SAN ANTONIO – Second-place UAB used a strong run to open the second half to pull away from UTSA men's basketball and post a 68-56 win over the Roadrunners, on Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (9-20, 2-14 Conference USA) fell to UAB (21-7, 11-4 C-USA), the second-place team in the C-USA West Division as the Blazers were able to use a first-half 15-3 run to fuel a winning effort. UAB erased a 14-13 UTSA lead and built an 11-point margin with seven minutes left in the first half and then used nine of the first 11 points of the second half to build a double-digit lead and post the win.
A native of Kingston, Okla., Germany scored in double figures for the 23rd time in 29 games in 2021-22, going for 14 points and seven rebounds. Dhieu Deing chipped in 16 points and five rebounds.
Isaiah Addo-Ankrah finished with six points on two made 3-pointers. Darius McNeill had eight points and two rebounds. Erik Czumbel had a game-leading six assists, adding seven points and four rebounds.
The Roadrunners shot 37 percent in the game, going 8 of 22 from deep, while UAB shot 45 percent with three made 3-pointers. The battle on the glass was won by UAB, 37-31. The Blazers scored 42 points in the paint.
UAB was led by Ole Miss transfer KJ Buffen, who had 16 points. Tulane transfer Jordan Walker, a front runner for C-USA Player of the Year with an average over 19 points per game, finished with 13 points. Clemson transfer Trey Jemison finished with 12 rebounds and 10 points.
UTSA will return to action on Thursday, hosting league leader North Texas at 7 p.m. live on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
Lachlan Bofinger opened the scoring with a post-move hook shot and Trey Jemison, a Clemson transfer, answered with two at the line. Germany got the two back at the charity stripe before Jordan Walker splashed a wing 3-pointer. Erik Czumbel's take to the rim gave UTSA a 6-5 lead that was erased by a KJ Buffen dunk. Germany pushed UTSA back in front, 8-7 with a pick-and-roll score on a Czumbel find.
Walker and Quan Jackson combined to score four straight to earn an 11-8 lead before Deing drilled his first 3-pointer of the game. Buffen finished a pair of buckets in the paint – sandwiched around an Addo-Ankrah 3-pointer – for a 15-14 lead at the 11:42 mark of the first.
The Blazers then ripped off an 11-0 run to build a 24-14 lead with 9:09 left and force a UTSA timeout, getting five points from Michael Ertel – including a corner 3-pointer – and baskets from Buffen and Jemison.
The run continued out of the timeout after an Ertel basket made it 13-0 and 26-14 before McNeill rattled home a wing 3-pointer. McNeill and Addo-Ankrah hit 3-pointers to spark a 6-0 run that narrowed the lead to 28-23 with 3:39 left in the first.
The UTSA run continued to 8-0 after a Czumbel steal and run-out, cutting the lead to 28-25. Buffen and Walker finished consecutive baskets for a 32-25 lead before Addo-Ankrah drilled his third 3-pointer. Tavin Lovan got on the board for a 34-28 lead and Germany answered with a lay-in on the other end. UAB stretched the lead to 37-30 with three straight at the foul line. UTSA shot 42 percent in the first half, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range, while UAB hit at 44 percent with a 2 of 6 showing from deep. UAB had 22 of its 37 points in the first half in the paint, with Buffen leading all scorers with 12 points. Germany, McNeill, Deing and Addo-Ankrah each had six.
UAB scored seven of the first nine points to open the final period, getting a basket from Walker to open, a free throw from Jemison, and buckets from Buffen and Jackson for a 44-32 lead with 14:39 left. The run went to 7-0 to take a 46-32 lead before McNeill got to the rim to snap the streak.
The lead grew to 14 as the Blazers pulled away from the Roadrunners around the 10-minute mark of the second half.
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