SAN ANTONIO – Luka Barisic had career highs in points (18) and rebounds (10) to lead UTSA men's basketball to an 88-66 win over Lamar in its non-conference finale, on Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (4-3) wrapped up its non-conference, regular-season schedule with the win over Lamar (1-6) on Tuesday night, shaking off a slow start offensively, all while employing a strong defensive effort that led UTSA back into the lead late in the first half and fueled a second-half rout of the Cardinals.
The Roadrunners were led by Barisic, a senior forward out of Osijek, Croatia, who earned his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Keaton Wallace chipped in 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 30 minutes, while Jacob Germany finished with 10 points, three rebounds and a block.
UTSA also got nine points, six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal from Jhivvan Jackson in 28 minutes.
Lamar was led by Davion Buster, a junior out of Austin, who had 18 points.
UTSA finished the game shooting 51 percent, including 5 of 19 from distance. Lamar shot 43 percent in the loss, making seven threes.
The Roadrunners drew 29 total fouls – including 17 in the first half – and took a total of 32 free throws, making 19. UTSA outscored Lamar 41-21 in bench points, 48-26 in the paint and 12-3 in second-chance points.
UTSA will open Conference USA play on Jan. 1-2 at Rice, with tipoff on both days slated for 2 p.m.
The Cardinals scored nine of the first 12 points to open the game with UTSA cutting the lead to 9-5 at the first media timeout after a Cedrick Alley Jr. fadeaway midrange jumper.
Trailing 11-5, UTSA scored six of the next eight points to cut the lead to 13-11, getting a pair of nice baskets from Barisic and a lefty layup on a dribble drive from Jackson.
Barisic sank a wing 3-pointer to give UTSA its first lead of the game at 14-13 but Lamar – who made six of its first nine shots – regained the lead with a quick 5-0 run to take an 18-14 advantage into the under 12-minute media timeout.
A pair at the charity stripe from Erik Czumbel and an up-and-under move from Jordan Ivy-Curry evened the game at 18. After the Cards scored five straight for a 23-18 lead, Barisic sank a free throw and Adrian Rodriguez cleaned up the offensive glass to cut the lead to 25-21.
Lamar took a 28-22 lead into the final media timeout of the first half. Our of the break, the Roadrunners ripped off a 9-0 run to take a 31-28 lead, with Wallace, Czumbel and Jackson each connecting from the free-throw line, Jackson executing a run-out in transition and Barisic finishing a follow dunk.
After the Cards evened it at 31, UTSA scored the next three, including a Czumbel free throw and a jump-stop bucket from Wallace to conclude the half. The Roadrunners shot just 35.5 percent in the first half, with Lamar at 44.8 percent, but drew 17 fouls in the frame, making 11 of 21 free throws.
The Roadrunners opened the half with a pair of buckets in the paint, including a post move from Jacob Germany and a drive to the rim from Eric Parrish. Germany struck again for a post-move bucket and a seven-point lead and Lachlan Bofinger was found open the middle after a good find from Parrish on a dribble drive, taking the lead to 42-38 at the first media break of the second half.
After the Cardinals cut the lead to two, UTSA spurted out to a 7-0 run – including a wing triple from Barisic and a transition basket from Czumbel – to force a timeout from Lamar head coach Tic Price with UTSA leading 49-40.
Barisic continued to show off the skills, with a lefty floater giving UTSA a 51-43 lead and the big man answering a LU bucket with a wing 3-pointer for a 54-45 lead. A Wallace transition basket took the lead to 56-45 with 11:45 left in regulation.
After Anderson Kopp sank a pair at the free-throw line for Lamar, Jackson executed an and-1 on a great bounce pass from Bofinger, to take the lead to 59-47. The lead ballooned to 16 after a 7-0 run that saw UTSA make seven of their last nine attempts, with Bofinger and Germany each finishing dunks during the stretch.
Kopp snapped the streak with a triple and cut the lead to 11 with 7:45 left in regulation. A pair of Wallace wing 3-pointers on consecutive possessions took the lead to 17 with just under six minutes remaining. After a Parrish offensive rebound and putback and a basket from Ivy-Curry, the lead grew to 73-52.
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