HOUSTON – Dhieu Deing had a game-high 26 points to lead UTSA men's basketball to a 78-73 win over Sam Houston in Houston's Toyota Center, on Saturday evening.
UTSA (6-4) held off a furious second-half charge from Sam Houston (3-6) to secure the win, getting the game-high 26 from Deing and a timely 9-0 run in the final six minutes of the game.
With the game even at 63 with six minutes left, UTSA ripped off nine straight points to take an insurmountable lead, helping UTSA secure the win. UTSA owned a 42-24 lead at the half, shooting a blistering 53.6 percent in the frame and holding the Bearkats to 27.3 percent. Sam Houston shot 52.9 percent in the final stanza to flip the script and put pressure on the Roadrunners to execute down the stretch.
Deing, a 6-foot-5 junior guard, had a game-leading 26 points, just shy of his career high of 27 and marking the fourth game of the year he's reached 20+ points. Deing leads UTSA with 17.6 points per game, scoring in double figures in all 10 games on the year.
Cedrick Alley Jr., a product of Houston's Klein Forrest High School, followed up a 24-point, 11-rebound performance at Grand Canyon with 17 points, six rebounds and a career-high four steals in 35 minutes in his hometown.
A native of La Marque, Texas, in the greater Houston area, Jordan Ivy-Curry had 16 points, four rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes.
Jacob Germany, a product of Kingston, Okla., finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes.
The Roadrunners shot 47.4 percent in the win, with Sam Houston held to 40.3 percent. SHSU had a 37-36 margin in rebounds. UTSA shot 14 of 14 from the free-throw line, its best performance of the year from the charity stripe.
UTSA will return to action on Friday, hosting UTRGV at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center, live on CUSA TV and Ticket 760 AM.
The Roadrunners opened the scoring with a triple from Deing and a Germany flush to rip off a 5-0 lead. Savion Flagg got on the board with a triple before Germany finished a paint bucket and Deing drilled a deep 3-pointer for a 10-3 lead. Demarkus Lampley cut into the UTSA lead with a wing 3-pointer before a timeout was called by the Bearkats Jason Hooten.
Ivy-Curry got on the board with a take off the glass to stretch the lead to 12-6 at the first media timeout and took the lead to 14-6 after the break. SHSU then scored the next six points to even the game at 14-14. Deing regained the lead for UTSA with an and-1 to take the lead to 17-14 and Alley answered a Lampley 3-pointer with a transition 3-pointer for a 20-17 lead.
Germany took the lead to five with a pair at the charity stripe before Flagg drilled his third 3-pointer of the game. Alley was found by Lamin Sabally for a basket to regain a four-point lead and Ivy-Curry hit two at the line for a six-point margin.
The lead grew to nine on an Ivy-Curry 3-pointer and Alley sank a midrange jumper from the wing for a 31-20 lead with 7:23 left in the first. The 15-3 UTSA run forced a timeout from the Bearkats as UTSA scored 11 straight points over a two-minute stretch.
SHSU snapped the UTSA run with a basket but Deing immediately answered with a step-back wing 3-pointer for a 13-point lead.
Germany took the lead to 37-22 and it was answered by a basket from SHSU. Aleu Aleu then ripped off a strong pair of possessions, drilling a corner 3-pointer on an offensive rebound from Alley and after securing a steal on the defensive end, found a streaking Alley for a transition dunk and a 42-24 lead with just under a minute left.
At the break, UTSA owned a 42-24 lead, shooting 53.6 percent and holding SHSU to 27.3 percent from the field. UTSA made 7 of 15 3-pointers, including three from Deing. Deing led all scorers with 12 points, with Alley chipping in 10 points and five rebounds and Ivy-Curry owning nine points.
Tristan Ikpe opened the scoring with a putback basket for SHSU in the second and Germany responded with a pair at the line. Lampley then drilled a second-chance 3-pointer and sank a midrange jumper from the corner to cut the lead to 44-31 with 17:29 left.
Germany regained a 15-point lead and after a quick four points from the Bearkats, Deing sank a transition 15-foot jumper. Jaden Ray sank a 3-pointer to narrow the lead to 10 and Ivy-Curry immediately answered with his second 3-pointer of the game for a 51-38 lead.
Ikpe cut the lead to 11 and Phoenix Ford immediately answered. Flagg sank his fourth 3-pointer of the game to cut the lead to 53-43 with 14 minutes left. The SHSU run stretched to 7-0 before Deing finished an and-1 for a 56-47 lead with 13 minutes remaining.
After the lead was cut to seven, Deing sank his fourth triple of the game to take the lead back to 59-49 at the under 12-minute media break.
Germany took the lead to 61-49 with a pair at the line before SHSU Donte Powers sank a 3-pointer from the corner to narrow the lead to nine.
The Bearkats scored the next eight points to cut the lead to 61-57 with just under eight minutes left, getting an offensive rebound and putback from Ikpe and a corner trey from Lampley, his fourth of the game.
Alley snapped the stretch with a basket in the paint but Lampley immediately drilled a 3-pointer and Flagg sank his fifth to even the game at 63-63 with six minutes left.
Alley answered the Flagg triple with a wing trey of his own, Ivy-Curry got to the hoop and Deing finished one in transition for a 70-63 lead with just under five left. Deing took the run to 9-0 with two at the line.
Lampley snapped the 9-0 run with his sixth 3-pointer of the game, narrowing the lead to 72-66 with under three left.
Alley's transition slam after a defensive rebound took the lead to 74-66 with 1:40 left. Ikpe hit a midrange jumper to narrow the lead to 74-68 with 1:37 left.
SHSU hit two at the line to cut the UTSA lead to 74-70 with 49.5 seconds left. Ivy-Curry's righty floater took the lead to 76-70 but Lampley sank his seventh trey of the game to cut the led to 76-73 with 16.2 seconds left.
Deing was fouled with 10.1 seconds left and made both at the line for a 78-73 lead. Deing then blocked Lampley's 3-point attempt to secure the win.
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