SAN ANTONIO – Erik Czumbel had a career-high 22 points, Dhieu Deing had 19 and Isaiah Addo-Ankrah finished with 14 points to lead UTSA men's basketball to a 82-71 win over Rice in the regular-season finale, on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (10-21, 3-15 Conference USA) used the career game from Czumbel to fly past Rice (15-15, 7-11 C-USA)
The Roadrunners opened strong with 18 of the first 24 points in the game, led by seven points from Erik Czumbel, and posted a 40-34 lead at halftime. The Owls came out hot in the final stanza, cutting the lead to one with 10 minutes left. The Roadrunners answered by scoring 10 of the next 13 points for an eight-point lead with five minutes remaining.
UTSA built on the lead to secure a nine-point lead in the closing seconds.
A native of Verona, Italy, Czumbel finished with 22 points on 8 of 16 shooting, including three 3-pointers, while adding five assists and two rebounds.
A native of Kingston, Okla., Jacob Germany reached double figures for the 25th time in 31 games, totaling 14 points and four rebounds.
Addo-Ankrah had his third double-figure scoring game of the year, charting 14 points on four made triples. Deing had 19 points, three boards and two assists.
The Roadrunners shot 51.7 percent in the win, holding Rice to 47.1 percent. UTSA was 13 of 27 from deep and Rice won the battle of the boards, 34-24.
Rice was led by 16 points from Carl Pierre, a transfer from UMass.
UTSA will return to action in the first round of the C-USA Championships at The Star in Frisco, facing Southern Miss on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
The Roadrunners came out hot, scoring 14 points in the first four minutes of the game to take a 14-5 lead. UTSA got seven points from Czumbel – including a 3-pointer, a pair at the line and a leaner on the block. Addo-Ankrah splashed a 3-pointer from the corner and finished in the paint and Germany finished a transition basket for a 14-5 lead.
The teams traded single free throws before Germany finished an and-1 for an 18-6 lead. Rice answered with consecutive 3-pointers from Riley Abercrombie and Carl Pierre to cut the lead to six before Germany finished on a baseline out-of-bounds play. Deing answered a pair of Rice free throws with his first triple, taking the lead to 23-15 with 11:14 left in the first.
Lamin Sabally pushed the lead to 25-18 with a back-door lay-in but Pierre drilled a 3-pointer on the other end. Addo-Ankrah answered with his second 3-pointer, a deep shot from the wing, and Abercrombie hit his second trey on the other end. Terrance McBride hit a pair at the line to cut the lead to 28-23 with 7:58 left in the first.
Czumbel and Germany sank consecutive baskets before Addo-Ankrah hit his third triple for a 35-23 lead with 6:23 left, a 7-0 UTSA run. McBride got two back and Max Fiedler hit two at the line to narrow the lead to 35-27. Mylyjael Poteat's hook shot in the paint cut the lead to 35-29 with just over three minutes left in the first and Czumbel answered with a floater in the paint to regain an eight-point lead.
Christian Tucker splashed a 3-pointer for an 11-point lead and Mullins immediately answered with his own and Poteat followed with two at the line to cut the lead to 40-34 at halftime. UTSA shot 48 percent in the first half, getting 11 points each from Czumbel and Addo-Ankrah, while Rice shot 43 percent.
Lachlan Bofinger opened the scoring in the second half with a perfect trip to the free throw line before Pierre hit his third 3-pointer to narrow the lead to five. Germany and Fiedler traded buckets to take the lead to 44-39 with 18:12 left. Bofinger, and a Czumbel three, gave UTSA a 49-41 lead before Travis Evee and McBride each sank shots to narrow the lead to four with 14:44 left.
After the lead was cut to three, Deing sank his second 3-pointer on a find from Darius McNeill but Mullins got loose in the paint to cut it to 52-48.
Germany's midrange jumper gave UTSA a 54-48 lead but five straight from Rice cut the lead to one. Deing then sank 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor for a 60-53 lead with 7:31 left, prompting a Rice timeout.
Evee drilled a triple out of the timeout to cut the lead to four before Deing finished a bucket off the glass and Bofinger cleaned up the offensive glass for a 64-56 lead with five minutes left.
Addo-Ankrah answered a Fiedler basket in the paint with his fourth 3-pointer for a nine-point lead. After a made Rice free throw, Czumbel sank a midrange jumper to give UTSA a 10-point lead. Evee responded with a 3-pointer and McBride got to the rim to cut the lead to 69-64 with 2:36 left.
Czumbel sank his third 3-pointer of the game out of the timeout to give UTSA an eight-point lead with just over two minutes left. After a Rice free throw, Czumbel got loose for a nine-point lead before Deing finished a turnover in transition for an 11-point advantage.
Pierre cut the lead to nine with 64 seconds left, with Rice calling timeout. Czumbel hit one at the line on the other end for a 10-piont lead. Deing sank his fifth triple for an 80-69 lead with 22.6 seconds left.
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