ARLINGTON — Senior Devin Gibson, sophomore Melvin Johnson III and freshman Jeromie Hill combined for 54 points and UTSA secured a berth in next week's State Farm Southland Conference Tournament with a come-from-behind 68-63 victory at UT Arlington on Saturday night.
The Roadrunners improved to 16-13 overall and will be the No. 7 seed by finishing the league slate with their second consecutive 9-7 ledger. UTSA will face second-seeded Northwestern State (18-13) in the first round at noon on Wednesday, March 9. The Mavericks saw their season end at 13-16 (7-9 SLC).
With a postseason bid on the line, UTSA rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to score its first win in Arlington since a 74-71 decision on Feb. 16, 2006, and notch their fourth consecutive trip to the Southland Tournament.
“It was just a complete team effort, and a great one at that, by our guys in the second half,” head coach Brooks Thompson said. “We let them go on that big run in the first half and to be down by 10 at the half was tough to look at. The guys decided they didn’t want to go home and they wanted to get Devin back to his hometown one more time.”
Johnson III led all players with 21 points, 16 of which in the second half. The Dallas native was 6-for-11 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line in posting his third straight and seventh 20-point game of the season.
Fighting foul trouble all evening, Gibson made sure his senior campaign was extended by tallying 17 points behind 5-for-8 shooting, four assists and a steal. Hill scored 14 of his 16 points after the break behind a 4-for-5 night from downtown and he added a team-high eight rebounds.
UTSA shot 54.2 percent, including 7-for-12 from beyond the arc, made 11-of-13 at the line and committed just three turnovers in the second half.
Johnson III, who only played five minutes in the first half after two quick fouls, scored 10 points in a 13-4 run to open the second half, helping UTSA pull within 38-37 at the 16:17 mark. Gibson was whistled for his third foul, but the Roadrunners made six of their seven shots during the stretch, including all four attempts by Johnson III, to overcome the loss of their starting point guard.
After UTA went back out in front by seven, Hill knocked down back-to-back treys, his third and fourth of the half, to make it 48-47 at the 9:01 mark. Junior Sei Paye then found the long-distance range on the next possession to give UTSA a 50-48 lead, its first since the eight-minute mark of the first half.
The two teams traded leads a half dozen times over the next six minutes until Gibson forced a turnover and then found Paye on the wing for his second 3-pointer to push UTSA’s lead to four (59-55) with 1:45 remaining.
The Roadrunners forced another turnover and Paye was immediately fouled in the backcourt. He made one of two at the line to push the lead to five, but Richardson answered with a three from the wing to make it 60-58.
Gibson ran down the clock on the next possession and then penetrated into the lane for a turn-around jumper that put UTSA up by four with 44 ticks left.
Darius Richardson, who led UTA with 19 points behind five 3-pointers, misfired from downtown, but Bo Ingram grabbed the offensive board and was fouled. He missed the first free throw and UTA was called for a lane violation on the second, giving the ball back to the Roadrunners with 34.2 seconds left. Gibson was fouled seven seconds later and made both to make it 64-58.
After UTA missed two 3-point attempts, Cameron Catlett finally found the bottom of the net from the wing to make it a one-possession game with 11.1 seconds on the clock. Johnson III received the inbound pass and was immediately hacked. He made both, but Bradley Gay got loose for a layup to answer with two seconds left. Johnson III again was fouled and made a pair to ice the win.
UTSA shot 43.8 percent overall and made 10-of-22 from beyond the 3-point line to help overcome a 40-27 deficit on the glass. The Roadrunners also committed just 10 turnovers in the 61st all-time meeting with the Mavericks.
LaMarcus Reed (14) and Catlett (12) joined Richardson in double figures for UTA, which shot 42.1 percent, but the Mavericks made only 8-of-24 from downtown and 7-of-14 from the charity stripe.
UTSA built an 18-8 lead early in the first half after making six of its first nine shots, but it suffered through an eight-minute, 47-second scoring drought that helped UTA take a 19-18 advantage on a three by Richardson. Gibson stopped the dry spell with a free throw, but the Mavs extended its lead to 29-21 on a Catlett trey, which capped a 21-3 run.
UT Arlington eventually extended its lead to 10 (34-24) at the break behind 16 points in the paint and a trio of 3-pointers.
