| Junior Morris Smith IV led UTSA with 17 points in Saturday's road win in Hammond, La. |
HAMMOND, La. ? Junior Morris Smith IV led three Roadrunners in double figures with 17 points and UTSA held off Southeastern Louisiana, 66-61, for its sixth road win of the season on Saturday afternoon at the University Center.
The Roadrunners surpassed last season’s win total in improving to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in Southland Conference play. UTSA now boasts a 6-5 road ledger and has posted two more wins away from the Alamo City than the past two years combined. Southeastern Louisiana, which was led by Damon Forest's game-high 22 points, fell to 9-13 and 3-6
Smith IV drained three 3-pointers to lead the Roadrunners in scoring for the second time in the past three games. Junior Josh Bonney, who prepped at nearby White Castle High School, added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while senior Travis Gabbidon posted his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. Junior Omar Johnson added nine points on the strength of three 3-pointers and came up with a trifecta of steals.
Holding a slim 58-57 lead with under four minutes to play, Bonney converted a three-point play and Gabbidon answered a Brandon Fortenberry layup with a free throw and a layup to push UTSA’s advantage to 64-59 with 1:21 left.
Fortenberry, who finished with 14 points, pulled the Lions to within one possession with another layup, but Gabbidon made a pair of free throws to help the Roadrunners hang on for their fifth road win in the last six tries.
The Roadrunners made seven 3-pointers, their 18th game with at least six, and shot 42.1 percent (24-57) from the floor overall. UTSA also held the Lions to 39.1 percent (25-64) shooting and scored 24 points off 16 turnovers, including eight steals.
UTSA used a 10-0 run behind a pair of Johnson threes to build an 18-10 advantage with nine minutes to play in the first half. The Lions climbed back to within 24-23 on a Damon Forest trey at the 5:03 mark and eventually knotted the score at 28-all on another Forest long ball with 2:23 left.
Johnson and Forest, who had 18 first-half points, dialed up from long distance again on back-to-back possessions to make it 31-31 at the break.
Smith drained a pair of 3-pointers to kickstart a 10-0 run over the first four minutes of the second half. UTSA led, 48-38, with just under 14 minutes remaining, but the Lions would climb back into it with a 10-2 run. Southeastern got within one point, but UTSA never surrendered the lead for the remainder of the half.
The Roadrunners return home to host Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11.