SAN ANTONIO — Senior Devin Gibson and junior Jeromie Hill combined for 32 points and UTSA stayed in the Southland Conference race with a 71-62 victory against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners improved to 14-12 overall and 7-6 in the league, moving into a four-way tie for fifth place with Nicholls, Sam Houston State and UT Arlington, two games behind co-leaders McNeese State and Texas State (9-4). The Islanders (8-20, 3-10 SLC) were eliminated from postseason tournament contention.
Gibson scored a game-high 17 points behind a 9-for-13 effort at the free-throw line and he added four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists in 38 minutes of action. Hill posted 15 points and six boards, while sophomore Melvin Johnson III drained a pair of 3-pointers en route to 10 points. Junior Sei Paye contributed nine points and a pair of steals and fellow junior Larry Wilkins registered a season-high eight points and five rebounds.
The Roadrunners committed just 10 turnovers and forced an opponent season-high 25 by the Islanders, 11 coming via steals. UTSA converted those miscues into 32 points to help overcome a 40-29 deficit on the glass.
UTSA built a double-digit lead early and withstood a pair of second-half rallies in winning for the third time in the last four meetings with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, including sweeping the season series.
The Roadrunners stormed out to a 16-2 lead through the first six minutes. Gibson and Hill had six points apiece during the run and the defense forced five early turnovers to help set the tone for the evening.
Johnson III knocked down a trey to give UTSA a 16-point lead at 25-9 with 7:28 to play in the first. A pair of free throws by freshman T.J. Williams – who posted four points and six rebounds — made it 32-16 in favor of the Roadrunners just before the break.
The Islanders recorded 13 turnovers in the first half and three more on their first three trips down the floor to start the second half, which helped the Roadrunners increase their lead to 39-22 after a trey from Johnson III.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi then began its first of two second-half runs, using a 12-2 stretch that was capped by a Demond Watt layup to pull to within 41-34 with 14:17 to play. Terence Jones converted a pair at the line three minutes later to make it a five-point game at 43-38, as the run grew to 16-4.
UTSA responded with 10 unanswered points, the final six coming on a back-to-back long-distance connections from Hill that made it 53-38 with just under 10 minutes remaining. Paye had a steal and layup and then drained a trey from the corner to push the advantage to 61-44.
The Islanders again cut the deficit to single digits after Watt was good on a pair at the line to make it 64-56 with 1:19 to play. Following a UTSA turnover in the backcourt, Hollis Hill had an open look at a 3-pointer that could have pulled Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to within five, but it rimmed out and Gibson secured the rebound to help thwart the threat.
Justin Reynolds led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with 16 points, largely on the strength of a 9-for-11 night at the charity stripe, a game-best 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals, while Watt posted 15 points, seven boards and five blocks. Jones pitched in with 12 points.
The Roadrunners will travel to San Marcos to face I-35 rival Texas State (14-13) on Saturday. Tip is set for 2 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum and the game will be televised by the Southland TV Network (KCWX digital channel 2.2 in San Antonio).
