SAN ANTONIO — Ryan Bowie recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 23 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, but Cal Poly had seven players score in double figures to register an 88-73 win on Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.
Bowie went 9-of-16 with three 3-pointers on the night and scored 19 points in the second half to lead the Roadrunners (2-11), who closed non-conference play. Christian Wilson came off the bench to record 13 points and six boards, while Lucas O’Brien chipped in with 10 points.
Josh Martin, Luke Meikle, David Nwaba and Morgan Reese each finished with 12 points for the Mustangs (6-6), who recorded 23 assists and scored 38 points in the paint.
UTSA hit three of its first five shots and recorded an assist on all three, two by Nick Allen, as Cal Poly held an early 7-6 lead. The visitors then rattled off a 16-2 run to extend their slim lead to a 23-8 margin and held a double-digit cushion for the rest of the half.
Wilson stopped the run with a 3-pointer and the sophomore’s hustle forced the Mustangs into a turnover. George Matthews found him for a basket after the turnover and Wilson polished off seven consecutive points for the Roadrunners with a pair of free throws.
However, Cal Poly began to heat up again and it hit seven straight shots as part of a 14-1 run that pushed the lead to 43-19.
Matthews scored the final five points of the half for UTSA, but it trailed 51-26 at intermission.
Like the first half, the final 20 minutes started with an O’Brien basket and the Roadrunners went on an 8-0 spurt early in the half to trail 56-36. Bowie scored five of the eight points during the run with a layup and 3-pointer.
But again, the Mustangs responded with an 11-0 run of their own for a 67-36 cushion, which was their largest of the night.
Bowie began to heat up midway through the period as the Roadrunners started to chip away at the deficit. Bowie found Austin Karrer for an alley-oop dunk with five minutes to play before the senior and Gino Littles combined to score the final 12 points of the game for UTSA.
In all, the Roadrunners outscored the Mustangs 47-37 in the second half, but Cal Poly was able to score the 88-73 victory.
UTSA will be back in action at 6 p.m. on Jan. 1, when they open Conference USA play against North Texas (4-8) at the Convocation Center.