CORPUS CHRISTI — UTSA trimmed a 10-point second-half deficit to a point in the final minute, but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi got a season-high 25 points from Rashawn Thomas to help hold off the Roadrunners, 73-69, on Sunday afternoon at American Bank Center.
Nick Billingsley led UTSA (3-8), which shot 47.3 percent for the game and 51.6 percent in the second half, with 13 points off the bench. Byron Frohnen added 12, his most since scoring a career-high 18 against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 19.
UTSA won the battle on the glass, 39-29, including 14 offensive rebounds, and scored 36 points in the paint.
Meanwhile, Thomas went 8-of-20 from the floor and hit 11 free throws to pace the Islanders (7-2). Ehab Amin added 18 points, including 12 in the second half.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi shot 46.8 percent and outscored UTSA at the free-throw line 20-10.
The Roadrunners got off to a good start on both ends of the floor as they forced turnovers on the first two Islanders possessions. After the turnovers, Jeff Beverly nailed a triple and Frohnen drove inside for a basket for the early advantage.
Four of UTSA's first five baskets came from behind the arc and the visitors got an old-fashioned three-point play from Mitar Stanojevic to hold their lead. George Willborn III's layup with 8:34 to go in the half gave the Roadrunners an 18-14 edge, but the Islanders would outscore UTSA 18-8 the rest of the half, including a 12-2 run, for a 32-26 advantage at intermission.
Thomas led the way with 16 points in the period, 10 of which came in the final 8:15 of the half.
UTSA came out of the locker room with an 8-0 run to reclaim the upper-hand at 34-32. Nick Allen started the run with a drive to the basket and layup before Frohnen scored inside. Allen then hit two free throws to tie the game and Beverly added two more at the charity stripe for the lead.
However, Amin fueled a 9-2 Islanders run that gave the home squad the advantage once more and it would not trail again. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi extended the cushion to 10 twice, including with 4:31 to play on Joseph Kilgore's layup before the UTSA rally started.
The Roadrunners would outscore the Islanders 16-7 in the four minutes following Kilgore's basket to trim the deficit to 70-69 with 45 seconds to play.
Giovanni De Nicolao scored five points in the stretch, while Billingsley added a pair of baskets and Lucas O'Brien drilled a corner triple. Gino Littles' driving layup from Billingsley got the Roadrunners within a point, but Kilgore drove in for a dunk on the Islanders' next possession and Amin put the game out of reach with a free throw with eight seconds to play.
UTSA will return home to face Utah Valley (5-5) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at the Convocation Center.
