| Sophomore Devin Gibson scored a game-high 23 points on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to get UTSA into the NCAA Tournament. |
KATY ? Sophomore Devin Gibson scored 23 points and senior Travis Gabbidon added 10, but Matt Kingsley posted 20 to lead Stephen F. Austin to a 68-57 win over UTSA in the State Farm Southland Conference Tournament Championship Game on Sunday afternoon before 2,531 fans at the Merrell Center.
Gibson drained a career high four 3-pointers in topping 20 points for the second time in the tourney. The All-SLC Tournament Team selection was 7-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line and he added three steals and three assists. Gabbidon reached double figures for the 35th time in 46 career games with the Roadrunners (19-13) and he joined Stepter with a team-high seven rebounds.
Kingsley, the Tournament Most Valuable Player, led three Lumberjacks (24-7) in double figures on 8-of-13 shooting and he grabbed six boards. Josh Alexander and Eddie Williams poured in 16 apiece, while Alexander pulled down a team-best seven rebounds.
“Our guys played as hard as they could today,” said third-year head coach Brooks Thompson, who guided the Roadrunners to their most victories in six seasons. “You have to give credit to Stephen F. Austin. As a senior-laden basketball team, they are very experienced. We’ve got a bunch of new guys that we look forward to the future with.
“Our shots didn’t quite fall for us like they did the first two nights. These guys this season and especially the last couple nights have given everything they have to our program to try to win this tournament. I think they came as close as they could, but just came up a little short. I’m very proud of our basketball team.”
UTSA trailed by as many as 13 in the second half, but mounted a late comeback to make things interesting down the stretch.
Gibson came up with a steal in the backcourt and found junior Leslie Jackson all alone for a layup to cut the deficit to single digits. Gibson blocked an Eric Bell layup attempt then drained a three at the other end of the floor to make it 54-48 with 7:12 to play.
The Lumberjacks went back up by 10 and held a 61-52 lead with just over three minutes remaining, but UTSA would mount one last rally.
Gibson made two free throws the following an SFA turnover, drove baseline from the corner for a layup to cut the deficit to 61-56 with 2:10 to play.
SFA quickly answered with a layup from Alexander and then took advantage of missed jumpers by the Roadrunners by making 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
UTSA made seven 3-pointers on 27 attempts (25.9%) and shot 41.2 percent from the floor overall. Baskets were tough to come by in the second half, as the Roadrunners made just 10-of-28 from the field, including 3-of-16 from behind the arc.
SFA stayed above 50-percent shooting the entire game, making 27-of-50 (54%) from the floor and 5-of-14 from downtown. The Lumberjacks posted 34 points in the paint behind Kingsley’s effort inside and committed just eight turnovers.
Gibson displayed high energy early for the Roadrunners, scoring 11 of the team’s first 17 points. He banked in a long 3-pointer from the wing and Johnson knocked down a jumper from the top of the key to cap a 10-2 run and give UTSA a 22-17 lead midway through the first half.
The Lumberjacks countered with nine unanswered points over the next 6:37 to retake the lead, 26-22, before junior Morris Smith IV put an end to the drought with a left-handed layup at the 3:40 mark. A layup by junior Richie Frohlich pulled UTSA to within 30-26, but SFA ended the half on a 7-2 run for a 37-28 advantage.
The Roadrunners made nine of their first 13 shot attempts, but cooled off to 47.8 percent (11-23) at the break. Meanwhile, SFA finished the first 20 minutes shooting 55.6 percent (15-27) behind 18 points in the paint. Both teams were 4-of-11 from downtown.
UTSA finished the season with 19 victories, the most since the 2004-05 team also won 19, and won eight league games, thee most in five years. The Roadrunners also advanced to the SLC Tournament Championship Game for the first time since 2004 and broke the school’s single-season mark for 3-pointers with 261 (previous=234, 2003-04).