson to pull back out in front, 69-63, and held that lead until the final seconds of regulation.
UTSA shot 48.5 percent from the floor and were 34-of-47 (72.3 percent) from the line, while the Bobcats made 29-of-57 (50.9 percent) from the field, including 10 treys, and 28-of-34 (82.4 percent) from the charity stripe. The Roadrunners scored 51 points in the paint and converted 27 Bobcats turnovers into 30 points.
There is a logjam in the race for a spot in the SLC Tournament, as UT Arlington improved to 6-7 with a win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-7), while Southeastern Louisiana defeated Nicholls State to move to 6-6 and McNeese State ran its record to 5-7 with a victory over Central Arkansas. Just one game in the loss column separates five teams for the Nos. 5-8 seeds.
The Roadrunners return home to host McNeese State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27.