SAN ANTONIO — Milton Doyle scored a season-high 27 points, while UTSA shot just 25 percent in the second half as visiting Loyola-Chicago rallied for a 71-57 win on Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.
Jeromie Hill led the Roadrunners (2-2) with a season-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds, a block and a steal. The Cairns, Australia, native went 7-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-5 from behind the arc and hit a pair of free throws. Kaj-Bjorn Sherman was the only other player in double figures for UTSA with a season-best 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
The Roadrunners shot 50 percent in the first half on their way to a 33-27 halftime lead, but finished at just 37 percent for the game.
Meanwhile, Doyle scored 17 of his game-high total in the second half for the Ramblers (3-1) and went 7-of-10 for the night, including five 3-pointers and eight free throws. Christian Thomas and Devon Turk each finished with 11 points for the visitors, who shot 46.9 percent on the night.
After Loyola-Chicago scored the game’s first four points, Hill tallied seven consecutive points for UTSA to set the stage for a back-and-forth first half that featured three ties and nine lead changes.
A James Ringholt 3-pointer, one of two that he would hit in the stanza, gave the home squad a 12-9 edge before the Ramblers regained the advantage with a quick 6-0 spurt. But Sherman hit a jumper and Christian Wilson made an acrobatic layup to regain a slim lead.
Another jumper from Hill put UTSA ahead 21-19 before Loyola-Chicago rattled off an 8-0 run for their largest lead of the half, 27-21.
Thomas’ layup with 5:26 remaining in the half capped the stretch and it would prove to be the last basket that the Ramblers would get before halftime.
The Roadrunners defense put the clamps down on Loyola-Chicago, as they forced four turnovers and four missed shots while going on a 12-0 run of their own.
Keon Lewis started the run with a 17-foot jumper before Hill sandwiched a layup and a pair of free throws around a Larry Lewis Jr. 3-pointer. Lewis Jr. helped cap the run with a steal that led to a layup for Ryan Bowie and UTSA went to intermission with a 33-27 lead.
Out of halftime, Baskets by Sherman and Bowie gave the Roadrunners a 37-30 advantage, their largest of the game, with 16:58 to play before going cold from the floor.
The Ramblers rattled off seven consecutive points to tie the score at 37 before scoring 16 of the next 20 points for their first double-digit advantage, 54-44 with five minutes to play.
From there, Loyola-Chicago increased its lead at the free-throw line, where it connected on 10 freebies in the final two minutes en route to the 71-57 win.
UTSA will close out its season-opening five-game homestand at noon on Sunday when it hosts Southern Utah (0-3).