SAN ANTONIO — Senior Devin Gibson posted his fifth career double-double to help lead UTSA to an 81-70 victory against Troy on Monday night at the Convocation Center.
Gibson scored a team-high 23 points on the strength of a 10-for-13 performance at the free-throw line and he added 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals to help the Roadrunners improve to 3-1 on the season and extend their non-conference home-court winning streak to 17 games. It was the first double-double for the Houston native since his sophomore campaign, when he posted 16 points and 10 assists against Texas-Pan American on Dec. 18, 2008.
Vernon Taylor scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Trojans, who fell to 1-3 on the year.
Sophomore Melvin Johnson III drained four 3-pointers en route to 14 points for his fourth straight double-digit outing, while freshmen Jeromie Hill and Tyler Wood contributed 11 and 10, respectively, as 10 different Roadrunners scored. Freshman T.J. Williams matched Gibson with a game-high 10 boards.
UTSA overcame a tough first-half shooting performance (30.3 percent) and 19 total turnovers to score the victory. The Roadrunners held a nine-point lead at the halftime break but built a double-digit advantage for most of the second half behind seven 3-pointers.
Wood drained treys from the left wing on back-to-back possessions to give UTSA a 57-40 lead seven-and-a-half minutes into the second half. Johnson III answered a Vernon Taylor jumper with a three of his own to make it 60-42 at the 12:18 mark.
The Trojans would not quit, as Regis Huddleston drained a pair of threes in a 27-second span to help Troy get to within seven (71-64) with 4:37 remaining. UTSA pushed the lead back to 11 after Gibson converted a pair at the line with 2:29 to play, but Taylor made 1-of-2 at the charity stripe and Steven Cunningham was good on a fast-break layup to make it 76-68 with 1:26 on the clock.
Free throws helped UTSA ice the game from there, as Gibson and Johnson III combined to go 3-for-4 in the final 1:10.
UTSA shot 40.3 percent for the game and made 10-of-31 (32.3%) from downtown and 21-of-27 (77.8%) at the line. The Roadrunners outrebounded the Trojans, 47-35, and outscored Troy off the bench, 36-4.
The visitors shot 39.1 percent from the field, including just 8-of-32 from behind the arc, and made just 63.2 percent (12-of-19) at the line. Levan Patsatsia (13) and Huddleston joined Taylor in double figures.
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half.
UTSA shot 30.3 percent (10-33), including making just 3-of-16 from downtown, while Troy was just 7-for-27 (25.9%) from the field and only 3-of-15 from behind the arc.
Freshman Igor Nujic scored four points to key a 9-0 run that helped UTSA get out to a 22-12 lead with just under six minutes to play in the first. The Trojans cut the deficit to 24-20, but the Roadrunners closed out the half with a 9-4 stretch and took a 33-24 advantage into the locker room.
The Roadrunners wrap up their three-game home stand against San Jose State on Tuesday, Nov. 30.
