| Senior Joey Shank led seven Roadrunners in double figures with a game-high 24 points. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Senior Joey Shank led seven Roadrunners in double figures, as UTSA set six school records and blasted East Central (Okla.), 136-68, on Saturday night at the Convocation Center.
The game only counted as an exhibition for East Central, which dropped a 167-115 decision at Texas Tech on Thursday night, but it was the Roadrunners (1-2) putting on the exhibition in the team’s first home game of the season.
UTSA set or tied school records for points in a game (136), margin of victory (68), 3-pointers (17), rebounds (65), field goal attempts (97) and 3-point field goal attempts (43).
“I’m proud of a lot of things today, but the thing I am most proud of is how well we defended tonight,” third-year head coach Brooks Thompson said. “That team put up 115 points against Texas Tech two nights ago, so for us to hold them to 68 was a product of how well we kept our focus in guarding throughout both halves.”
Shank drained six shots from behind the arc and was 9-of-18 from the floor overall in scoring a game-high 24 points. Junior Morris Smith IV poured in 21 behind a 5-for-8 night from downtown, while junior Omar Johnson added 18 points, including four treys. Senior Travis Gabbidon (15), juniors Chris Allen (14), Josh Bonney (12) and Demarco Stepter (12) also reached double digits.
The Roadrunners left no doubt in the outcome from the opening tip, blitzing out to a 9-0 lead through the first minute and 46 seconds behind a 3-pointer and layup from Smith. A 3-pointer by ECU’s Tyler Thetford at the 17:22 mark brought the Tigers to within 14-6, but UTSA broke the game open with a 22-0 run over the next five minutes.
“We certainly set the tone early,” Thompson said.
The Roadrunners reached the half-century mark on a Shank trey with 7:44 still to play in the first half. They had their sights set on the school record for points in a half, 78 against Texas State on Nov. 24, 1990, but came up just shy in a 72-28 halftime advantage.
The Tigers put together an 11-2 run early in the second half, erasing what was a 51-point deficit, but would get no closer than 41 the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, UTSA passed the 100-point barrier with a little more than seven minutes left in the second half, marking the 42nd 100-point game in school history (36-6 record) and the first since a 103-96 overtime victory at Texas State last February.
“Even with the big margin, we did a nice job staying within our offense and hitting open shots,” Thompson said. “In fact, I thought we passed up a lot of open looks tonight.
“We’re going to score points, although I don’t know if we’ll hit 136 again, but the key to our season will be how we play defensively. We did a good job of that tonight against a team that can score it.”
Eleven different Roadrunners scored on the evening, while UTSA also had six different players grab six or more rebounds. Stepter pulled down a game-high 12 as part of his first double-double in a UTSA uniform, while Bonney had nine and Gabbidon and Shank registered eight apiece. Sophomore Devin Gibson dished out a game-best eight assists, part of 29 team dimes, and matched Gabbidon and Smith with four steals.
Justin Wilkerson, a Texas Tech transfer, led East Central with 17 points, while Wes Badley and Thetford posted 15 and 10, respectively. UTSA forced 34 Tigers turnovers, just three shy of the school record by an opponent, and out-rebounded ECU, 65-40.
UTSA will host McMurry at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 25.