| Senior Travis Gabbidon scored 16 points on Wednesday night. |
NATCHITOCHES, La. ? Senior Travis Gabbidon scored 16 points, but Damon Jones led all players with 26 and Keithan Hancock drained a 3-pointer with 21 seconds to play to help lift Northwestern State to a 77-74 victory over UTSA on Wednesday night at Prather Coliseum.
With the win, the Demons improved to 11-17 overall and 3-10 in Southland Conference play. The Roadrunners fell to 16-10 and 7-6.
UTSA held a 73-69 lead with just over a minute to play, but the Demons used the three-ball to grab the lead. Jones hit a trey from the left wing with 1:03 remaining and a UTSA turnover gave the ball back to Northwestern State with 38 ticks. Needing a two to tie, Hancock grabbed a loose ball and sunk the go-ahead three from the right wing with 21 seconds on the clock to give the Demons a 75-73 advantage.
On the ensuing possession for the Roadrunners, junior Demarco Stepter was fouled in a battle for a rebound with 5.4 seconds to play. He made 1-of-2 free throws to make it a one-point game, but Deividas Petravicius was fouled on a breakaway and made both free throws to put the Demons back up by three. Junior Omar Johnson’s half-court desperation heave was just off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Gabbidon made 7-of-8 free throws as part of his 16 points, while sophomore Devin Gibson posted 13 points, six steals and five assists. Stepter registered his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Johnson added nine points.
The Roadrunners posted 14 steals in forcing 21 turnovers, making Northwestern State the 10th opponent with 20 or more miscues this season, but shot just 37.9 percent, including 5-of-21 from behind the arc, and were outrebounded, 47-37.
Both teams struggled from the field in a first half marred by 23 combined fouls.
The Roadrunners overcame a tough start shooting the ball, as they made just one of their first nine field goal attempts, a Gabbidon 3-pointer just 1:44 into the game. UTSA, which converted 15 Demons turnovers ? including five steals by Gibson ? into 19 points, used a 7-0 run to turn a slim 13-10 lead into a 10-point advantage with just over eight minutes remaining in the half.
UTSA led by as many as 12 after a Stepter layup at the 3:30 mark made it 31-19. The Demons clawed back to within 40-33 at the break as Logan McConathy answered a Joey Shank 3-pointer with one of his own at the buzzer.
Junior Morris Smith IV drained a pair of threes early in the second half to help UTSA push the lead back to double digits, but Northwestern State turned 52-41 deficit into a two-point game after a Kalem Porterie jumper made it 52-50 midway through the stanza.
The Roadrunners built their advantage back up to eight points with a 7-0 run, but the Demons would respond, eventually taking a 67-66 lead on a fast break layup by Petravicius at the 3:50 mark, setting up the final minutes.
The Roadrunners will host Lamar in the annual Homecoming Game this Saturday, Feb. 28. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.