SAN ANTONIO — J.R. Harris and Christian Wilson combined for 36 points off the bench, but Utah Valley outscored UTSA 7-2 over the final 92 seconds to claim an 83-78 victory on Saturday at the Convocation Center.
Harris scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half, while Wilson tied a career high with 17 points for the Roadrunners (2-10), who got 44 points from their bench. Wilson also added four assists and three rebounds and Ryan Bowie chipped in with 13 points, seven boards, three assists and three steals.
UTSA shot 42.9 percent from the floor and scored 14 points off 17 turnovers.
Meanwhile, Marcel Davis led four players in double figures with 19 points for the Wolverines (5-6), who hit 11 3-pointers and shot 54.5 percent. Playing in his first game since the end of the 2013-14 season, Hayes Garrity went 6-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-5 from behind the arc for 17 points.
Utah Valley extended a 39-32 halftime lead to 49-37 with an 8-0 run that ended with 16:56 to play on one of four triples from Jaden Jackson.
The Roadrunners started to chip away at the deficit with seven consecutive points that were aided by their defense. A.J. Cockrell took a defensive rebound and quickly found Wilson, who streaked up the floor for a layup to start the spurt. Bowie then picked up a pair of steals that led to easy baskets to trim the Utah Valley lead to 49-44.
UTSA could get no closer and the Wolverines held at least a two-possession lead until the final minutes of the contest.
With 3:57 to play, Utah Valley led 76-70 following a free throw by Davis, but UTSA scored the next six points to tie the game.
Harris started the rally with a jumper and Bowie connected on two free throws before Wilson fired a no-look pass to a wide-open Nick Allen, who finished with nine points, to knot the score with at 76 with just 1:55 on the clock.
However, Davis scored the next five points of the game before Gino Littles connected on a layup. Konner Frey then hit a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left to provide the final 83-78 margin.
Utah Valley started out hot by hitting each of its first four shots, including three 3-pointers, to build an early 11-4 lead. Minutes later, the Wolverines rattled off a 10-0 run for its largest advantage of the contest, 21-7.
The Roadrunners, led by Harris, started to chip away at the deficit. Bowie opened a 7-0 UTSA spurt with a layup that was followed by a long jumper from George Matthews and a basket by Harris to cut the Utah Valley lead in half, 21-14.
To that point, the Roadrunners had shown much of the balance that they did in Wednesday’s win over East Central as each of the team’s first six baskets were from different players.
Harris would score 11 of the team’s next 14 points to give the home squad its first lead of the night, 28-27.
The junior started the stretch with a jumper and he followed a free throw by Wilson, a fellow Baton Rouge, La., native, with another jumper and a layup. Lucas O’Brien had an offensive rebound and putback before Harris closed the stretch with two more free throws and a 3-pointer for the one-point edge.
In all, Harris went 5-of-6 from the floor, including a 2-of-3 effort from behind the arc, and 2-of-2 at the charity stripe in just 10 minutes during the opening period to pace the Roadrunners.
However, Garrity hit all four of his attempts from behind the arc in the first half, including a banked-in triple at the buzzer, to help the Wolverines pull ahead for a 39-32 advantage at halftime.
UTSA will close non-conference play with a 7 p.m. matchup against Cal Poly (5-5) on Tuesday, Dec. 22 at the Convocation Center.