SAN ANTONIO – UTSA fell by an 87-67 final to Oklahoma on Monday evening in front of 2,494 fans at the Convocation Center.
Oklahoma (2-0) was led by Christian James' game-high 24 points, while Aaron Calixte scored 18 and Brady Manek added 10. The Sooners closed the game shooting 50.7 percent (35 of 69) from the field with eight 3-pointers.
Keaton Wallace paced UTSA (0-2) with 16 points for his second consecutive 15-plus point game to open the season. Nick Allen finished with 15 points and Giovanni De Nicolao collected his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Byron Frohnen nearly posted a double-double with nine points and 10 boards.
UTSA shot 35.6 percent (26 of 73) for the contest, including nine makes from 3-point range. The Roadrunners won the battle on the boards 42-14, but Oklahoma won inside on the offensive end, outscoring UTSA 52-32 in the paint.
UTSA quickly erased its 10-point first half deficit, scoring 15 of the second half's first 20 points to knot the score at 44-all on a Wallace bucket. On the ensuing possession, De Nicolao gave the Roadrunners their first lead of the game with a driving layup at the 14:39 mark. Two free throws each by Frohnen and De Nicolao extended the UTSA lead to 52-48.
The Roadrunners would be unable to hold the lead long as Oklahoma used a three and inside score by Miles Reynolds to re-establish a lead. The spurt sparked a 24-7 Sooner run that left the visitors ahead 72-59 with just over six minutes to play.
UTSA would be unable to mount a final rally as the Roadrunners made only three of their final eight shots and OU closed the game on a 15-8 scoring streak to provide the 87-67 final.
UTSA was down 9-0 after missing each of its first 16 shots before Adrian Rodriguez found an inside bucket at the 12:09 mark. The Roadrunners later trailed 23-14 before making each of their next six shots, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Wallace, to tie the game at 28. However, Oklahoma finished the half on an 11-1 run over the final 3:05 to take a 39-29 lead into the intermission
Up next
UTSA travels to Oklahoma State on Wednesday, Nov. 14 for a 7 p.m. contest against the Cowboys. The game will air on FOX Sports Regional Networks.
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