| Senior Joey Shank scored a game-high 18 points on Wednesday night. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Senior Joey Shank led five Roadrunners in double figures with 18 points and UTSA shot a season-high 87.5 percent from the free throw line in an 88-79 victory over Central Arkansas on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the Roadrunners improved to 15-7 overall and 6-3 in Southland Conference play. UTSA’s 15 victories are the most since the 2004-05 squad finished 15-13. The Bears fell to 9-14 and 2-8 in league tilts.
Shank drained four 3-pointers en route to his best point total since he poured in 26 in the win at Rice on Dec. 4. Junior Morris Smith IV nailed a trio of trifectas and scored 17 on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, while junior Omar Johnson added 12 behind a perfect 10-for-10 night at the charity stripe to tie the school record set earlier this season by senior Travis Gabbidon (10-10 vs. Colgate). Juniors Demarco Stepter and Chris Allen contributed 13 and 11, respectively, while Stepter pulled down a game-high seven boards.
The Roadrunners made 21-of-24 from the free throw line, including 14-of-15 in the second half, to surpass the previous season high of 83.3 percent (10-12) recorded against Iowa on Nov. 17. UTSA shot 49.2 percent (29-59) from the field overall and committed just eight turnovers.
UTSA held a slim 33-31 lead with 1:42 to play in the first half, but bridged the halftime break with a 19-7 run for a 52-38 advantage with 15 minutes remaining. The Roadrunners extended their lead to 16 points, as a Stepter layup made it 61-45 with 11:27 to go.
Central Arkansas put together a late run behind the 3-pointer to make things interesting.
Back-to-back threes by Brooks Taylor, who finished with a team-high 16 points, and Mitch Rueter in the final minute helped the Bears pull to within 82-76 with 33 seconds remaining.
Forced to foul a hot free-throw shooting team, Johnson and Allen made Central Arkansas pay by going 4-for-4 down the stretch to help UTSA seal the win.
Rueter and Marcus Pillow joined Taylor in double figures with 14 apiece.
The Roadrunners will face UT Arlington in the Metroplex on Saturday. Tip is set for 2 p.m. at Texas Hall and the game will be televised by the Southland TV Network (locally on Time Warner Cable channel 50).