SAN ANTONIO – In the first-ever game featuring a ranked team at the Convocation Center, UTSA fell to No. 24 Florida Atlantic, 83-64, on Thursday evening in front of 1,210 fans.
UTSA (7-13, 1-8 C-USA) dropped its second game this week after falling to Rice in overtime on Monday evening. The Roadrunners were without starting point guard Japhet Medor but did get big man Jacob Germany back from injury. It wasn't enough however as the top 25 Owls proved to be too much. FAU (18-1, 7-0 C-USA) stayed perfect in Conference USA play as a balanced scoring effort and big bench production gave it the edge.
In his return to action, Germany cranked out his fifth double-double of the season (21st of his career). The Kingston, Oklahoma native finished tied for the team lead in scoring with 13 and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Also putting up 13 points was freshman DJ Richards who played a team-high 31 minutes. In Medor's absence, Christian Tucker got his first start of the season and made it count as the sophomore from Arizona poured in a season-high 11 points.
The Rundown
No. 24 FAU controlled the opening tip and got the scoring started on its second possession. The Roadrunners answered with a Christian Tucked layup to tie the game at two apiece. From there, it was all Florida Atlantic as the Owls never trailed for the remainder of the game. The Owls' Brandon Weatherspoon scored the first six points for FAU. The Owls raced out to a 13-8 lead at the first break and expanded it to 23-14 at the under-12. The Florida Atlantic lead would grow to as large as 20 in the first half but the Roadrunners only went in down 16, 46-30. At the break, Jacob Germany had nine points and nine rebounds while Christian Tucker had 11 points.
Coach Henson's halftime adjustments shined early in the second as UTSA came out of the gates with a purpose. UTSA used a bevy of three-pointers to power a 14-4 run and trim the Florida Atlantic lead to six at the 15:39 mark of the second half. During the run, Richards canned three triples and Buggs buried one. The Owls got a bit of momentum back, burying back-to-back triples to go back up by 12 points. UTSA then turned FAU over and got a fastbreak slam from Germany to bring it back to ten. From there, however, FAU went on a 19-2 run which proved to be the difference maker as the No. 24 Owls would go on to win by 19 points.
Up Next
Following the contest against top-25 Florida Atlantic, UTSA will turn its attention to FIU. The Panthers, like the Owls, will be making the trip from Florida to play the Roadrunners in the Convo this weekend on Saturday, January 21. Saturday's game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m., will be streamed on ESPN+ and will be broadcast on Ticket 760 AM.
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