SAN ANTONIO -- Dhieu Deing had a career-high 26 points to lead three in double figures and pace UTSA men's basketball to a 79-73 win over Lamar, on Wednesday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (4-3) rode a strong defensive effort and the scoring punch of Deing to the win over the Cardinals, marking UTSA's third win in the last four games.
Deing, a product of High Point, N.C., finished with 26 points, three assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes, going 8 of 14 from the field, 3 of 7 from behind the arc and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line.
Jordan Ivy-Curry, a native of La Marque, Texas, had 13 points with four assists, three rebounds and one steal. Junior center Jacob Germany had 13 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist, with 11 of his points coming in the second half.
Pre-Thanksgiving matinee dub.
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Freshman Christian Tucker gave UTSA a big lift with a career-high nine points and two blocks off the bench. Cedrick Alley Jr. had six points and four rebounds.
The Roadrunners shot 47.2 percent in the win, leading for all but 16 seconds in the game. UTSA had 14 assists on 25 made baskets.
Lamar (1-5) was led by Davion Buster, who had 22 points in 36 minutes. The Cardinals were held to 41.9 percent from the field, including a 36.7 percent clip in the first half.
The Roadrunners will return to action on Monday, hosting St. Mary's at 7 p.m. on CUSA TV and Ticket 760 AM.
Deing answered a Lamar basket by rattling home a 3-pointer and Phoenix Ford lofted his first career 3-point attempt to take a 6-2 lead. Ford finished a basket in the paint on a nice drive and dish from Deing and Alley answered a trey from Lamar with a pair at the free-throw line. Deing's wing 3-pointer gave UTSA a 13-9 lead at the first media timeout.
A Germany flush in transition, an Alley offensive rebound and putback and a Deing transition dunk took the lead to 19-13 with just under 10 minutes left and forced a Lamar timeout.
Ivy-Curry's runner took the lead to 21-14 and after one made free-throw from the Cards, Erik Czumbel finished on a drive to the rim and Ivy-Curry took the lead to a game-high 10 with a midrange jumper from the baseline as UTSA made five straight shots.
Lamar then ripped off a 7-0 run, including a Jordyn Adams triple, to force a UTSA timeout after cutting the lead to 25-22 with 3:57 left.
The run continued to 9-0, with the lead cut to one before Lachlan Bofinger finished at the rim. Deing drilled a pair at the line and Bofinger finished another in the paint for a 31-26 lead with two minutes left. Deing and Ivy-Curry each drilled a pair at the free-throw line to build a 35-28 lead at halftime. UTSA shot 44 percent, with assists on seven of 12 made baskets, while LU was held to 37 percent.
The Roadrunners and the Cards traded the first 10 points of the second half, with UTSA getting a bucket from Deing, an Ivy-Curry 3-pointer, and dunk from Germany, who also added an and-1, taking a 45-38 lead into the first media timeout.
Ivy-Curry extended the lead to 47-40 with a midrange jumper and Germany answered a pair at the line for the Cards with a bucket on a Josh Farmer assist, taking the lead to 49-42. Christian Tucker's free throw took the lead to 50-44 with 12 minutes left in regulation.
The Cardinals cut the lead to 40-47 before UTSA ripped off a 7-0 run, getting a wing three from Deing, a pair at the charity stripe from Germany and a putback on the offensive glass from Alley to take a 57-47 lead.
Lamar nailed a pair of 3-pointers to narrow the lead to 57-55 before Deing finished an and-1 to take the lead to 59-55.
Tucker took the lead to 63-56 with his first career 3-pointer. Germany's dunk on a good pass from Deing took the lead to 67-58. Tucker added to the lead with five free throws, including after he was fouled on a 3-pointer, to take the lead to 72-62. The Cardinals narrowed the lead to five before Ivy-Curry sank a pair at the line but Lamar cut the lead to 74-69 with 1:19 left in regulation.
Ellis Jefferson hit a pair at the line with just over a minute left to cut the lead to 74-71. Deing answered with a base-line jumper late in the shot clock but C.J. Roberts scored a basket in transition to cut the lead to 76-73.
Czumbel was fouled on the in-bounds pass with 32.7 seconds left and made the first of two free-throw attempts for a 77-783 lead.
UTSA forced a missed shot in the paint, Deing grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He hit both at the line to take the lead to 79-73 with 20.1 seconds left.
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