CORPUS CHRISTI — UTSA went on a 17-2 run early in the second half to turn a seven-point deficit into a double-digit advantage and never looked back in a 73-60 victory at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday night at American Bank Center.
Ryan Bowie led the way with 20 points for the Roadrunners (4-4), who picked up their second road win of the campaign. The Lewisville native went 8-of-12 from the floor with four 3-pointers to go along with five rebounds and an assist en route to his second consecutive 20-point outing.
Keon Lewis hit 13 free throws on his way to 19 points and he was joined in double figures by Jeromie Hill (10 points/8 rebounds) and Kaj-Björn Sherman (11 points/7 rebounds).
UTSA shot 59.3 percent in the second half and 47.9 percent for the game and scored 15 points off 15 turnovers.
Meanwhile, John Jordan paced the Islanders (3-5) with 21 points while Rashawn Thomas added 18 points and six boards.
Brandon Pye opened the second half with a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to extend Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s lead to 32-25 before the Roadrunners went on their game-changing run.
Bowie opened the stretch with a jumper and layup before a pair of Sherman free throws trimmed the deficit to 32-31. Hill followed with a layup for UTSA’s first lead since the opening minute, which was short lived after an inside basket from Jordan.
However, Hill put the Roadrunners ahead for good with 16:49 to play with a 3-pointer and Bowie capped the run with back-to-back triples for a 42-34 lead.
With a 10-point advantage minutes later, UTSA put the game away with a 9-0 stretch for its largest lead of the contest, 61-49, with seven minutes to play.
Lewis started the run with an old-fashioned three-point play and Sherman added a pair of freebies for a 57-42 cushion. Lewis then connected on a jumper and Gino Littles − who finished with four points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in his first collegiate start − capped the run with a layup.
Bowie answered an opening basket by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with the first of his two 3-pointers in the opening half, but the 3-2 advantage would prove to be the Roadrunners’ only lead until a basket by Hill with 17:23 in the 2nd half.
The Islanders caught fire from the field and shot 50 percent in the early going en route to a 19-12 lead, their largest of the stanza.
However, Austin Karrer’s block led to a fast break and Littles found his classmate for a dunk. After an offensive foul, James Ringholt knocked down a 3-pointer at the top of the key to pull UTSA within a basket at 19-17.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi outscored the Roadrunners 10-8 over the final six-and-a-half minutes to take a 29-25 lead to halftime.
UTSA will be back in action at 7 p.m. on Saturday, when it travels to Ft. Worth for a matchup at TCU (10-0).