SAN ANTONIO — UTSA used a 12-2 second half run to pull away and extend its home winning streak to seven games with a 67-55 victory against UTEP on Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
Nick Billingsley came off the bench to score 17 points for the Roadrunners (6-8, 1-0 C-USA), who have won four of their last five and surpassed last season's win total. The senior made a pair of 3-pointers and was a perfect 9-for-9 at the free-throw line to go along with four rebounds, an assist and a block. Lucas O'Brien joined him in double figures with a season-high 13 points, while Gino Littles added 11.
UTSA forced 16 turnovers and turned those miscues into 22 points, while it committed a season-low nine giveaways. The Roadrunners also held their fourth opponent to fewer than 60 points, after doing so just once all of last season.
Meanwhile, Dominic Artis paced the Miners (2-11, 0-1 C-USA) with a game-high 18 points and Omega Harris added a dozen. UTEP shot 44.7 percent and scored 30 points in the paint.
Billingsley and reigning C-USA Freshman of the Week Byron Frohnen combined to score the first 13 points for the Roadrunners as UTSA grabbed the upper hand in the early minutes.
Frohnen scored the first five points of the contest, which included an old-fashioned three-point play before Billingsley provided a spark off the bench. The senior scored eight consecutive points and his three-point play ignited a 9-0 UTSA run.
Austin Karrer nailed a 17-footer before an O'Brien tip in and two more free throws by Billingsley gave the Roadrunners a 19-9 advantage.
However, the Miners began to heat up and stifled the UTSA offense as they responded with a 16-4 run to claim a 25-23 lead.
Another O'Brien offensive rebound and putback helped slow the UTEP momentum, but the visitors took a slim 30-29 lead to halftime.
UTSA would not trail for long as Frohnen hit a jumper on the team's first possession of the second half and Giovanni De Nicolao also connected from 17-feet for a 33-30 lead. But the Miners prevented the Roadrunners from pulling away and Artis' layup with 14:40 to play gave the visitors a 38-37 lead, but it would prove to be their last advantage of the day.
UTSA responded with its 12-2 run that put it in control for the rest of the contest.
Jeff Beverly got the run started with a jumper in the paint before a 3-pointer from Billingsley and a basket from O'Brien. Kelvin Jones slowed the Roadrunners' momentum briefly with a dunk, but Billingsley found Littles in the corner for a trey and O'Brien tipped in a miss for a 49-40 cushion.
An Artis 3-pointer trimmed the lead to 50-45 with 5:29 to play, but that would be as close as UTEP would get. O'Brien answered with a triple of his own that sparked a 7-0 spurt and extended the lead back to double figures at 57-45.
The Miners began fouling to extend the game with 1:48 left only to watch the Roadrunners, who tied a season high with 24 free throws made, go 10-for-12 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the 67-55 triumph.
UTSA will continue C-USA play at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 5, when it travels to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on Southern Miss (3-10, 0-1 C-USA) at Reed Green Coliseum.
