| Senior Morris Smith IV led UTSA with 14 points on Tuesday. |
RICHMOND, Ky. — Senior Morris Smith IV led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points and UTSA registered the first 4-0 start in school history with a 75-61 victory against Fairleigh Dickinson in the O’Reilly Auto Parts College Basketball Experience Classic held Tuesday at McBrayer Arena.
The Roadrunners stayed perfect at 3-0 in the CBE Classic in winning their first-ever meeting with the Knights (1-4), which is a Northeast Conference school located in Teaneck, N.J. UTSA also extended its non-conference winning streak to 10 games and now has won 13 of its past 15 non-league matchups.
Smith IV scored 10 of his 14 after the break, helping UTSA run away from FDU with a 17-3 run midway through the second half. Senior Terry Fields scored 12 points, shared the team lead with senior Demarco Stepter with six rebounds and blocked three shots, while senior Omar Johnson tallied 13 points and dished out four assists.
Junior Devin Gibson scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, including an 8-for-8 performance at the free throw line that made him 25-of-26 on the year, and freshman Melvin Johnson III dropped in a dozen, marking the third time this season five players reached double figures.
The Roadrunners finished 17-of-18 from the charity stripe and shot 44.1 percent (26-59) from the field overall, including 6-for-15 from downtown. UTSA also forced 17 turnovers and out-rebounded the Knights, 37-32.
In a back-and-forth first half that featured 15 lead changes, UTSA went on an 11-0 run over the final four minutes and took a 34-27 lead into the locker room. Melvin Johnson III had the hot hand for the Roadrunners, scoring nine points in the half, seven during the closing stretch.
UTSA scored the first four points of the second half, making it a 15-0 run and pushing its lead to 38-27 just one minute into the stanza.
The Roadrunners maintained a comfortable lead, as Johnson III drained his second trey — this time from the right corner — to make it 45-37 with 13:27 to play.
Fairleigh Dickinson would climb back into it, converting four consecutive free throws and using a Mike Baptiste jumper to pull within 45-43 at the 12:21 mark. A Terence Grier basket two and a half minutes later kept the Knights close at 49-46, but UTSA responded.
The Roadrunners scored the next seven unanswered behind two free throws apiece from Omar Johnson and Gibson and a trey from Smith IV. Smith IV was not done, tallying the next five points, while Stepter dialed up from the top of the key and Gibson converted two more at the line to cap a 17-3 run and put the game out of reach at 66-49.
The lead grew to as many as 20 down the stretch before a late FDU run provided the final 14-point margin.
Baptiste led the Knights with 18 points on the strength of a 10-for-10 showing at the line, while Kamil Svrdlik and Alvin Mofunanya posted 10 points apiece. FDU shot 41.7 percent (20-48) from the field, but struggled to make just 2-for-10 from behind the arc and 19-of-32 at the line.
The Roadrunners wrap up the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic against Eastern Kentucky (3-1), which held on for a 67-57 victory over UC Irvine earlier Tuesday, at 5 p.m. (CT) Wednesday. The game can be heard live in the San Antonio listening area on 92.5 FM The Outlaw.