BOCA RATON, Fla. — Ryan Bowie and Christian Wilson combined to score 45 points, but Florida Atlantic built a 26-point second-half lead and held off a late UTSA run to score a 79-73 victory on Thursday night at FAU Arena.
Bowie scored 18 of his team-high 23 points in the second half to help lead the charge for the Roadrunners (4-21, 2-10 C-USA). The senior went 8-of-13 from the floor, 3-of-4 from behind the arc and 4-of-5 at the charity stripe to go along with eight rebounds and two assists.
Wilson added 22 points for the visitors for his fourth consecutive 20-point outing and UTSA shot 45.9 percent from the field.
Meanwhile, Jeantal Cylla led the Owls (7-18, 5-7 C-USA) with 24 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Marquan Botley added 15 points, while Ronald Delph had 12 to help the home squad shoot 55.6 percent and score 44 points in the paint.
UTSA hit three of its first four shots in the second half, but the Owls pushed a 10-point halftime lead to 63-37 with the help of a 19-4 run that included a six-minute scoring drought by the Roadrunners.
However, UTSA began to speed up the Owls with full-court pressure and chip away at the deficit.
The Roadrunners followed Florida Atlantic’s big run with an 18-4 stretch to pull within 12, 67-55, with 3:48 remaining.
A.J. Cockrell started the run with a pair of free throws before Bowie connected in the paint and then behind the arc. Nick Billingsley scored seven points with a layup, 15-foot jumper and 3-pointer mixed in with another Bowie layup.
Wilson got the deficit inside double digits with a four-point play after he hit a free throw, grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed freebie and drained a 3-pointer with 2:29 left.
However, Botley and Cylla combined to score the next five points to extend the cushion to 74-61 with just 1:39 on the clock before the Roadrunners made one final push.
Free throws by Billingsley and Bowie again got the deficit to 10, 76-66, with just 20 ticks left. A steal by Austin Karrer led to a Bowie trey and Wilson drove in for a layup after two missed free throws from the Owls.
Following a Florida Atlantic free throw, Karrer had a putback dunk with four seconds left to make the score 77-73, but UTSA could get no closer and the Owls were able to escape with the 79-73 triumph.
Florida Atlantic started fast with three consecutive layups before Bowie put the Roadrunners on the board with a 3-pointer. The Owls pounded the paint early, where they scored their first 12 points. The home squad followed with three straight 3-pointers for a 21-9 cushion.
UTSA would clamp down defensively as it allowed just six points inside over the final 12:45. The Roadrunners forced four straight turnovers and cut into the deficit with six straight points of their own to pull within 21-15, only to see the Owls respond with a triple and layup to regain a double-digit edge.
The visitors got within seven, 28-21, in the final minutes of the period, but Florida Atlantic took a 35-25 advantage to halftime.
UTSA will make the short drive south for a 6 p.m. (CT) contest at FIU (11-14, 5-7 C-USA) on Saturday.