SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Jeff Beverly neared a double-double with 17 points and a season-high nine rebounds, but Cal Poly got a game-high 18 points from Kyle Toth and held off the Roadrunners for a 59-47 win on Thursday night at Mott Athletics Center.
Beverly went 9-of-12 from the free-throw line for half of his points to lead the Roadrunners (2-5), who outrebounded the Mustangs (4-4) 43-34. Byron Frohnen also pulled down nine boards and UTSA managed 14 offensive rebounds that it turned into 15 second-chance points.
The UTSA defense held Cal Poly to its season-low points total and just 35.7 percent shooting. The Roadrunners now have held three of their seven opponents to fewer than 60 points.
Meanwhile, Toth went 6-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-6 from behind the arc for his game-high total and Victor Joseph added 16 points, 12 of which he scored during a key first-half run.
The teams traded baskets in the early minutes and UTSA grabbed a 10-7 lead following Austin Karrer's 3-pointer and a Beverly free throw. However, Cal Poly responded with a 15-2 run and it would not trail the rest of the night.
Joseph did most of the damage during the spurt with all 12 of his first-half points, while Toth added a triple that pushed the Mustangs to a 22-12 lead.
Beverly trimmed the deficit to 27-19 with a pair of free throws, but a Ridge Shipley three-point play and another Toth trey extended the Cal Poly lead to 33-19 at halftime.
UTSA came out of the intermission on a 10-2 run thanks to the help of Giovanni De Nicolao. Limited to just four minutes because of foul trouble in the first half, De Nicolao had a pair of baskets during the stretch and assisted on another.
The run pulled the Roadrunners within 35-29, but Cal Poly responded with a 17-5 run of its own. The Mustangs turned three straight UTSA turnovers into three 3-pointers during the stretch and when the dust had settled, Cal Poly had its largest lead of the night at 52-34.
However, the Roadrunners would not go away and the defense would hold the Mustangs to just seven points in the game's final nine minutes. UTSA reached the double-bonus with seven minutes to play and the visitors began to chip away at the free-throw line.
Beverly and James Ringholt combined for five straight makes at the charity stripe and Frohnen's three-point play with 4:03 remaining pulled UTSA within 52-42. The Roadrunners could get no closer, however, as they got within 10 three times down the stretch but could not slice the deficit to single digits.
UTSA will continue its three-game road trip with an 8:30 p.m. (CT) matchup on Saturday at Utah Valley (4-2).
