| Senior Morris Smith IV led three players in double figures with 19 points on Wednesday. |
SAN MARCOS — Senior Morris Smith IV led three Roadrunners in double figures with 13 points, but Cameron Johnson posted 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead Texas State to a 76-62 win over UTSA on Wednesday night at Strahan Coliseum.
Johnson’s double-double helped the Bobcats improve to 10-10 overall and 4-2 in the Southland Conference. The Roadrunners fell to 12-6 and 2-3 and have dropped three consecutive games for the first time since the end of the 2007-08 season.
Texas State jumped out to an early 16-point lead, but saw the Roadrunners climb back to within six points at the half and one early in the second half.
Junior Devin Gibson, who finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, came up with steal and dished to senior Omar Johnson, who dropped in a layup that cut Texas State’s lead down to 43-41 just three minutes and 20 seconds into the second half.
The Bobcats responded with back-to-back baskets, but Smith IV drained a trey from the right corner that made it 47-46 with 14:50 on the clock. Thirty seconds later Smith IV struck again from downtown, this time from the top of the key to keep UTSA within one.
Texas State began to pull away midway through the half after a Dylan Hale three from right wing and Tony Bishop fast-break dunk capped an 11-4 run and created a 64-56 advantage with just under eight minutes remaining.
Both teams went cold from the field over the next five minutes until a Bishop layup gave Texas State a 69-58 advantage with 2:52 to play. UTSA would get no close down the stretch, as the Bobcats held on for the 14-point win.
Johnson joined Gibson and Smith IV in double figures with 12 points and he added a game-high three steals, while senior Terry Fields contributed nine points. The Roadrunners shot just 35.5 percent (22-62) for the game and made 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) from the free-throw line.
Ryan White tallied 14 points behind three 3-pointers, while John Rybak had 10 points. Emmanuel Bidias A Moute pulled down a team-high 15 rebounds to help the Bobcats to a 37-30 advantage on the glass. Texas State shot 56 percent from the floor and made 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from behind the arc and 13-of-16 (81.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Bobcats got off to a hot start shooting the ball, making nine of their first 12 shots in building a 20-4 lead through the first seven minutes. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners were ice cold, missing 10 of their first 11, including nine straight before a Smith IV layup at the 12:44 mark stopped the streak.
A Ryan White 3-pointer from the left wing gave Texas State a 34-19 lead with 6:21 on the clock, but UTSA closed the half on a 16-7 run capped by a Gibson jumper and trailed, 41-35, at the break.
Texas State shot 62.1 percent (18-29), including 5-of-10 from downtown, in the first half, while the Roadrunners managed just 37.5 percent (12-32).
The Roadrunners return home to host Lamar at 7 p.m. on Saturday.