FRESNO, Calif. — Junior Nick Allen recorded his first double-double with career highs of 17 points and 14 rebounds and UTSA dominated on the glass, 55-30, but defending Mountain West Conference Champion Fresno State held on for a 69-66 win on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Allen went 6-of-10 from the floor and pulled down seven offensive rebounds for the Roadrunners (0-1), who totaled 25 offensive boards that led to 25 second-chance points. Freshman Byron Frohnen also notched a double-dip of 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Jeff Beverly added 14 points.
In all, UTSA's 55 rebounds were its most in a game since it finished with 65 in a win over East Central back on Nov. 22, 2008.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (1-0) were led by Cullen Russo's 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Paul Watson added 17 points. Fresno State shot 40.8 percent from the floor and made 23 free throws.
Harris' layup to start the second half cut the Fresno State lead to 28-25, but the home squad slowly extended its advantage to double digits. Jahmel Taylor's 3-pointer with 8:27 to play pushed the home squad's cushion 55-40, their largest of the night.
UTSA responded with a 10-3 run to slice the deficit to single digits, led mostly by a surge from Beverly. The junior big man scored 10 consecutive points for the Roadrunners as part of the stretch that made it 58-50 with 3:21 to play.
The Bulldogs again regained a 10-point lead with a pair of free throws only to see the visitors rip off an 8-1 run that closed the gap to 61-58 with just 1:33 left.
Allen started the spurt with an old-fashioned three-point play and the sophomore again scored inside before De Nicolao drilled a trey at the top of the key that silenced the crowd.
However, Fresno State outscored UTSA 7-2 over the next minute and held on as the Roadrunners clawed back once more. Allen's 3-pointer from the left corner in the closing seconds made it 69-66, but the Bulldogs were able to inbound the ball and run out the clock to secure the victory.
In the first half, Harris scored the first points of the night for the visitors with back-to-back baskets to knot the score at four apiece, but the Bulldogs took control early with a 10-0 run.
However, De Nicolao helped put and end to the run with an assist on a Lucas O'Brien layup before driving to the bucket himself. Jeff Beverly drained the team's first triple of the night before De Nicolao and Frohnen each scored to trim the deficit to 20-15.
UTSA was able to chip away at the Fresno State lead by holding the Bulldogs without a field goal for four-and-a-half minutes. But the Bulldogs were able to push the lead back to 10 with five minutes to go in the half.
The Roadrunners again cut into the deficit on De Nicolao's 3-pointer and Frohnen scored the team's final five points of the half as Fresno State led 28-23 at intermission.
UTSA will be back in action at 4 p.m. (CT) on Sunday when it meets Oregon State (1-0) for the first time in program history. The contest can be seen on the Pac-12 Network.