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| Senior Omar Johnson was one of three Roadrunners with 14 points on Wednesday. |
SAN ANTONIO — Seniors Morris Smith IV and Omar Johnson and junior Devin Gibson scored 14 points apiece to lead a balanced scoring attack, as UTSA slipped past Nicholls, 64-59, on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
With their fourth straight win, the Roadrunners improved to 12-3 for the first time in school history and posted their second consecutive 2-0 start to Southland Conference play. UTSA also held the Colonels (5-10, 1-1) to under 60 points for the fourth straight meeting, the 14th win for the Roadrunners in the past 15 meetings.
Smith scored 10 of his 14 in the second half and added six rebounds, while Johnson was 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Gibson was 5-for-7 from the field, but was an uncharacteristic 4-of-9 from the charity stripe after entering the game 63-of-68 (92.6 percent). Senior Terry Fields joined that trio in double figures with 13 on 4-of-7 shooting. Senior Josh Bonney grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go along with five points.
Anatoly Bose and Fred Hunter combined for 44 of Nicholls’ 59 points. Bose poured in a game-high 24, going 9-for-22 from the field, while Hunter posted 20 points and a game-best nine boards.
The Roadrunners trailed by as many as seven points in the first half, but built a nine-point advantage late in the second after Fields hit the front end of a one-and-one to make it 60-51.
Nicholls would make things interesting in the final two minutes. Chris Iles answered a pair of Johnson free throws with a 3-pointer and Bose connected from beyond the arc with 48 seconds left to pull the Colonels to within 62-59.
UTSA held the ball during its next possession and Smith IV drove into the lane and was fouled with the shot clock sounding and 13 ticks left. The St. Louis native knocked down both freebies to make it a two possession game and Bose misfired on a pair of treys in the final seconds, as UTSA held on for the win.
UTSA was a perfect 9-for-9 from the line and shot 40 percent from the floor in the first half, but went 0-for-6 from downtown and found itself trailing by one, 30-29, at the break.
The Roadrunners were able to break open midway through the second half after Smith IV capped a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from the right wing that gave UTSA a 55-47 lead with 6:39 to play.
Bose stopped the run with a short jumper from the left elbow, but Smith IV struck again from downtown with just over three minutes remaining to hand UTSA a 59-51 advantage.
UTSA shot 45.7 percent (21-46) for the game, but made just 3-of-12 from behind the 3-point line and 19-of-27 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Nicholls was 23-for-59 (39 percent) overall and 7-for-9 from the line, but struggled to shoot just 6-of-27 (22.2 percent) from downtown.
The Roadrunners return to action this Saturday at UT Arlington. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Texas Hall.
With their fourth straight win, the Roadrunners improved to 12-3 for the first time in school history and posted their second consecutive 2-0 start to Southland Conference play. UTSA also held the Colonels (5-10, 1-1) to under 60 points for the fourth straight meeting, the 14th win for the Roadrunners in the past 15 meetings.
Smith scored 10 of his 14 in the second half and added six rebounds, while Johnson was 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Gibson was 5-for-7 from the field, but was an uncharacteristic 4-of-9 from the charity stripe after entering the game 63-of-68 (92.6 percent). Senior Terry Fields joined that trio in double figures with 13 on 4-of-7 shooting. Senior Josh Bonney grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go along with five points.
Anatoly Bose and Fred Hunter combined for 44 of Nicholls’ 59 points. Bose poured in a game-high 24, going 9-for-22 from the field, while Hunter posted 20 points and a game-best nine boards.
The Roadrunners trailed by as many as seven points in the first half, but built a nine-point advantage late in the second after Fields hit the front end of a one-and-one to make it 60-51.
Nicholls would make things interesting in the final two minutes. Chris Iles answered a pair of Johnson free throws with a 3-pointer and Bose connected from beyond the arc with 48 seconds left to pull the Colonels to within 62-59.
UTSA held the ball during its next possession and Smith IV drove into the lane and was fouled with the shot clock sounding and 13 ticks left. The St. Louis native knocked down both freebies to make it a two possession game and Bose misfired on a pair of treys in the final seconds, as UTSA held on for the win.
UTSA was a perfect 9-for-9 from the line and shot 40 percent from the floor in the first half, but went 0-for-6 from downtown and found itself trailing by one, 30-29, at the break.
The Roadrunners were able to break open midway through the second half after Smith IV capped a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from the right wing that gave UTSA a 55-47 lead with 6:39 to play.
Bose stopped the run with a short jumper from the left elbow, but Smith IV struck again from downtown with just over three minutes remaining to hand UTSA a 59-51 advantage.
UTSA shot 45.7 percent (21-46) for the game, but made just 3-of-12 from behind the 3-point line and 19-of-27 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Nicholls was 23-for-59 (39 percent) overall and 7-for-9 from the line, but struggled to shoot just 6-of-27 (22.2 percent) from downtown.
The Roadrunners return to action this Saturday at UT Arlington. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Texas Hall.