SAN ANTONIO — Ryan Bowie scored 18 points and Jeromie Hill recorded the 11th double-double of his career, but UTSA could not overcome a cold shooting night in a 63-62 loss to Texas-Pan American on Monday night at the Convocation Center.
Bowie, who had a season-high 12 points by halftime, also had six rebounds and three steals in a team-high 39 minutes for the Roadrunners (1-1). Hill scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half and pulled down 10 boards, while Keon Lewis also reached double figures with 10 points.
UTSA shot just 30.7 percent in the contest and scored 15 points off 18 turnovers.
Meanwhile, Janari Joesaar led four players in double figures for the Broncs (2-0) with 17 points, 18 rebounds, six blocks and four assists. Shaquille Boga scored nine of his 16 points, including a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left, in the final 7:35 to thwart UTSA’s late rally.
A pair of free throws from Boga gave Texas-Pan American its largest lead of the game, 58-51, with 3:28 to before the Roadrunners began to claw back.
Lewis started the rally with a 3-pointer and Bowie’s three-point play with just under two minutes to play quickly cut the deficit to 58-57. Boga countered with a jumper, but Bowie knotted the score at 60 with 1:15 on the clock on his third trey of the night.
Boga silenced the crowd with a 3-pointer of his own as the shot clock was winding down and the three-point advantage would hold up.
Kaj-Björn Sherman knocked in a pair of free throws with 32 seconds to play for a 63-62 deficit. UTSA had opportunities after missed free throws from the Broncs, but late 3-point attempts from Larry Lewis Jr. and Bowie would not fall.
Larry Lewis Jr. and Keon Lewis each had baskets to start the second half for a 31-27 lead, but an 8-0 run gave Texas-Pan American a lead that it would only briefly relinquish.
The Broncs led by as much as five, 47-42, until a quick 8-2 burst from the home squad reclaimed a 50-49 advantage with 7:55 to go.
Hill started the stretch with a dunk and a jumper before a Sherman dunk and Lewis Jr. layup gave UTSA a slim lead.
But Boga drove to the basket for a layup that started an 8-0 run before UTSA’s late comeback attempt.
Bowie led the Roadrunners in the early minutes as he connected on his first three attempts from the floor for eight of the squad’s first 13 points.
Boga’s jumper tied the score at 13 before UTSA went on a 7-0 run for its largest lead of the contest, 20-13.
Hill started the run with a steal and layup that was followed by a pair of free throws from Lewis. After a timeout, freshman Austin Karrer drained his first collegiate 3-pointer to cap the spurt with just more than 11 minutes to go before halftime.
However, the Roadrunners went ice cold from the field and made just three of their final 23 attempts of the stanza. The Broncs countered the UTSA run with a 7-1 stretch of their own to pull within one, 21-20.
Bowie again put a stop to the spurt with a layup that was followed by an inside basket from Hill for a 25-20 cushion. Texas-Pan American would take a brief 26-25 lead on a pair of freebies by Shaquille Hines and the teams would go into the break deadlocked at 27.
The Roadrunners will return to the court for a 2 p.m. matchup with I-35 rival Texas State (1-0) on Saturday at the Convocation Center.