| Sophomore Devin Gibson had 14 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists on Wednesday night. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Sophomore Devin Gibson led four Roadrunners in double figures with 14 points and UTSA held off Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 73-66, on Wednesday night before 1,618 fans at the Convocation Center.
Gibson was all over the stat sheet, adding six rebounds, four steals and three assists for the NCAA thefts leader to help the Roadrunners improve to 16-8 overall and 7-4 in league play.
Kevin Palmer scored a UTSA opponent season-high 30 points to lead the Islanders, who fell to 14-12 and 8-3.
Junior Morris Smith IV tallied 11 points, while senior Travis Gabbidon registered 10 points, six boards, a team-high five dimes and a pair of steals. Junior Chris Allen added 10 points, while fellow junior Demarco Stepter nearly posted his fourth double-double with nine points and a game-best eight rebounds.
UTSA forced 18 turnovers, including eight steals, and converted those into 20 points, and also got 35 points from its bench to overcome a tough 5-for-20 night shooting from 3-point land.
In a game that featured seven ties and 14 lead changes, including 10 in the second half, UTSA built a big lead early but A&M-Corpus Christi rallied to make things interesting after halftime.
UTSA turned 12 Islanders turnovers into 11 points and led by as many as 14 points in the first half. A Shamar Coombs layup at the 14:16 mark pulled A&M-Corpus Christi to within 12-9, but the Roadrunners scored 11 unanswered behind five from Gibson to build a 23-9 advantage.
The Islanders trailed, 29-18, with 7:35 on the clock, but they closed the half on a 10-5 run to make it a six-point game at the break.
A&M-Corpus Christi scored the first six points of the second half to quickly knot the score at 34-all. UTSA still held the lead four minutes later at 44-39, but the Islanders grabbed the upper hand with a 7-0 run capped by a Tim Green 3-pointer at the 11:48 mark.
The two teams would trade leads four more time before Coombs gave the Islanders a 65-64 advantage with a three with 3:38 remaining.
The Roadrunners responded with a Gabbidon layup, a trey from junior Omar Johnson and a Gibson layup over the next 1:30 to stake a 71-65 lead.
The Islanders would get no closer than 71-66 after Palmer made 1-of-2 free throws with 1:39 to play, as UTSA held on for the seven-point victory to even the season series.
Palmer scored his 30 behind 13-of-25 shooting from the floor, and he added eight rebounds, five assists and three steals in 38 minutes. Coombs joined Palmer in double figures with 11, as the Islanders shot 41.4 percent from the field, but made just 4-of-20 from behind the arc.
The Roadrunners will travel to Huntsville to face Sam Houston State on Saturday. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum.