| Senior Travis Gabbidon scored a game-high 16 points on Saturday night. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Senior Travis Gabbidon led three Roadrunners in double figures with a game-high 16 points and UTSA held off a late rally in downing Georgia State, 60-48, on Saturday night at the Convocation Center.
Playing their first home game in more than a month, the Roadrunners improved to 5-4 overall and 3-0 at the Convo this season. UTSA now has won nine of its last 10 home non-conference games and improved to 8-5 all-time against the Panthers (3-9), a former Trans America Athletic Conference rival.
The Roadrunners led by as many as 24 points but shot just 19.2 percent (5-26) in the second half, as Georgia State rallied to within six points in the final three minutes.
A 3-point play by junior Omar Johnson, who scored 13 points and added five assists and three steals, gave the Roadrunners a 51-21 lead at the 11:23 mark, but UTSA would make just one field goal ? a fadeaway jumper by junior Terry Fields ? for a 10-minute span from there.
Meanwhile, Joe Dukes followed a three with a layup at the three-minute mark to pull the Panthers to within 54-43. Dante Curry then connected from downtown and Dukes was good again from the paint to make it a six-point game with 2:05 to play.
Johnson made 1-of-2 free throws and then sophomore Devin Gibson rebounded a Dukes miss and found Gabbidon alone for a fast break slam dunk that put UTSA up, 57-48 with 50 seconds remaining.
UTSA held on from there, getting three free throws and a pair of steals from Gibson, who finished with nine points and three thefts.
The Roadrunners controlled the tempo in the first half and led by 19 at the break. UTSA broke an 8-all tie with a 19-6 run, taking a 27-14 lead at the 7-minute mark of the first half. The Panthers climbed back to within 10 points on a Mendez layup with 4:20 on the clock, but the Roadrunners closed the half with nine unanswered points for a 40-21 halftime advantage.
Gabbidon led all players with 12 points in the first half, while junior Morris Smith IV scored all 10 of his points before the break. UTSA shot 50 percent (14-28) from the floor and held Georgia State to just 39.5 percent (9-23) in the half. The Panthers’ 21 points represented a season low for opponents in the first half this season (previous ? 25 by McMurry).
Dukes led Georgia State with 11 points, while Trae Goldston added 10. The Panthers shot 42.9 percent from the floor, but were 0-for-6 from the charity stripe, marking the first time a UTSA opponent failed to convert a free throw.
The Roadrunners came up with 10 steals and scored 28 points off 19 Georgia State turnovers. Junior Josh Bonney led all players with nine rebounds, equaling his season high for the third time, while Gabbidon pulled down seven to help UTSA out-rebound the Panthers, 37-32.
The Roadrunners travel to Dallas to face SMU at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 29.