SAN ANTONIO — UTSA led by as much as 15 in the first half and it used a smothering defense in the closing minutes to score a 57-55 victory against FIU to extend its home winning streak to nine games on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
Jeff Beverly paced the Roadrunners (9-9, 4-1 C-USA), who have now won six of their last seven overall and continued their best-ever Conference USA start, with 17 points. Byron Frohnen notched his third double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while reigning C-USA Freshman of the Week Giovanni De Nicolao added a dozen.
UTSA owned a 24-20 edge in the paint, a 42-35 advantage on the glass and held the Panthers (4-14, 0-5 C-USA) scoreless in the final 3:52 to come away with the victory.
FIU was led by Elmo Stephen's 21 points, while Michael Kessens neared a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. The Panthers shot 34.5 percent and became the fifth UTSA opponent to finish with fewer than 60 points this season.
After UTSA took a 10-point lead to halftime, the Roadrunners came out of the locker room and hit their first five shots of the second half to maintain a double-digit advantage before FIU began to chip away at the deficit.
Stephen scored 12 consecutive points for the Panthers, including three straight 3-pointers, to cut the UTSA lead to single digits.
A pair of De Nicolao free throws with 8:31 to play gave the Roadrunners a 50-42 lead, but the FIU defense clamped down as the visitors went on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to grab a slim 55-52 advantage.
Kessens scored eight points during the run, which was capped by Eric Nottage's layup with 3:52 to play. However, it would prove to be the final points for FIU as the Roadrunners returned the favor with six consecutive empty possessions for the Panthers down the stretch.
Frohnen's layup with 1:11 remaining inched UTSA closer, 55-54, and the freshman sank a pair of free throws with just 40 seconds left that pushed the Roadrunners ahead for good.
Following another defensive stop, Nick Allen made a free throw to extend the lead to 57-55 and the Panthers had one final chance.
Nottage's layup rolled off the rim and Gino Littles was fouled after securing the rebound. The junior missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 1.3 seconds remaining, but the Panthers could not get a shot off before the final buzzer.
FIU did its damage early behind the 3-point line as the team's first four baskets were all triples, including a Kessens trey that gave the visitors an early 12-10 advantage.
However, UTSA responded with a 19-2 run, fueled by an up-tempo attack and smothering defense, to take control of the game.
Beverly started the spurt with a pair of free throws before baskets by De Nicolao and Lucas O'Brien, who also pulled down eight rebounds in the opening half. Bola Alade followed with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from O'Brien extended the lead to 21-12.
After a Panthers basket, Austin Karrer buried a 3-pointer in the corner with the shot clock winding down. The junior was fouled on the play and he made the ensuing freebie for a four-point play and Frohnen closed the run with a pair of buckets in the paint.
When the dust had settled, the Roadrunners owned a 29-14 lead and the home squad took a 34-24 advantage into halftime.
UTSA will be back in action at 8 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, Jan. 21 when it opens a three-game road trip with a matchup at UTEP (3-13, 1-3 C-USA).
