SAN ANTONIO – Alphonso Willis hit a 40-foot leaner as time expired to give Texas A&M-Commerce a 65-62 win over UTSA men's basketball in the first of a three-day multi-team tournament, on Monday night at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (1-2) used a 3-pointer from Jordan Ivy-Curry to rally to tie the game at 62 with 3.5 seconds left but Willis, a native of Atlanta, splashed the game winner with a near-half court heave as time expired to lift Texas A&M-Commerce to the win in its exhibition opener.
The Roadrunners got a double-double from senior Cedrick Alley Jr., who had 13 points and 12 rebounds, adding two steals and two assists. Junior guard Dhieu Deing had 16 points and nine rebounds, adding a pair of steals in 32 minutes. Ivy-Curry finished with 13 points, two rebounds and four assists.
The Roadrunners shot 40.3 percent in the game, with the Lions shooting 44.7 percent from the field. UTSA owned a 41-35 advantage in rebounds.
The Lions were led by 18 points from Willis, with Clashon Gaffney going for 11 points and six rebounds and Jarius Roberson chipping in 12 points, including two clutch 3-pointers to bring TAMUC into the lead in the closing minutes.
UTSA hosts Denver on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center with the game broadcast live on CUSA TV and Ticket 760 AM.
Ivy-Curry opened the scoring with a turnaround jumper in the paint and after a pair of baskets from the Lions, McNeill laid a floater off the glass to even the game at 4-4. Alley gave UTSA the lead with a lay in following a find from Deing.
Alley gave UTSA leads at 8-6 and 10-9 before the Lions took a 13-10 lead on a pair of baskets. Deing answered with a midrange jumper on the baseline and Phoenix Ford gave UTSA a 14-13 lead on a well-executed out of bounds play.
Christian Tucker evened the game at 15 and Lachlan Bofinger tied it back up at 17-17. After two baskets from the Lions, Alley cut the lead to 21-19 before Ivy-Curry evened the game, getting a driving layup and a spinning midrange jumper from the baseline.
Germany cut the lead to 25-24 with one from the foul line and after a TAMUC bucket, Erik Czumbel finished a reverse lay-up to narrow the lead to 27-26. Deing hit a pair at the foul line and then splashed a wing 3-pointer to stretch the run to 7-0 and give UTSA a 31-27 lead. TAMUC narrowed the UTSA lead to 31-29 as the Roadrunners missed their final six shots in the first half. UTSA shot 45 percent on 13 of 29 shooting in the first half, while the Lions shot 42 percent.
The Lions scored the first three points out of the break before Alley drilled a fadeaway jumper for a 33-32 lead. Deing answered a TAMUC basket with a pair of jumpers for a 37-34 lead with just over 16 minutes left. Ivy-Curry's drive and finish stretched the lead to 39-34 at the first media break of the period.
Deing finished off the glass on a drive for an 8-0 run to take the lead to 41-34. Tucker answered three straight TAMUC points with a finish at the rim for a six-point lead. After a TAMUC triple, McNeill finished a steal with a layup in transition and then added a pair at the free-throw line for a 47-42 lead.
After TAMUC cut the lead to 47-45, Germany made a pair at the line and drilled a jumper in the paint for a 51-45 lead. A 5-0 run from the Lions was answered by one at the line from Alley and an Ivy-Curry steal and finish for a 54-50 lead. The Lions then got a 3-pointer from Roberson and a pair at the line from Roberson to take a 55-54 lead with 2:03 left in regulation.
Willis stretched the lead to 57-53 with 70 seconds left and a free throw from Alex Peavy took the lead to 58-54 with 51.4 seconds left in regulation.
After a bucket in the paint, Alley cut the lead to 58-56 with 29.9 left.
Khaliq Abdul Mateen was fouled after grabbing a rebound on a missed Alley free throw and hit the first of two free throws for a 59-56 lead. Ivy-Curry's drive to the rim rolled out of the basket and Rodney Brown took the lead to 60-56 with 19.7 seconds left.
After the free throw, Deing drilled a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 60-59 with 13.4 seconds left.
On the in-bounds play for the Lions, Czumbel emerged with a loose ball and called timeout with 7.8 seconds left but UTSA didn't have any timeouts and was whistled for the technical. Roberson hit both at the line for a 62-59 lead.
Ivy-Curry drilled the game-tying 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left. Willis drilled a half-court shot that bounced off the backboard for a 65-62 win.
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