HATTIESBURG, Miss. — UTSA erased a 15-point second-half deficit with a 20-0 run, but Chip Armelin scored a game-high 21 points to lead Southern Miss to a 70-66 victory on Thursday night at Reed Green Coliseum.
Ryan Bowie led the Roadrunners (13-13, 7-8 C-USA), who dropped their third straight contest, with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the campaign. Keon Lewis added 16 points, while Jeromie Hill neared a double-double of his own with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Hill moved past Leon Watson (1996-2000) to claim the top spot on the school’s all-time rebounds list and he is the first player in program history to pull down 800 boards.
UTSA shot 38.7 percent in the game but held a 43-30 advantage on the glass.
Meanwhile, Armelin went 8-of-17 from the floor and scored 10 straight points to help the Golden Eagles (8-19, 3-13 C-USA) rally to snap a two-game skid. Matt Bingaya registered the fourth double-double of his career with 17 points and 10 assists, while Shadell Millinghaus hit four first-half 3-pointers en route to 12 points.
Southern Miss shot 46.4 percent and scored 32 points in the paint.
Norville Carey’s jumper with 13:56 to play pushed the Golden Eagles’ lead to 50-35, before UTSA went on its 20-0 run to reclaim the lead.
Bowie scored 11 points during the run, which started with a 3-pointer from the junior, and baskets from Gino Littles and Hill trimmed the deficit to 50-43. Bowie then native hit a pair of free throws and back-to-back treys for a 51-50 edge with 7:25 to go.
The Roadrunners finished the stretch with freebies by Hill and Larry Lewis Jr. to extend the lead to 55-50 with 5:39 on the clock.
However, Armelin scored 10 straight points for the home squad as Southern Miss outscored UTSA 20-11 the rest of the way.
The Golden Eagles pushed their lead to as much as eight with 1:10 left, but the Roadrunners put together one more push.
Bowie drove inside for a basket, was fouled and converted the free throw for a three-point play and he raced down the floor for a steal on the defensive end. Lewis Jr. took the feed and his layup trimmed the deficit to 68-66 with 27 ticks left, but UTSA could get no closer.
Bingaya hit two free throws with 23 seconds on the clock and the Roadrunners missed two 3-pointers as Southern Miss held on for the four-point victory.
UTSA opened the game the contest on fire by hitting five of its first six shots for an early 10-4 lead. Lewis jumper was followed by three consecutive buckets from Lucas O’Brien, who made his first career start and set a career high with eight points.
The Golden Eagles went on a 7-0 run to take its first lead, 15-13, with 13:27 remaining in the half and had an 18-15 cushion following an Armelin jumper.
Lewis had an old-fashioned three-point play and Hill buried a triple to regain a 21-18 advantage before the Roadrunners went cold from the field.
Southern Miss responded with a 13-0 run and held UTSA scoreless for nearly six minutes to build a 31-21 lead. Millinghaus led the way during the spurt with three 3-pointers.
The Roadrunners got to within five points on a Lewis triple, but the visitors went into halftime with a 37-28 deficit.
UTSA will head to Louisiana Tech (22-7, 13-3 C-USA) on Saturday for its final road game of the regular season. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.