SAN ANTONIO – Jhivvan Jackson had a game-best 25 points, Keaton Wallace added 18 points and Jacob Germany had his third double-double of the year, leading UTSA men's basketball past Southern Miss, 70-64 at the Convocation Center on Friday night.
UTSA (6-8, 2-5 Conference USA) rode a hot start and a strong defensive effort to the win over Southern Miss (7-7, 3-4 C-USA). UTSA scored 11 of the first 11 points and forced Southern Miss into misses on 11 of their first 13 shots, leading to an early 30-13 lead.
The Roadrunners owned a five-point lead at halftime and outscored the Golden Eagles by one in the second half, leading all but 50 seconds in the game.
The Roadrunners were led by Jackson's 70th career 20+ point performance, as the senior guard went for 25 on 6 of 15 shooting, including 11 of 13 from the free-throw line, adding four boards and four assists.
Wallace, a native of Richardson, Texas, had 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Germany chipped in his third double-double of the year with 11 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high five blocks in a season-best 29 minutes.
Freshman Jordan Ivy-Curry had eight points and three assists, while junior Eric Parrish added eight points and three boards.
Tyler Stevenson led Southern Miss with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
UTSA shot 42 percent in the win, including a 7 of 20 mark from 3-point range. Southern Miss shot 37 percent and was 6 of 18 from distance. UTSA won the battle of the boards, 39-33.
The series will conclude on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Convocation Center in a game broadcast live on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
The Roadrunners scored the first four points of the game and 11 of the first 13, including 3-pointers from Jackson and Wallace. UTSA got two buckets in the paint from Germany and single free throws from Jackson and Germany as UTSA took a 12-4 lead at the second media timeout of the first half.
With USM missing 11 of its first 13 shots, UTSA's run continued to 8-0 – including a 15-2 stretch – with a Wallace 3-pointer, a Jordan Ivy-Curry midrange jumper and a Wallace take to the rim.
UTSA's lead ballooned to 15 at 21-6 after Jackson sank a pair from the foul line. He added two more to answer a USM 3-pointer and give UTSA a 23-9 lead. The Eagles scored the next four points before Jackson's aggressive take to the rim led to a 25-11 lead with 7:23 left in the first.
Jackson splashed his second 3-pointer of the game and Germany finished an alley-oop dunk for a 30-13 lead. Wallace answered a USM three with a lefty floater off the dribble. Jackson's two at the free-throw line gave UTSA a 34-18 lead, with USM cutting it to 12 at the final media break of the first half.
The Golden Eagles then ripped off a 11-0 run to finish the first half cutting the lead to 34-29, as UTSA missed eight consecutive shots and turned it over five times during the stretch. UTSA shot 41 percent in the first half, led by 15 from Jackson, and USM shot 32 percent.
Eric Parrish's dunk and his transition finish opened the second half for the Roadrunners, who took a 38-29 lead with 16:54 left in regulation.
Germany's acrobatic layup gave UTSA a 40-32 lead and after four straight points from USM, Jackson added a pair for a 42-36 lead. A 3-pointer from Ivy-Curry was sandwiched by a pair of buckets from the Eagles, giving UTSA a 45-40 lead with 11:48 left.
Wallace sank a deep 3-pointer from the wing but Southern Miss answered with a triple from Jarron Pierre Jr. Wallace added five consecutive points from the foul line, around a USM 3-pointer, and Parrish laid in a bucket on a nice find from Cedrick Alley Jr., for a 55-46 lead.
After the Golden Eagles got a midrange jumper from Artur Konotsuk, Parrish sank two free throws for a 57-48 lead with 7:17 left, sparking a 6-0 USM run that cut the lead to 57-64 with 4:54 left in regulation, promoting a timeout from Coach Steve Henson.
Out of the timeout, Tyler Stevenson sank a midrange jumper to cut the lead to 57-56 with just over four minutes left but Ivy-Curry answered with a corner 3-pointer, good for a 60-56 lead with 3:31 left.
LaDavius Drain answered with a wing 3-pointer to cut the lead to 60-59 with three minutes left. Germany's paint bucket gave UTSA a three-point lead on the other end.
Germany contested a shot on the defensive end and Jackson sank a midrange jumper to give UTSA a five-point lead with 90 seconds left.
Stevenson completed tough bucket with 1:22 left to cut the UTSA lead to 64-61.
Jackson's right-handed floater got the two points back, giving UTSA a 66-61 lead with 66 seconds left in regulation.
Pierre sank a 3-point to cut the lead to 66-64 and Jackson was fouled on the other end, sinking both at the free-throw line for a 68-64 lead with 21.8 seconds left.
UTSA forced the missed shot and Jackson grabbed the rebound, where he was fouled. The native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, sank both at the charity stripe for a 70-64 lead with 8.1 ticks left.
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