SAN ANTONIO – Despite a 27-point PJ Carter scoring effort, the Temple Owls (12-19, 5-13 AAC) worked back from a 10-point deficit in the final 10 minutes, dealing UTSA men’s basketball (11-20, 5-13 AAC) an 84-82 loss in Sunday’s regular season finale at the Convocation Center. Temple’s Hysier Miller hit a fadeaway leaner as time expired to give the Owls the two-point victory, spoiling UTSA’s Senior Day and snapping the Roadrunners’ three-game win streak, heading into next week’s American Athletic Conference Championships.
It was a blow-for-blow first half in the rematch for these teams, as the game remained within a single possession for all but 74 seconds of the first 19 minutes of the half. The opening stanza revealed eight ties and produced the ninth lead change when Carter drained final go-ahead three of the half with 2:48 to go. Carlton Linguard Jr. muscled his way back to the hoop after getting his own rebound to extend the lead to three just below the two-minute mark. With 1:01 on the clock, Carter showed screen and slipped the switch to spot up off the Christian Tucker dump-off for a three from the right arc that pushed the Roadrunners in front by five. A Trey Edmonds free throw extended the UTSA lead out to 39-45 headed into the break – the Roadrunners holding Temple without a field goal for the final three minutes of the half.
At the half, Carter was already headed toward a massive scoring haul with 18 points, already setting a new career mark at the line, hitting 7-of-8 for the bulk of UTSA’s 13-for-18 in the opening period. At half, UTSA had built up a 28-17 rebounding advantage.
Coming out of halftime, the Roadrunners established a furious scoring pace, hitting three of their first four shots across the first two minutes, all long-range shots from Carter and Tucker – setting their first double-digit lead. Although the Owls scrapped the lead down to earth, UTSA crested a double-figure advantage four more times, reaching a game-high 13 points on Tucker’s triple at 12:41. However, the final time came with Linguard’s second-chance layup at 9:55 that put UTSA ahead 70-60. Back-to-back threes from Mario Picarelli slashed that lead to four just one minute later and launched a three-minute 13-4 Temple surge to a single-point deficit at 5:54 left. Dre Fuller Jr. drove the baseline for the hoop and more, followed by an alley-oop to Linguard to give UTSA a six-point lead. However, the Owls again chipped away with nine unanswered, tying the game and pulling in front on a Sam Hofman three in the final two minutes. Carter answered with a game-tying three with 1:27 remaining and the Owls got the final possession out of a timeout – Hysier breaking the 82-all tie as time expired, leaning away from Edmonds’ heavy coverage for the game-winning jumper.
Carter hit 7-of-12 from the field, logging six three-pointers and 27 points – both career highs. Coming on strong in the second half, Linguard finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Tucker finished with 13 points and five assists, while Fuller ended the game with 10. Edmonds also had nine rebounds to go with seven points.
After UTSA held the Owls to 41.7 percent in the first half, Temple got hot with a 55.2-percent shooting effort in the second period, while also claiming a 15-13 rebounding advantage in the second 20 minutes.
Prior to the game, the Roadrunners held the annual Senior Day celebration, sending off Fuller, Linguard and Isaiah Wyatt.