SAN ANTONIO – UTSA's newcomer backcourt of Japhet Medor and John Buggs III combined for 46 points as they powered the Roadrunners past the Prairie View A&M Panthers on Tuesday evening, 82-75, as UTSA moved to 4-1, its best start to a season since the 2010-11 campaign.
The Roadrunners (4-1) continue to have their best opening to a season as UTSA hasn't been 4-1 in over ten years. The Panthers (3-2) dropped just their second game of the season as they couldn't keep the Roadrunners off the foul line with UTSA attempting 31 free throws in the game.
Medor had the most points by a Roadrunner since Jacob Germany in last year's season finale against Southern Miss. The Wellington, Fla. native poured in 28 points on 16-20 shooting from the charity stripe and also had a team-high seven assists to pair with seven boards. Buggs provided a secondary scoring punch for UTSA, as he knocked down four triples and totaled 18 points on the night. Isaiah Addo-Ankrah had his best game of the young season as the junior wing tallied 13 points on 4-7 shooting from beyond the arc and was the third Roadrunner in double digits on the evening.
The Rundown
Prairie View claimed its largest lead of the game right off the jump, going up 2-0 early after a Tekorian Smith pull-up jumper in the paint. The Roadrunners quickly knotted the game up thanks to two Medor free throws before taking a 5-2 lead behind a Buggs three-ball. The Roadrunners had an 18-12 lead at the under-12 timeout that was erased by Prairie View as they regained control going up 19-18. UTSA wrestled back control for good, as it would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the contest, finishing the half on an 18-13 run to lead 36-32 at half. Medor had a career-high 18 points at the half.
The Panthers started the second half immediately stealing the UTSA inbounds pass for a layup and then added another jumper off a stop to tie the game at 36. From there, UTSA opened up a seven point lead which would eventually grow to a game-high 15 as they held the Panthers at arm's length for the remainder of the contest on their way to an 82-75 victory.
Stat of the Game
Japhet Medor went to the free throw line 20 (!) times tonight, knocking down 16 on his way to a 28-point evening. His 16 free throw makes were the most by a Roadrunner since Keaton Wallace knocked down 15 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 2019.
Up Next
UTSA will next be in action this weekend as it is set to host a Thanksgiving holiday MTE, the 210 San Antonio Shootout presented by Drury Hotels. The MTE will feature three schools besides the Roadrunners as Dartmouth, Grambling State and UIW will also compete. The tournament's first action will get underway on Friday, Nov. 25 with Dartmouth facing UIW at 5 p.m. and UTSA hosting Grambling State at 7:30 p.m.
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