WICHITA, Kan. – Limited first-half scoring gave the UTSA men’s basketball team (8-15, 2-8 AAC) a challenging uphill battle in Wednesday night’s AAC contest at Wichita State (10-14, 2-8 AAC), but the Shockers’ effort in the paint at Charles Koch Arena made the 20-point halftime deficit insurmountable. With the second half split even, Wichita State maintained its advantage to deal UTSA an 84-64 road defeat.
Although the Roadrunners got off to a scrappy start, the Shockers scored on their first eight possessions and made the first seven consecutive field goals to build a 17-8 lead in the first six minutes. The Roadrunners’ defense eventually slowed the Shockers, forcing WSU to miss 7-of-their next 10. However, the most limited-scoring half for UTSA since the Army West Point game allowed the Shockers to build out a 44-24 halftime lead, controlled the line in the opening period with a 28-16 rebound advantage, while putting up 28 in the paint.
Scoring 11 of his team-high 13 points in the second half, Dre Fuller Jr. sparked the UTSA offense early and often coming out of the break. However, the Roadrunners and Shockers went blow-for-blow, and UTSA was only able to whittle the deficit to 16 points early in the period. The Shockers shot 43.8 percent in the second half over UTSA’s 39.4 percent, but the Roadrunners got control of the rebounds (23-19 UTSA) and balanced out the scoring in the paint while both teams logged 19 inside in the period. With a 40-all stalemate in the second half, Wichita State came away with the 84-64 win at home.
Typically a bright spot for the Roadrunners, UTSA shot just 13-of-25 from the free throw line on the night, while the Shockers were a perfect 15-of-15.
Fuller led the Roadrunners with 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting, while Adante' Holiman scored 12 in his second game back in action, grabbing four rebounds with a team-high three assists. Trey Edmonds scored 10 with a team-leading six rebounds.
Up Next
The Roadrunners return to action on Saturday at the Convocation Center, hosting East Carolina on officially proclaimed “210 Day” with a nationally televised ESPNU broadcast scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m.
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