SAN ANTONIO -- Dhieu Deing had a double-double and a career-high 27 points to help lead UTSA men's basketball to 75-65 win over St. Mary's [Texas], on Monday night at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (5-3) wrapped up a season-long, six-game homestand with the win, using the strong offensive output from Deing and a stingy defensive effort that held St. Mary's (1-2) to 34.7 percent shooting as a team, including a 5 of 26 mark from 3-point range.
The win gives UTSA five triumphs in its first eight games, which is the best start since the 2017-18 team went 5-3. UTSA has only gone 5-3 to open a year twice in the last 10 seasons.
Deing, a product of High Point, N.C., had 27 points and 11 rebounds, handing out four assists and owning two steals in 35 minutes. He was 9 of 18 from the field, 3 of 9 from deep and 6 of 9 from the free-throw line. It marked his second consecutive 20+ point outburst and his third in the last four games. He had 26 points on 8 of 14 shooting in Wednesday's win over Lamar.
Cedrick Alley Jr. had a team-leading 12 rebounds, with three points and three assists.
A native of La Marque, Texas, Jordan Ivy-Curry had five points, three assists and three rebounds.
Jacob Germany, a 6-foot-11 center, finished with 18 points and four rebounds in 19 minutes.
The Roadrunners shot 40.7 percent in the win, owning a 52-38 margin in rebounds.
UTSA will return to action, traveling to face Grand Canyon on Thursday at 8 p.m. CT live on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
The game opened 5-2 in favor of the Rattlers, with UTSA getting on the board behind a basket from Lamin Sabally to open the game. Both teams missed 10 of their first 12 shots to open the game before Caleb Jordan completed an and-1 to take the game into the first media timeout.
Trailing 7-2, UTSA ripped off a 6-0 run to take its first lead, getting a lay-up from Christian Tucker on an Ivy-Curry outlet pass in transition, a deep Deing 3-pointer and a free throw from Phoenix Ford. After UTSA's seventh turnover in the opening minutes led to a transition dunk for the Rattlers, Germany put UTSA up 10-9 with a post-move bucket.
UTSA's run continued to 9-0 to build a 17-9 lead with 10 minutes left, with Deing sinking a transition 3-pointer, Germany cleaning up the offensive glass and Ivy-Curry bouncing a floater off the glass in the paint. The Rattlers went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 17-15 with eight minutes left before Josh Farmer sank a pair at the line for a 19-15 lead.
Ford gave UTSA a 21-17 lead and Ivy-Curry answered a free throw from the Rattlers with a triple, giving UTSA a 24-18 lead. Deing's third trey took the lead to 27-20 but was answered by a 3-pointer from the Rattlers to give UTSA a four-point lead with 3:53 left in the first.
The Roadrunners then ripped off a 10-0 run to take a 14-point lead, including a pair at the line from Czumbel, a pair of buckets in the paint from Germany and two at the free-throw stripe from Alley, who earned the trip after an offensive rebound. At the half, UTSA owned a 37-25 lead, shooting 43 percent and holding St. Mary's to a 29-percent clip.
After the Rattlers scored the first basket of the final period, UTSA got consecutive and-1 plays from Deing and Germany to build a 43-27 lead.
The Rattlers scored six of the next eight points to force a timeout from Coach Steve Henson, cutting the lead to 45-36 with 14:37 left.
Bofinger had four baskets sandwiched around a St. Mary's 3-pointer to take a 53-39 lead into the 12 minute mark. After a pair of buckets from the Rattlers, Deing took the lead to 12 with a pair at the charity stripe and made is 57-43 after a transition finish on an Alley find. He then finished another transition bucket for a 59-45 lead as the clock ticked under eight minutes.
The lead got cut to 60-50 on a 3-pointer from Jaron Presley and Mamady Djikine narrowed the lead further with an and-1 that cut it to 60-53 with 4:53 remaining.
Deing scored five straight points for UTSA, with Djinke getting a pair for St. Mary's before Caleb Jordan sank a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 65-58 with three minutes left.
A dunk from Emmanuel Ewuzie cut the UTSA lead to 65-60 with 2:46 left in regulation. Alley then hit one at the free-throw line for a six-point lead and Tucker stretched it to eight with two at the charity stripe with 70 seconds left. After Kobe Magee hit two at the line, Germany finished a transition dunk to regain a 70-62 lead.
The lead grew to nine as the clock ticked under a minute before Magee hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 71-65 with 37 seconds left. Germany hit two at the line to take the lead back to 73-65 with 20 seconds left and after a defensive stop, Germany was fouled on a transition dunk with 10.8 seconds left, a foul that was called a flagrant. He hit both at the line to take the lead to 10.
- UTSA -
