SAN ANTONIO — Senior Devin Gibson recorded his first career triple-double, but it was not enough, as Samford drained an opponent-record 18 3-pointers to slip past UTSA, 74-73, on Monday night at the Convocation Center.
The Bulldogs (8-4) knocked down 18-of-39 from beyond the arc to win just their second meeting in 12 tries against their former Trans America Athletic Conference foe.
Gibson filled up the stat sheet for the Roadrunners, who fell to 6-3 and saw their 18-game non-conference home winning streak come to an end. The Houston native posted 17 points behind a school-record 11-for-11 performance at the free-throw line and added a career-high 11 rebounds and season highs for assists (12) and steals (6).
Despite the 3-point barrage, the game came down to the wire.
Freshman Jeromie Hill gave UTSA a 67-65 lead with a jumper at the 2:43 mark, but Andy King drained a 3-pointer from the top of key one minute later to give Samford a one-point advantage.
Gibson was fouled at the other end and made both free throws, but Josh Bedwell converted a reverse layup to give the lead right back to the Bulldogs with just under a minute remaining.
Again, Gibson was fouled and made both at the charity stripe to make it 71-70. Samford missed two field-goal attempts and Gibson again drew a foul and was sent to the line. Two more freebies gave the Roadrunners a 73-70 cushion with 25 ticks left.
That set the stages for the frantic final seconds. Josh Davis knocked down an off-balance three from about 24 feet away from the basket to knot the score at 73-all with six seconds left. UTSA in-bounded quickly but was whistled for a traveling violation, giving the ball back to Samford. King then was fouled on a shot attempt near the basket with 2.8 seconds on the clock. He missed the first free throw, but made the second to make it 74-73. UTSA’s final long-court pass was intercepted to seal the win.
Bedwell led all players with 21 points behind a 5-for-8 night from downtown, while Davis also knocked down five treys in scoring 17. King added 15 behind four treys, as Samford made just four non-threes on the evening. The Bulldogs shot 40 percent (22-55) for the game and were 18-of-39 (46.2%) from behind the arc.
Hill led UTSA with 19 points and he added seven rebounds, while junior Stephen Franklin (16) and sophomore Melvin Johnson III (13) joined Gibson and Hill in double figures.
Both teams were hot from downtown in the first half, as Samford drained eight 3-pointers and UTSA made seven. Freshman Jordan Sims converted a trey from the corner to cap a 7-0 run that gave the Roadrunners a 20-13 lead midway through the first. Josh Davis knocked down a three to pull Samford to within 23-19, but UTSA responded with five straight points and eventually kept a nine-point lead at the break, 39-30.
Gibson had nine points, seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals in the first half. Hill matched Gibson with nine points behind a 3-for-3 effort from beyond the arc.
Hill scored six straight points to help extend the lead to 13 points five and half minutes into the second half. He knocked down jumpers in the lane on back-to-back possessions then slammed home an alley-oop pass from Gibson to make it 49-36 with 14:48 on the clock.
Samford heated up from outside to get right back into the contest. Bedwell and King connected twice each from downtown in a 17-6 run to help the Bulldogs climb back to within 55-53 with 9:03 remaining.
The Roadrunners open a three-game road trip at Tulsa (5-5) on Thursday night.
