SAN ANTONIO — Freshman Jeromie Hill scored 17 points, but Gilberto Clavell posted 26 points and Sam Houston State held on to win a nail-biter over UTSA, 62-59, in both teams' Southland Conference opener on Saturday night at the Convocation Center.
Clavell nearly turned in a double-double, as he pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to help the Bearkats improve to 8-6 (1-0 SLC) on the season. He was 9-of-13 from the floor and 7-for-8 at the free-throw line, including the game winner with 1:02 remaining in the contest.
Meanwhile, the Roadrunners (6-7, 0-1 SLC), who saw their losing streak extended to five games, were plagued by foul trouble with senior Devin Gibson only logging 22 minutes. Meanwhile, juniors Stephen Franklin, who fouled out in the final minute, and Larry Wilkins played just 16 and 15, respectively.
Gibson, who scored nine points, drained a 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 2:50 on the clock to give UTSA a 58-55 lead.
Josten Crow answered a minute later with a trey from the wing to knot the score at 58. After a missed shot by the Roadrunners, Clavell drew a foul with just over a minute remaining. He knocked down both free throws to give the Bearkats a two-point cushion.
Franklin drew a foul at the other end and made the first free throw to pull UTSA within one. The second one was short and Marcus James secured the rebound for Sam Houston.
UTSA was forced to foul quickly and it sent Drae Murray to the line, where he missed the front end of a one-and-one. Sophomore Melvin Johnson III cleaned the glass to set up a potential game-winning basket for the Roadrunners.
Junior Sei Paye got an open look from the right win, but his shot rimmed in and out with just under 10 seconds remaining.
Marcus Williams was quickly fouled and made both to push the lead to three. Johnson III got off a 3-pointer from about 24 feet, but it rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.
Hill added four rebounds, two blocks and a pair of assists to his 17-point outing in leading the team in scoring for the fifth time this season. Johnson III made a pair of threes en route to eight points, while Paye had a team-best seven boards.
UTSA shot 40.7 percent, but made just 6-of-21 from downtown and 5-of-9 from the line.
Sam Houston State committed just eight turnovers and shot 41.8 percent, but it struggled from beyond the arc (5-for-19).
Crow and Lance Pevehouse contributed eight points apiece.
UTSA blitzed out to a 10-3 lead early, holding the Bearkats without a field goal for the first 5:17 in the process. That was the largest lead by either team in a first half that saw the Roadrunners shoot 50 percent (15-30) behind 24 points in the paint.
Gibson, who only played 10 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, was whistled for his third in the first 48 seconds into the second stanza.
The Roadrunners will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-10, 0-1 SLC) on Wednesday, Jan. 12. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. at the American Bank Center.
