| Junior Devin Gibson led UTSA with 13 points on Wednesday night. |
SAN ANTONIO — Junior Devin Gibson led four Roadrunners in double figures with 13 points, but Cameron Johnson poured in 29 to lead Texas State to an 83-76 victory against UTSA in the home finale on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the Bobcats improve to 14-15 overall and move into a tie for fifth place with UTSA, which fell to 18-10 overall, and UT Arlington at 8-7 in the Southland Conference. The Roadrunners currently would be the No. 6 seed ahead of the Mavericks for the eight-team Southland Tournament based on tiebreakers.
Johnson was 9-for-17 from the floor and 11-of-14 at the free-throw line to lead all players and he added a game-high nine rebounds and two steals. Ryan White added 18 points and Uriel Segura scored 10, as Texas State shot 50 percent (29-58) from the floor, including 8-of-19 from beyond the 3-point line.
Gibson scored 13 despite playing just 28 minutes due to first-half foul trouble, while freshman Melvin Johnson III posted a dozen on the strength of a pair of 3-pointers and a 6-for-6 night at the charity stripe. Senior Demarco Stepter and Morris Smith IV scored 10 apiece, while senior Terry Fields registered eight points and matched Cameron Johnson with a game-high nine boards.
Texas State led by as many as 10 in the first half and opened up a 14-point advantage in the second in winning for the third straight time in the series.
Cameron Johnson drained a pair of free throws a little less than five minutes into the second half to give the Bobcats a 51-45 lead. UTSA answered with six straight points, the last on a 3-pointer from the right corner by Melvin Johnson III with 14:10 to play. Johnson III then knocked down two freebies less than two minutes later to help the Roadrunners hold a 58-56 lead.
The Bobcats stretched their lead out to nine with a 13-4 run over the next seven minutes. UTSA pulled back to within six, but John Rybak connected from downtown for the third time, this time a back-breaking trey from the wing with 4:15 left that put Texas State up, 77-65.
UTSA put together one final run, getting to within eight after Stepter drained a pair of free throws with just over two minutes remaining. White answered with two free throws of his own and a late free throw and layup by the Roadrunners provided the final seven-point margin.
Texas State shot 60 percent (15-25) from the field in the first and took advantage of foul trouble on Gibson, who picked up his second foul at the 12:30 mark and sat the rest of the half.
The Bobcats twice jumped out to big leads, including a 10-point advantage after a White 3-pointer made it 17-7 just 4:33 seconds into the game. The Roadrunners reeled off eight straight points to cut the deficit to two, but Texas State pushed the lead back to seven after a pair of Cameron Johnson free throws with 6:34 on the clock. UTSA closed the half with Gibson and Omar Johnson sitting on the bench with two fouls apiece, but managed to knot the score at 39-all at the break.
The Roadrunners conclude the regular season at Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. Tip is set for 6 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum.