BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Jeff Beverly scored 20 points, but Justin Johnson notched his sixth double-double of the season with game highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead WKU to an 81-66 victory against visiting UTSA on Saturday afternoon at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Beverly went 9-of-21 from the floor to go along with seven boards and a pair of assists for the Roadrunners (9-12, 4-4 C-USA). Byron Frohnen neared a double-double of his own with 13 points and eight boards, while Giovanni De Nicolao added 10 points.
Meanwhile, Justin Johnson hit six of his first seven shots and finished 8-of-13 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, to pace the Hilltoppers (11-11, 5-4 C-USA). Que Johnson added 19 points and went 5-of-6 from behind the arc and Pancake Thomas chipped in with 11 points.
The Hilltoppers shot 54.7 percent from the floor and racked up 18 assists on their 29 baskets.
WKU came out on fire early and the home squad would shoot 57.1 percent in the first half behind a combined 29 points from Justin Johnson and Que Johnson. Justin Johnson scored 14 of his game-high 16 first-half points to help the Hilltoppers jump out to a 28-10 lead.
A trey by Que Johnson with 6:33 to play in the half gave the home squad its largest lead of the period, 36-17, before the Roadrunners rattled off a 14-2 run to climb back in the game.
Frohnen started the rally with a layup on a nice feed from Beverly. Beverly then stepped out and hit a jumper followed by a 3-pointer before Littles tipped in a missed layup that forced the Hilltoppers to call timeout.
Anton Waters scored out of the break to try and slow the UTSA momentum, but the Roadrunners picked up their next five points at the free-throw line. Frohnen made a pair before Austin Karrer hit three straight at the charity stripe after he was fouled on a shot behind the arc.
When the dust had settled, UTSA had whittled the deficit down to just 38-31 with two minutes before halftime.
Karrer buried a corner triple with a minute to go in the half and the Hilltoppers lead was 43-35 at intermission.
However, WKU seized control with a 22-7 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half for its largest lead of the day, 65-42.
Nick Allen started a 9-2 spurt with a drive and a dunk as UTSA tried to bounce back. George Willborn III, who finished with eight points and three assists, had a bucket during the stretch that ended on a De Nicolao triple.
With three minutes to play, the Roadrunners ripped off eight straight points to again cut into the deficit, but it could get no closer than 12 in the final minutes. Willborn III finished a three-point play in the waning seconds for the final points of the 81-66 tally.
UTSA will open a four-game home stand at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, when it hosts league-leading Middle Tennessee (18-3, 8-0 C-USA) at the Convocation Center.
