BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UTSA men’s basketball team (8-10, 2-4 AAC) was a fingertip away from potentially taking league-leading UAB (12-7, 5-1 AAC) to overtime, suffering an 81-78 heartbreaker at Bartow Arena on Tuesday night. The Roadrunners’ final three-point attempt was blocked with time expiring to close out the slugfest between the Roadrunners and Blazers.
Though UAB led the from their first score, the Roadrunners never allowed them to be comfortable in it – spending a good portion of the contest within two possessions and making it a single-point game on three separate occasions as multiple Roadrunners stepped up when needed to give the team a boost.
It was a sluggish start for both of these high scoring squads, as the Roadrunners saw a 1-for-9 start, but UAB wasn’t much farther ahead at 2-for-6 in addition to points at the line. A brief 9-0 run for the Blazers sparked the UTSA offense with Primo Spears responding by feeding Jonnivius Smith over the top for a dunk that snapped a scoring drought more than three minutes deep. Spears’ next fade-away jumper kept things moving and that’s where Marcus Millender got started for the night – hitting his first of three timely threes.
After the slow start, UTSA knocked down four of its next six shots, as Millender drained a second three-pointer and his third-straight fast break score to make it a 22-18 UAB lead with 7:36 to go. Coming down the stretch toward the half, both teams caught fire, as both UAB and UTSA reeled off four consecutive buckets, with Damari Monsanto draining his second three at the 1:07 mark to bring UTSA within four.
A pair of UAB free throws in the closing minute gave the Blazers a 38-32 halftime lead. Fouls and free throws provided the Blazers with just enough of an edge as the Roadrunners saw early foul trouble that also resulted in UAB making 11-of-13 at the line in the first half.
Coming out of the break, Monsanto fired up what would be a big half for himself and the Roadrunners, hitting his third and fourth triples in the first 2:08 of the second period, while Jonnivius Smith began a very physical half with a long-ranger from the top of the key that made it a single-possession game for the first time in nearly 20 minutes at 44-42. On the next trip up the court, Monsanto dropped another trey and it was a one-point affair at 46-45 with 15:35 to go. However, the Blazers were quick to counter, rebuilding a persistent cushion of seven points.
With 10:08 to go, it was Smith who delivered a single-possession game again, grabbing his own rebound, fighting off a collapsing UAB defense and strong-arming in a layup to make it 59-56. Free throws proved pesky for the Roadrunners again, as UAB went nearly five minutes without a field goal, but six straight at the charity stripe prevented a Roadrunner takeover.
Pushing back from a nine-point deficit, Smith collected yet another key rebound and found Millender in the corner for a three, while Raekwon Horton added two more on free throws the next time up the court to make it a four-point game. A missed back end of a free throw set by Efram “Butta” Johnson with 4:12 to go helped UTSA to hang around, with Spears driving the court on Smith’s rebound, getting fouled and scoring with the clock off to make it 71-68.
Again, the Blazers countered, as Yaxel Lendeborg slipped the back line for a layup and earned free throws on the next trip – pushing UAB back out to seven.
This is where Spears rose to his typical leadership, hitting a three to make it 75-71. Monsanto knocked down three free throws after getting fouled on the perimeter, making it 77-74. Though a pull-up dagger from Tyren Moore gave UAB the five-point edge with 1:15 to go, Spears drove the lane on the opposite end, forcing one off the glass despite uncalled contact with one minute on the clock.
On the next UAB trip, the Roadrunners made the stop and forced UAB to turn the ball over out of bounds on the baseline. Making the most of the takeaway, Spears spotted up for a clean fadeaway at the free throw line to make it a 79-78 game with 22.4 seconds on the clock. With UTSA forced to foul, Alejandro Vasquez put away both free throws for a three-point advantage with 11.3 seconds on the clock.
Overtime on the line, Spears found Monsanto breaking to the arc off an interior screen, spotting up on the right side for his signature shot. However, UAB’s Christian Coleman got there just in time to get a finger on the ball – the deflection settling an 82-78 UAB escape for the win.
Spears led all scorers with 27 points on 10-of-23 shooting, along with a season-high eight assists. Monsanto’s long-range shooting brought the Roadrunners a spark and nearly to overtime, as the grad student scored 21 with six three-pointers, adding a season-high seven rebounds. Smith proved invaluable inside in the second half, muscling out a game-high eight rebounds, in addition to 12 points, while Millender hit three keys from long range and totaled 13 points.
Up Next
Another of the league’s current top teams is on the slate for Saturday, with Temple coming to the Convocation Center on Jan. 25 with a 3 p.m. tip for the annual NABC Suits and Sneakers for Cancer game. The Owls play at North Texas on Wednesday before heading to San Antonio.
- UTSA -