CHARLOTTE – Jhivvan Jackson scored 30 and Keaton Wallace 17 as the dynamic freshman duo led UTSA to a 97-89 overtime win at Charlotte on Saturday night at the 49ers Halton Arena.
Jackson poured in his 30 points on 11 field goals, including four 3-pointers, and four free throws. Wallace dropped in his 17 on six buckets, which was highlighted by a 5 of 5 effort from three. Byron Frohnen added 15 points and Deon Lyle had 11 to round out the Roadrunners in double-figures.
UTSA (15-12, 8-6 C-USA) shot a season-high 61 percent (36 of 59) from the floor, including season-best 52 percent (13 of 25) from three. The Roadrunners outscored Charlotte 30-18 off the bench and 11-2 on the fastbreak.
Andrien White led Charlotte (5-20, 1-13 C-USA) with 26 points, which included the 49ers last 10 points in regulation. Jon Davis scored 19 and Luka Vasic 13 to lead the 49ers.
Charlotte shot 43 percent (31 of 72) for the game and outrebound the Roadrunners 38-30, including 18-5 on the offensive glass.
Charlotte cut the UTSA lead to 55-52 at the 13:11 mark of the second half after back-to-back buckets by Vasic and Milos Supica. However, Lyle immediately answered the 49er spurt with a 3-point at the top of the key to push the Roadrunners back up by two possessions. After a 3-point play by Vasic cut the UTSA advantage to 58-55, the Roadrunners ripped off a 9-3 run to take a 67-58 lead with 8:33 showing on the clock.
The Roadrunner's lead would be trimmed to 73-70 on a Davis jumper at the 4:50 mark, but again UTSA answered with a three – this time from George Willborn III – to push its lead back to multiple possessions.
Less than two minutes later White converted a 3-point play to bring the 49ers within one at 78-77. Jackson then made a pair at the stripe, but White answered with consecutive scores inside to give the 49ers an 81-80 lead with 40 seconds to go. Jackson then made an 18-foot jumper to push the Roadrunners back in front with 28 seconds to go.
White then scored in the paint and made the ensuing free throw with 10 seconds to play for an 84-82 Charlotte advantage. UTSA did not panic and ran a play that found Jackson open from the right baseline and the freshman hit the jumper to send the game into overtime knotted at 84.
Jackson made a 3-pointer to open the extra session and Kendell Ramlal followed with a tip-in a minute later to give the Roadrunners an 89-84 advantage. Charlotte never got closer than three the rest of the overtime and Jackson capped the game's scoring with a layup with 36 seconds remaining for his 29th and 30th points.
UTSA used a 59.3 shooting percentage, including a 53.8 percent clip from three, to build a 41-34 halftime lead. UTSA made each of its first four shots of the game, then after missing two straight, the Roadrunners knocked down six of their next seven to build a lead it would not surrender over the remainder of the period. Wallace led all scorers with 14 first-half points, including a perfect 4 of 4 effort from behind the 3-point line.
Up next
UTSA plays its final two homes games of the regular season, starting Thurs., Feb. 24 against Southern Miss. UTSA then closes its home slate with its senior day celebration prior to the LA Tech contest on Sat., Jan. 26.
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