HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Giovanni De Nicolao scored 18 points but UTSA could not overcome a cold shooting performance in an 81-48 loss to Southern Miss in Conference USA Bonus Play action Saturday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum.
The Roadrunners shot just 28.8 percent (17-59), including 5 of 27 (18.5%) from behind the three-point line, and only converted 9 of 16 (56.3%) at the free-throw line in falling to 17-14 overall and 11-7 in the league, still good for a three-way tie for second place with WKU and Southern Miss.
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles (19-11) made 16 3-pointers, posted a 47-34 rebounding edge and held UTSA's sophomore backcourt duo of Jhivvan Jackson (5) and Keaton Wallace (7), who entered the day averaging 23.1 and 20.9 points, respectively, to only 12 points combined.
Dominic Magee led three Golden Eagles in double figures with 19 points on the strength of a 4-of-7 performance from beyond the arc, while Tyree Griffin and LaDavius Draine scored 13 apiece.
De Nicolao shot 7 of 13 from the field and made 3 of 6 from long distance to lead UTSA. Atem Bior added six points and seven boards, while Adrian Rodriguez grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
UTSA will be the No. 4 seed for the conference tournament next week at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Following a first-round bye, the Roadrunners will face the winner of the matchup between 5-seed UAB and 12th-seeded Middle Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 14. That quarterfinal-round contest will air on Stadium on Facebook and Ticket 760 AM.
The Roadrunners made just four of their first 17 attempts from the floor. Despite the early shooting woes, UTSA erased a seven-point deficit with a 5-0 spurt capped by a Rodriguez basket that made pulled the visitors to within 16-15.
The Golden Eagles used a 13-3 run late in the opening half to build a double-digit lead. They eventually carried a 40-26 advantage into the locker room after scoring eight unanswered points, including 3-pointers by Magee and Kevin Holland, in the final minute. All told, Southern Miss made nine of its last 11 field goals to end the first half.
The lead grew to 17 early in the second half after another Holland trey made it 45-28. Magee had a layup and a three and converted 1 of 2 at the free-throw line, while Draine connected twice from long distance to key a 12-4 run and push the advantage to 64-37 with a little more than eight minutes left.
Southern Miss led by as many as 35 down the stretch and cruised to its second win of the season against the Roadrunners.
- UTSA -