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| Senior Morris Smith IV led UTSA with 19 points on Saturday. |
SAN ANTONIO — Senior Morris Smith IV poured in 19 points, but Justin Nabors posted 16 points and 14 rebounds to help lead Lamar to a 64-57 victory over UTSA on Saturday night at the Convocation Center.
The Cardinals snapped an 11-game losing streak on the road to improve to 11-11 overall and 3-4 in Southland Conference play. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners dropped their fourth straight contest and fell to 12-7 and 2-4.
UTSA struggled shooting the ball for the fourth straight game, making just 37.7 percent (20-53) from the field and 59.1 percent (13-22) from the free-throw line. Smith IV was 7-for-12 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe to lead the team in scoring for the eighth time this season, his 15th game in double figures.
The Cardinals blistered the nets for 51-percent (25-49) shooting and made 9-of-12 from the line. Anthony Miles matched Smith IV with a game-high 19 points, while Kendrick Harris posted 10.
Trailing, 59-55, after a Coy Custer free throw with 38 seconds to play, senior Demarco Stepter pulled UTSA to within one possession with a layup 12 ticks later. Forced to foul, junior Devin Gibson, who finished with nine points, sent Miles to the line where he made the first free throw. The second attempt banked off the right side of the iron, but Custer grabbed the rebound and dropped in an easy put-back to seal the win for Lamar.
A drive and a dunk by Nabors gave Lamar its largest lead at 45-37 with 13:23 to play. The Roadrunners responded with a 9-2 run capped by back-to-back threes from freshman Melvin Johnson III — who finished 3-for-3 from downtown — that made it 47-46 with just over 11 minutes remaining.
Lamar pushed the lead back to six points on a trey from Miles with just over five minutes to play before UTSA climbed back to within three after a Smith IV jumper with 1:37 on the clock made it 58-55 in favor of the Cards.
The Roadrunners fell behind early, 18-11, after a trey from Miles found the bottom of the net at the 11:39 mark of the first half. Johnson III drained the first of his three trifectas to cap an 8-0 run and give UTSA a 19-18 advantage midway through half.
The Roadrunners travel to Huntsville to face Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3.
The Cardinals snapped an 11-game losing streak on the road to improve to 11-11 overall and 3-4 in Southland Conference play. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners dropped their fourth straight contest and fell to 12-7 and 2-4.
UTSA struggled shooting the ball for the fourth straight game, making just 37.7 percent (20-53) from the field and 59.1 percent (13-22) from the free-throw line. Smith IV was 7-for-12 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe to lead the team in scoring for the eighth time this season, his 15th game in double figures.
The Cardinals blistered the nets for 51-percent (25-49) shooting and made 9-of-12 from the line. Anthony Miles matched Smith IV with a game-high 19 points, while Kendrick Harris posted 10.
Trailing, 59-55, after a Coy Custer free throw with 38 seconds to play, senior Demarco Stepter pulled UTSA to within one possession with a layup 12 ticks later. Forced to foul, junior Devin Gibson, who finished with nine points, sent Miles to the line where he made the first free throw. The second attempt banked off the right side of the iron, but Custer grabbed the rebound and dropped in an easy put-back to seal the win for Lamar.
A drive and a dunk by Nabors gave Lamar its largest lead at 45-37 with 13:23 to play. The Roadrunners responded with a 9-2 run capped by back-to-back threes from freshman Melvin Johnson III — who finished 3-for-3 from downtown — that made it 47-46 with just over 11 minutes remaining.
Lamar pushed the lead back to six points on a trey from Miles with just over five minutes to play before UTSA climbed back to within three after a Smith IV jumper with 1:37 on the clock made it 58-55 in favor of the Cards.
The Roadrunners fell behind early, 18-11, after a trey from Miles found the bottom of the net at the 11:39 mark of the first half. Johnson III drained the first of his three trifectas to cap an 8-0 run and give UTSA a 19-18 advantage midway through half.
The Roadrunners travel to Huntsville to face Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3.