SAN ANTONIO — Keon Lewis scored 22 points, but Rice got a combined 48 points from Marcus Jackson and Seth Gearhart en route to a 76-74 victory at UTSA on Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
Lewis made eight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, for his ninth 20-point game to pace the Roadrunners (13-15, 7-10 C-USA). Jeromie Hill (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Ryan Bowie (10 points, 10 rebounds) added double doubles and Kaj-Björn Sherman chipped in with 12 points.
UTSA shot 44.1 percent for the game and outscored the Owls (11-18, 8-9 C-USA) 44-24 in the paint.
Jackson led the way for Rice, which hit 12 3-pointers, with 25 points, while Gearhart added 23. The visitors shot 62.1 percent in the opening half and 49.1 percent for the contest.
The opening minutes featured one tie and four lead changes, but Rice began to heat up from behind the arc and take control of the game.
Following Hill’s 3-pointer that gave the Roadrunners a 9-7 lead, the Owls rattled off a 14-2 run for a 21-11 cushion and it would not trail again.
UTSA started to heat up from the field as well and hit 7-of-8 shots during a stretch and it went on an 8-0 run to knot the score at 25. Lewis started the run with a layup and capped it with a 3-pointer after Bowie drilled a trey.
However, Rice went on a 17-6 run and the visitors took a 46-35 lead to halftime.
Jackson knocked in another of his six 3-pointers to give the Owls their largest lead of the game, 49-37, in the opening minutes of the second half.
UTSA trailed 51-41 with 16 minutes remaining before it clamped down on defense and crawled back in the game. The Roadrunners held Rice scoreless for four minutes and went on a 7-0 run to pull within 51-48.
The home squad trimmed the deficit to a basket three times over the next seven minutes and Hill’s trey with 4:03 got UTSA within 65-64. However, Jackson quieted the crowd with the last of his six 3-pointers.
The Roadrunners put together one more rally in the final minute after a pair of Max Guercy free throws gave the Owls a 74-68 lead with 30 seconds to play.
Hill cut the deficit in half with a 3-pointer and Jackson hit 1-of-2 free throws on the other end to keep a two-possession lead. Lewis then hit a triple with just four seconds left and UTSA was forced to foul.
Gearhart made just 1-of-2 free throws to leave the door open for UTSA, but Gino Littles’ 30-footer at the buzzer did not fall.
UTSA will close out regular season play with a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday against North Texas (14-15, 8-9 C-USA).