BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Ryan Bowie scored a game-high 25 points, but Dennis Mavin banked-in a shot near half court at the buzzer to send No. 10 seed FIU past seventh-seeded UTSA on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.
Bowie went 9-of-13 from the field and tied a season high with five 3-pointers to lead the Roadrunners (14-16). Keon Lewis added 13 points, including a triple in the closing seconds that tied the game before Mavin’s game-winner, while Jeromie Hill pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
UTSA shot 33.9 percent in the game and held a 37-36 edge on the glass.
Mavin’s 15 points paced the Panthers (16-16), who advance to face No. 2 seed UTEP on Thursday, and he added nine rebounds and five assists. Ray Rodriguez was the only other player in double figures with 14 points.
FIU shot 43.1 percent for the contest and connected on a 52.2-percent clip in the second half.
Trailing 53-51, UTSA was forced to foul Rodriguez, who could have put the game out of reach with a pair of makes at the free-throw line. After he connected on the first, the second attempt rolled out and Lewis tied the game with a long 3-pointer and just 2.7 seconds remained on the clock.
However, Mavin took a pass and dribbled just past half court where he let his shot fly that banked in with no time remaining.
The Panthers led for much of the second half after UTSA held a 26-25 halftime lead and went up 28-25 on a layup from Gino Littles in the opening minute of the period.
FIU jumped ahead on a Rodriguez trey that was followed by Daviyon Draper’s layup. The visitors on the scoreboard would grow their lead to as much as five points, 49-44, with six minutes to play, but the Roadrunners went on a 7-0 run to grab their final lead.
Lewis sandwiched layups around a Hill 3-pointer as UTSA took a 51-49 advantage with two minutes to play.
Mavin tied the score with a layup and Draper hit a jumper in the lane with 46 seconds left that put the Panthers ahead 53-51 and set the stage for the dramatic finish.
Both teams got off to a slow start from the field as FIU missed its first six shots, while UTSA connected on just one of its first half-dozen attempts.
Bowie carried the Roadrunners in the first half and answered the first Panthers’ bucket with the first of his four 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes. The junior drove in for a layup to push the lead to 10-5 before FIU knotted the score with five straight points.
The Panthers held UTSA without a field goal for seven minutes, but Bowie broke the drought with a triple and Lewis’ jumper gave the Roadrunners their largest cushion of the period, 16-10.
FIU followed with seven straight points for its first lead and neither team had more than a two-point advantage the rest of the half.
Christian Wilson hit a pair of free throws to regain the lead for UTSA and Bowie scored the team’s final eight points with a pair of treys and his jumper with two seconds left lifted the Roadrunners to a 26-25 halftime advantage.