LAS VEGAS — Ryan Bowie and J.R. Harris combined for 43 points, but Texas Southern went on a 20-4 run in the second half to score a 91-80 win on Wednesday afternoon in the consolation game on of the Men Who Speak Up Main Event.
Bowie went 9-of-15 from the floor to finish with 22 points, his third game of at least 20 points this season, for the Roadrunners (1-5). Harris connected on 6-of-9 from behind the arc for his season-high 21 points, while George Matthews added a career-best 10 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, David Blanks and Chris Thomas led the Tigers (1-4) with 23 points apiece. Texas Southern shot 51 percent in the contest and attempted 41 more free throws than UTSA.
Nick Allen extended a 42-35 halftime lead with a drive to the basket and layup on the Roadrunners’ first possession of the second half and another layup from Bowie with 18:15 to play gave UTSA a 48-39 advantage.
However, that’s when the Tigers rattled off their 20-4 run to take the lead for good.
Blanks scored eight points during the stretch and his 3-pointer with 15:10 on the clock gave Texas Southern a 51-50 lead, which was its first advantage since early in the first half.
Bowie slowed the run with an inside basket, but Thomas hit a trey and capped the spurt with a pair of free throws for a 59-52 cushion.
The Tigers answered every charge by the Roadrunners in the final eight minutes.
Harris tried to keep UTSA close with three consecutive 3-pointers and a pair of Bowie free throws trimmed the Tigers lead to 81-75 with 1:39 remaining in the contest. Another Harris trey cut the deficit to 85-80 with 1:02 left, but the Roadrunners would get no closer.
Texas Southern enjoyed a healthy advantage at the foul line all afternoon and went 4-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final minute to salt away the 91-80 final.
Austin Karrer’s 3-pointer helped UTSA jump out to a 7-1 lead and another triple from Matthews pushed the cushion to 12-5 in the early minutes. The Tigers responded with a 7-0 run to tie the score and Texas Southern took its first lead, 15-14, with 13:33 to play in the half.
The Roadrunners quickly regained the upper hand as Nick Billingsley ignited a 10-1 spurt with a jumper. Harris sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a basket inside from A.J. Cockrell to extend the lead to 24-16 with 10 minutes remaining in the period.
After the Tigers had trimmed the UTSA lead to 26-23, Bowie and Matthews teamed up to give the Roadrunners their first double-digit cushion of the day with seven straight points. Bowie knocked in a 17-foot jumper before Matthews connected on a layup and 3-pointer for a 33-23 lead.
The Roadrunners would not trail for the rest of the half and they took a 42-35 lead to intermission.
UTSA will be back in action at 6 p.m. on Sunday when it opens its home slate against UT Permian Basin (3-2).