DENTON — Jeromie Hill scored a season-high 23 points and UTSA pulled away in the second half for a 71-61 victory at North Texas on Sunday afternoon at The Super Pit.
Hill went 9-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc, to go along with six rebounds, a pair of blocks and an assist in 37 minutes for the Roadrunners (6-6, 1-1 C-USA). He was joined in double figures by Ryan Bowie and Keon Lewis, who each finished with 16 points.
UTSA shot 43.8 percent in the contest and warmed up to connect on 50 percent of its attempts in the second half. The Roadrunners also held a 33-30 edge on the glass.
Meanwhile, Jordan Williams paced the Mean Green (6-8, 0-2 C-USA) with 17 points and six rebounds and Muhammed Ahmed came off the bench to score 14 points. North Texas shot 56 percent in the first half, but cooled to 46.2 percent for the game after hitting just 37 percent in the second half.
The back-and-forth game featured nine ties and 15 lead changes and a three-point play by Ahmed gave the Mean Green a 49-47 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Hill, Lewis and Kaj-Björn Sherman combined to hit five free throws as part of a 7-0 stretch that gave UTSA the lead for good. Lewis capped the run with a drive to the basket and layup that forced a North Texas timeout.
The Mean Green cut the Roadrunners’ lead to one on another three-point play by Ahmed, but UTSA would outscore the home squad 16-7 over the final six minutes to pull away for the win.
After hitting just four of its eight attempts at the free-throw line in the first half, the Roadrunners made 9-of-10 at the charity stripe down the stretch to help seal the victory.
Lewis hit a 3-pointer in the corner and Bowie knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Roadrunners their largest lead, 67-56, with just 1:38 to go and UTSA held at least a two-score advantage the rest of the way.
North Texas shot 56 percent in the first half and hit six of its first eight shots to help build a 13-7 lead before back-to-back 3-pointers from Hill and Bowie knotted the score.
Jeremy Combs’ free throw with about 10 minutes to go in the half pushed the North Texas lead to 19-15, but the Roadrunners again responded, this time with a 9-0 run.
Lewis started the stretch with a free throw and Hill’s triple tied the score at 19. Lewis’ 17-footer gave UTSA the lead and Hill capped the spurt with his third 3-pointer of the half.
However, the Mean Green forced eight Roadrunners turnovers over the final eight minutes of the half and outscored the visitors 13-5 in that time to claim a 32-29 advantage at halftime.
The Roadrunners will return to the court for a 7 p.m. contest on Thu., Jan. 8 against Southern Miss (5-7, 0-1 C-USA) at the Convocation Center.