SAN MARCOS — Sophomore Melvin Johnson III scored 21 points, but Ryan White poured in 25, including the winning free throws with three-tenths of a second left, to lift Texas State to an 82-80 victory against UTSA on Saturday afternoon at Strahan Coliseum.
The Bobcats improved to 15-13 overall and 10-4 in the Southland Conference, while the Roadrunners fell to 14-13 (7-7 SLC).
Both teams attempted 23 free throws, but Texas State made 19 compared to 11 for UTSA.
White was 9-for-11 at the line, including a perfect 4-for-4 in the final minute, and he also made 4-of-9 from behind the 3-point line to lead four Bobcats in double figures. Tony Bishop had a double-double of 14 points and a dozen rebounds, while Cameron Johnson and Travis Jones scored 12 apiece.
Johnson III drained a career-high six 3-pointers on nine attempts, eclipsing his previous best of five set three times during his freshman campaign, and he was one of four Roadrunners in double figures. Senior Devin Gibson added 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals, while freshman Jeromie Hill posted 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Junior Larry Wilkins turned in season highs of 14 points and seven boards.
Trailing by one with less than a minute to play, Gibson was fouled on a driving layup. His basket was good, but he missed the layup to give UTSA a 79-78 lead. He then was whistled for a blocking foul, his fifth of the game, at the other end to send White to the line, where he knocked down both to put the Bobcats on top, 80-79, with 27 seconds to go.
With the clock winding down under 10 seconds, Johnson III took a long three from the top of the key and missed. The rebound deflected out of bounds under the basket off UTSA, but Bishop was called for a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct. That sent Johnson III to the line with 6.4 ticks left, where he missed the first but made the second to knot the score at 80.
White took the inbounds pass for Texas State and dribbled all the way to the basket, where he was fouled with three-tenths of a second on the clock. He promptly made both to lift the Bobcats to victory.
UTSA shot 51.8 percent from the field and tied a season high with 11 3-pointers on 25 attempts (44 percent). Texas State was good on 45.8 percent from the floor, including 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) from downtown.
The Roadrunners held a 38-33 lead at the half but quickly pushed that to 10 points after Wilkins was good from down low and Gibson drained a three from the wing to start the second frame.
The lead remained 10 after Gibson slashed through the lane for two to make it 51-41 with 13:34 on the clock.
The Bobcats then used a 15-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 56-53 lead, their first since the 12-minute mark of the first half. Eight of the 15 came from Bishop.
Hill found the bottom of the net from long range to play to hand UTSA a 73-69 lead, the largest by either team over the final 10 minutes.
UTSA found itself down 13-6 early, but it used a 16-4 stretch keyed by back-to-back treys from Johnson III and junior Stephen Franklin to climb in front, 22-17. Johnson III and freshman Jordan Sims later connected from long distance on consecutive possessions to increase the lead to 31-21 with 7:43 remaining in the first stanza.
The Roadrunners made 12 of their first 16 shot attempts, including five of the first six from downtown, and finished the half at 57.7 percent from the floor and 6-of-12 from behind the arc behind 3-of-4 shooting from Johnson III.
UTSA will conclude its 2010-11 home slate against Central Arkansas (5-22, 1-13 SLC) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2.
