SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men’s basketball team (7-10, 1-3 AAC) never got the offense on track against challenging defensive opponent, dropping Saturday night’s AAC contest with Charlotte (9-7, 3-1 AAC) at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunner offense fell behind early on a sluggish start Saturday, against the 49ers, as UTSA opened up the night 1-for-6 from the field while Charlotte was hovering around 50 percent shooting. A team that had dropped 40 three-pointers in the last three conference games, UTSA was ice cold from beyond the arc, not finding paydirt from three until Christian Tucker drained the first long-ranger with 6:42 remaining before halftime. The Roadrunners never earned a lead and fell behind by as many as 12 in the first half. However, that mark proved to be a turning point before the break, as Trey Edmonds, Chandler Cuthrell and PJ Carter reeled off seven unanswered points to slice the deficit to only five with 87 seconds to half. The 49ers edged back with some hits at the free throw line, but Carter brought the game to 32-27 with a three at the four-second mark.
The 49ers re-established a lead that grew out to 13 as 11 second-half turnovers proved costly for the Roadrunners. While holding Charlotte without a field goal for much of the final eight minutes, UTSA started to chip away as Jordan Ivy-Curry’s floater in the lane trimmed it to a seven-point game with 4:20 to go. However, the 49ers were adept at drawing free throws and put away 7-of-8 from the line in the final 2:15 to clip UTSA’s rally hopes. Ivy-Curry scored eight of UTSA’s final 10 points as Charlotte created enough space for the 66-58 win.
Putting up 16 in the second half, Ivy-Curry finished with a game-high 20 points for his fourth game over 20 this season and second in a row. Providing sparks for the Roadrunners at times, Carter finished with 13 points.
In total, the Roadrunners logged 17 turnovers against the 49ers, resulting in 19 Charlotte points. UTSA shot 35 percent from floor and were held to just five three-pointers for only the second time this season.
Led by Edmonds’ 11-board effort, UTSA commanded the glass, outrebounding the 49ers by a 46-26 margin, opening the door for 16 UTSA second-chance points.
Up Next
UTSA will head back out on the road next week for a Wednesday, Jan. 17 AAC matchup at Tulsa, then returning home on the weekend host No. 24 Florida Atlantic (Jan. 21) at the Convo.
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