SAN ANTONIO — Earvin Morris scored a career-high 23 points to lead visiting UTEP to a 73-55 victory against UTSA on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
Kaj-Björn Sherman and Larry Lewis Jr. paced the Roadrunners (8-8, 2-3 C-USA) with 11 points apiece, while Jeromie Hill added 10. UTSA shot 38.5 percent in the contest and held a 35-32 edge on the glass.
Meanwhile, Morris went 9-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-9 from behind the arc to lead Miners (11-5, 3-1 C-USA), who now have won 12 of their last 13 Conference USA road games. Cedrick Lang and Julian Washburn each added 11 points and UTEP shot 49.1 percent, including a 54.8 percent clip in the second half.
The Miners extended a 30-26 halftime lead with a 10-4 run to start the second half.
A Keon Lewis three-point play helped cut into the deficit, but Washburn’s jumper with 13:11 to play gave UTEP a 46-35 lead. The Miners’ advantage remained more than 10 points the rest of the way and grew to as much as 18,including the 73-55 final.
Both teams started hot from the field in the back-and-forth opening minutes.
Phillip Jones’ three-point play gave the Roadrunners their first lead, 13-11, before the Miners rattled off an 8-0 run for a 19-13 cushion.
However, Larry Lewis Jr. drained what would be UTSA’s only 3-pointer of the first half to ignite a 9-0 spurt. Keon Lewis’ steal and layup was followed by a pair of free throws from Hill and another inside basket by Sherman.
The UTSA defense did its part during the run as it held UTEP without a field goal for nearly five-and-a-half minutes. Sherman’s basket gave the Roadrunners a 22-19 lead, but Morris ended the Miners’ drought with a 3-pointer and Cedrick Lang’s free throw returned the advantage to UTEP.
The Miners hit each of their last three shots in the period and despite Sherman’s jumper at the buzzer, UTEP led 30-26 at halftime.
UTSA will take to the road for a pair of games next week, beginning with a 5 p.m. (CT) contest on Thursday, Jan. 22 at Marshall (4-13, 0-4 C-USA).