SAN ANTONIO – Jordan Ivy-Curry had a game-high 23 points to lead UTSA men's basketball but Southern Miss was able to secure a defensive stop as time expired to hold off the Roadrunners bid for a comeback in a 74-73 win on Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (7-8, 0-2 Conference USA) had a chance to win the game after getting a stop on the defensive end and racing down court with six seconds left in regulation. Cedrick Alley Jr.'s attempt at a game winner in traffic in the paint just missed, allowing Southern Miss (5-8, 1-0 C-USA) to escape with the win.
The Roadrunners trailed by 10 in the first half and rallied in the closing minutes of the first stanza to even the game at 32 at halftime and saw a similar script in the second half, trailing by seven with 2:50 left in regulation. UTSA cut the lead to 74-73 with a basket from Alley with 35 seconds left and got a defensive stop to set up the chance on the offensive end.
Ivy-Curry had 23 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes of action, going 7 of 18 from the field and 3 of 8 from deep. UTSA got 15 points, four rebounds and three assists from Alley and an 11-point, seven-rebound game from Aleu Aleu. Jacob Germany just missed on his third double-double of the year with 10 points and nine rebounds, adding three steals.
Darius McNeill had seven points, all coming in a key stretch late in the second half.
UTSA shot 38 percent in the loss, while Southern Miss finished with a 49 percent clip, connected on 6 of 20 from deep. UTSA, ranked No. 19 in the NCAA in total rebounds entering the game, held a 40-36 margin in rebounds and a 14-6 lead in offensive boards.
Southern Miss got 18 points from Jaron Pierre Jr. and 14 points from Tyler Stevenson.
UTSA will return to action on Saturday, hosting Louisiana Tech at 3 p.m. on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
Aleu got the scoring started for the Roadrunners and Ivy-Curry nailed a foot-on-the-line jumper for a 5-3 lead. After Tucker took the lead to 7-5 with a basket in the paint, Southern Miss scored 10 straight points to take a 15-7 lead just after the second media timeout.
Germany sank his first shot to snap the streak and cut the lead to 19-15 and his flush in transition answered a USM triple. Cedrick Alley Jr. hit a corner 3-pointer to narrow the lead to three and after a USM basket, Germany's hook shot cut the lead to 19-16.
Southern Miss scored the next seven before Erik Czumbel nailed one at the line and Ivy-Curry had a steal off an in-bounds pass and finished at the rim to cut the lead to 26-19. After the lead grew to 28-19, UTSA outscored Southern Miss 13-4 to even the game at 32-32 at the half. UTSA got six points at the line during the stretch from Aleu, Germany and Tucker, who each hit two, a. 3-pointer from Aleu, who also cleaned up the offensive glass and a steal and dunk from Germany. UTSA shot 31 percent in the first half, led by 10 points from Germany, and Southern Miss shot 41 percent from the field.
Ivy-Curry opened the second half with a basket at the rim and Alley drilled a 3-pointer in transition for a 37-32 lead. After a pair of Southern Miss baskets, Aleu hit a jumper to take the lead to 39-36. Southern Miss scored the next four points to take a 40-39 lead into the under-16 minute media timeout.
The Golden Eagles scored eight straight, part of a 12-2 run to build a 46-39 lead before UTSA started to claw back with six straight points from Ivy-Curry, including a 3-pointer.
Czumbel cut the lead to two with a floater in the lane and McNeill nailed a elbow jumper to cut the lead to 51-49. Back-to-back 3-pointers from the Golden Eagles stretched the lead to 57-49 before McNeill sank his second basket of the game.
McNeill's corner 3-pointer cut the lead to 57-54 and Ivy-Curry answered a USM triple with his own to cut the lead to 60-57 with seven minutes left.
Alley cut the lead to 63-60 after a triple but the lead grew to 66-60 with 4:40 left after consecutive USM buckets. Ivy-Curry snaped the run but Southern Miss answered with a midrange jumper for a 68-62 lead.
Ivy-Curry's step-back trey cut the lead to 70-66 with two minutes left and after a defensive stop, Alley hit two at the line to narrow the lead to 70-68 with 1:57 left but it was answered by a USM floater in the lane.
Ivy-Curry was fouled on a wing 3-point attempt with 1:17 left, hitting all three at the line to cut the lead to 72-71.
An offensive rebound led to a pair at the line for Southern Miss to stretch the lead to 74-71 with 46 seconds left on the clock. Alley responded with a take to the rim to cut the lead to 74-73 with 36 seconds remaining.
UTSA secured the defensive stop and raced down court but an attempt to win the game from Alley just rimmed out as time expired.
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