SAN ANTONIO – Both Jacob Germany and DJ Richards recorded double-doubles this afternoon, the first pair of Roadrunners to do so since Dhieu Deing and Erik Czumbel last season, as UTSA fell to FIU 77-72 at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (7-14, 1-9 C-USA) was defeated on Saturday afternoon, marking its third setback of the week. UTSA clawed back from an 18-point hole to pull within five but was unable to seal the deal. FIU (9-11, 3-6 C-USA) picked up its first C-USA road victory of the season, riding 11 three-pointers and 18 fast-break points.
The Roadrunners continued to get healthy on Saturday as the Roadrunners got Isaiah Addo-Ankrah back from injury and on the court for the first time since December 18. The junior from Houston finished with 12 points, knocking down two triples, and pulled down three rebounds. The pair of Germany and Richards each had double-doubles in scoring and rebounding. Germany finished with a team-high 19 points and 13 rebounds while Richards went for 18 points and ten rebounds. Germany's 13 rebounds are tied for the most by any Roadrunner in a single game this season. Germany is now up to 22 career double-doubles as today was his sixth of the season, whereas Richards' 10 rebounds were a career-high. Josh Farmer had another solid game crashing the glass, as the 6-10 sophomore had seven rebounds. The Roadrunners rebounded the ball well today, hauling in 52 total boards, the second most of any single game this season by UTSA.
The Rundown
FIU held a slight edge early in the contest, taking a 7-6 lead into the first media timeout, and shooting 60% on five shots. Coming out of the first break, the Panthers kept up the effort, expanding its lead from one to 12 by the 13:18 mark. The Roadrunners came right back with an 11-0 run which featured a Czumbel triple, a pair of Christian Tucker free throws, a Jacob Germany post shot, an Addo-Ankrah jumper and a Germany hook shot which brought the score to 18-17 in favor of FIU with 9:47 left on the clock. The Panthers had one last run in them, going on an 11-2 spurt and pulling back in front by double-digits. FIU was able to maintain that consistency and eventually went into half up by 12, leading 43-31.
The Panthers came out of half and scored six quick points to push their lead to the largest of the game, 18, leading 49-31. A quick 10-0 run from the Roadrunners, thanks to a pair of triples from Richards and buckets from Aleu Aleu and Massal Diouf, pulled them back within eight. The Panther lead stayed around ten points until it ballooned up to 15 with 6:41 remaining in the game. Back-to-back threes from Addo-Ankrah and Richards cut the lead to nine, and then a Germany layup cut it to seven. UTSA would be able to get the lead down to five, but FIU didn't flinch, holding strong and winning the game 77-72.
Up Next
After three-straight home contests, UTSA will be back on the road in its next action, heading north to Denton, Texas to face off with the North Texas Mean Green on Thursday, January 26. Next Thursday's contest is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m., will be televised on ESPNU and will be streamed on Ticket 760 AM.
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