HOUSTON – The UTSA men's basketball team earned its second Conference USA victory of the season on Thursday evening, downing Rice, 84-79, and snapping an eleven-game losing streak.
UTSA (8-19, 2-14 C-USA) got revenge for its overtime loss against Rice in January, shooting a scorching 52.5% from the floor. Rice (16-10, 7-8 C-USA) dropped its fifth game in its last six contests as it led for just seven minutes in tonight's contest.
John Buggs III tied a career-high, tallying 23 points to lead all scorers. Buggs was an efficient 8-10 from the field and 5-7 from beyond the three-point line. Josh Farmer had a career night, returning to his hometown of Houston and dropping 18 points off the bench. Farmer also had an efficient night, as the sophomore forward was 8-10 with six rebounds. Jacob Germany continued his solid production off the bench as the senior big man went for 16 points and eight rebounds. Japhet Medor controlled the game for UTSA, as the senior point guard tallied 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in a team-high 36 minutes of action. Also playing well in his return to his home city was DJ Richards. The freshman notched six points to go along with six rebounds, the second most on the team, in tonight's game.
The Rundown
UTSA got off to a quick start, winning the opening tip and then seeing Buggs bury a three-pointer, putting UTSA up 3-0 just 14 seconds into the game. After a defensive stop, UTSA came right back and Richards canned a jumper to give UTSA a five-point lead, its largest of the half. Rice rallied though and tied the game up at seven as the two teams entered the first media timeout. Exiting the under-16, Rice rattled off a 5-0 run to take its largest lead of the half, 12-7. UTSA would cut the lead back to one thanks to jumpers from Germany and Farmer. At the under-12 Rice held a 16-13 lead. UTSA would battle back, trading baskets with the Owls and tie the game at 20 as the two teams reached the under-eight. UTSA closed with a strong eight minutes, outscoring Rice 12-8 and taking a 32-28 lead into the break. At half, Buggs had a game-high 12 points.
After heading into the half with a lead, UTSA wouldn't relinquish control in the second half as the Roadrunners led for the remaining 20 minutes, clinching the second C-USA victory of the season. Rice was able to trim the Roadrunner lead to just one within the first four minutes of the second half but UTSA countered with a pair of Farmer free throws and layups from both Medor and Germany to push its lead back to seven. UTSA continued to cruise throughout the second half, pushing its lead to as large as 13 with 3:31 remaining. The game then got interesting as Rice, much like the first meeting between the two teams, rattled off a late run to put pressure on the Roadrunners. Rice had a 13-2 run to trim the lead to just two as the game had a minute remaining. Richards was able to earn a trip to the line and made one of two to put the lead at three. The next Rice possession resulted in a turnover and Medor was fouled. Medor made both free throws and that would be all she wrote as the Roadrunners claimed a five-point victory.
Up Next
UTSA will return home to the Convocation after its weeknight road trip to host the UAB Blazers in a Saturday matinee. The UAB game, scheduled for Fe. 18, is set to tip off at 3 p.m., will be streamed on Stadium and will be broadcast on Ticket 760 AM.
- UTSA -
