| Freshman Melvin Johnson III scored 14 points off the bench on Wednesday. |
HUNTSVILLE — Freshman Melvin Johnson III came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points, but Gilberto Clavell and Ashton Mitchell combined for 49 points and Sam Houston State held off a late UTSA rally in a 73-67 victory on Wednesday night at Johnson Coliseum.
Clavell registered a game-high 27 points, including 16 in the second half, and had two key baskets in the final minutes, while Mitchell was 5-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line en route to 22, to help the Bearkats improve to 15-5 overall and 7-0 in the Southland Conference.
Johnson III went 3-for-4 from behind the arc to lead UTSA in scoring for the third time this season, while senior Terry Fields posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, as the Roadrunners (12-8, 2-5 SLC) saw their losing streak move to five games.
The Bearkats led by as many as 13 in the second half before UTSA put together a late run.
Senior Morris Smith IV, who finished with seven points and seven boards, drained a long trey from the left wing to pull UTSA to within 53-47 with 6:45 to play. Following an Ashton Mitchell free throw, senior Demarco Stepter found junior Devin Gibson all alone under the basket, where he hung in the air to draw the foul on a layup. The ensuing free throw was good to make it a four-point game.
After a Sam Houston turnover, Johnson III found the bottom of the net from the right corner to cut the deficit to one at 54-53 with 5:21 on the clock.
Clavell and Gibson traded layups before a pair of Josten Crow free throws, a Mitchell trey and another Clavell basket put the Bearkats up 63-57 with just over three minutes to play.
Gibson, who finished with 11 points, seven assists and four rebounds, drove for another layup to pull UTSA back to within four, but Clavell beat the Roadrunners on the low block twice on the next two possessions to push the lead back to eight with 1:37 left.
Fields and senior Omar Johnson, who tallied 12 points and five assists, hit late 3-pointers to make things interesting, but Sam Houston held on for the six-point win.
UTSA shot 41.4 percent (24-58) from the floor, including 50 percent in the second half, and was 12-of-15 at the line. The Roadrunners also dished out a season-high 22 assists and out-rebounded the Bearkats, 37-31.
Sam Houston shot 46.4 percent (26-56) for the game, but made just 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from downtown.
There were five lead changes in a low-scoring first half. UTSA grabbed an 18-14 lead after jumpers on back-to-back possessions by Johnson and Stepter. Smith IV used the glass on a shot clock buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the top of the key to maintain the four-point cushion at 22-18 with 4:22 left in the first.
The Bearkats closed the half with a 13-0 run that was keyed by a pair of long-distance dialups from Mitchell and took a 31-22 advantage into the locker room.
The Roadrunners return home to host Southeastern Louisiana at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6. The game will be televised by the Southland TV Network and can be seen locally on Time Warner Cable channel 888.