SALT LAKE CITY – UTSA fell in its final non-conference road game of the season to a Utah Runnin' Utes team who is receiving votes in the AP poll by a score of 91-70 in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night.
UTSA (5-5) dropped its second straight game road contest as it wrapped up its two-game mountain road trip. Utah (9-2, 2-0 Pac-12) won its fifth straight game and its fourth straight home contest after downing the Roadrunners.
Senior point guard Japhet Medor had a Herculean performance as the Wellington, Fla. native led UTSA in four categories on the night. Medor had a team-high 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and five steals. His five steals were the most by any Roadrunner this season. Coming off of a C-USA Freshman of the Week award, DJ Richards poured in 12 points on 5-10 shooting to pair with two assists. Big man Jacob Germany chipped in 10 points with five rebounds in 27 minutes of action. A trio of Roadrunners, John Buggs III, Isaiah Addo-Ankrah and Christian Tucker, scored five points apiece.
The Rundown
Utah opened the game on an 18-6 run and was getting looks wherever it wanted, forcing a UTSA timeout. At the 12-minute mark, UTSA was just shooting 15% from the floor. UTSA responded by going on a 19-4 run of its own, spearheaded by seven points by DJ Richards, going up 25-22 at the under-8 media timeout. Coming out of the media timeout, UTSA expanded its lead to its largest of the game, 6, thanks to a Medor free throw and a fastbreak layup. At the under-four, the Runnin' Utes had pulled ahead 31-29 with a little over three minutes remaining. Utah was able to distance itself a bit more before half, going up 39-34 at half riding a quartet of free throws and a couple of points in transition. At the halfway point, Medor led all players with 15 points while Richards had 10.
Utah started the second half much like it started the first, going on a run. By the under-16 media timeout, Utah had attained its largest lead of the game at 16 points. The lead would eventually grow to 26 at the under-8 as Utah kept up the pressure, leading the Roadrunners 76-50. As the game came to a close, the Runnin' Utes extended their lead to the largest of the contest, going up 28. The Utes would go on to win the contest, 91-70.
Stat of the Game
The Runnin' Utes outrebounded the Roadrunners 51-24, dominating the glass. Utah corralled 38 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive boards. 28 of the Utes' 51 rebounds came in the second half, pulling down 17 defensive and 11 offensive rebounds.
Up Next
Following its two-game mountain trip, UTSA will return home for a pair of games at the Convocation Center before the holidays. The Roadrunners' next opponent will be Bethune-Cookman who they'll meet in a Sunday matinee that is scheduled to tipoff at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on CUSA.tv and broadcast on Ticket 760 AM.
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