NEW ORLEANS – The UTSA men’s basketball team (6-7, 0-1 AAC) opened American Athletic Conference play with a 92-63 loss to a hot-shooting Tulane (8-7, 2-0 AAC) on Saturday evening at Avron B. Fogelman Arena. First-half scoring slumps stunted the Roadrunners, despite a more balanced second half in the conference opener.
The Green Wave jumped out early, building up a 9-0 advantage in the first three minutes, snapped by Louisiana local Tai’Reon Joseph, putting the Roadrunners on the board with a driving pull-up jumper with 17:12 to go. Raekwon Horton and Marcus Millender scored on two more consecutive possessions to cut the lead to five, but Tulane dealt the scores right back. Back-to-back Damari Monsanto threes chipped the deficit to seven with 13:27 to go in the opening period.
However, a UTSA scoring drought that persisted for seven minutes allowed the Green Wave to build a notable advantage, launching a 15-0 run over the stretch. Moving in transition, Monsanto found Horton underneath the basket, with a quick dish off to David Hermes for the slump-snapping bucket with 5:39 to go. However, the Tulane tandem of Kaleb Banks and Rowan Brumbaugh combined for 25 to pace the Green Wave to a 47-23 halftime advantage.
Working out of a deep hole, the Roadrunners saw more balance to the offense in the second half, but the Green Wave continued to keep their distance. UTSA broke out to an 8-0 run into the final eight minutes, but Tulane held off the charge for the 92-63 final line. Picking up the pressure in the second half, the Roadrunners forced the Green Wave into 11 second-half turnovers, notching seven steals in the period.
For Tulane, Banks and Brumbaugh finished with 24 and 23 points, respectively.
Leading the Roadrunners, Horton cut close to another double-double, registering 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting and nine rebounds, along with three assists and three steals. Joseph finished with 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
WHAT’S NEXT
After a lot of road time over the last month, the Roadrunners will see four consecutive games in the Lone Star State, including three of the next four dates at home. Next up is Tulsa at the Convocation Center on Jan. 7 in the AAC home opener, followed on Jan. 11 by Wichita State visiting San Antonio.
- UTSA -