SAN ANTONIO – It was a tale of contrasting stretches on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center, as the UTSA men’s basketball team (10-16, 4-10 AAC), as the Roadrunners succumbed to a late-game South Florida (13-14, 6-8 AAC) comeback. After leading the majority of the American Athletic Conference tilt, the Runners fell in their fifth consecutive loss as the Bulls rallied from a deep deficit across the final nine minutes to change the face of the game in the 78-73 UTSA setback.
The first half saw the Roadrunners light it up from the perimeter as UTSA built up a double-digit advantage by the midpoint of the half. After Tai’Reon joseph drove the left side of the lane to get the Roadrunners on the board, Primo Spears drained the first of his three triples on the night to give UTSA its first lead – the pair putting the ball in motion on a 17-4 Roadrunners scoring push, fueled by six USF turnovers in the stretch. Coming on as the fourth Roadrunner to put up a score, Damari Monsanto caught fire from long range, hitting back-to-back threes to give UTSA a 10-point lead with 10:38 on the clock.
Closing out the first half, Joseph, Spears and Monsanto threes kept the Bulls at a distance, and Baboucarr Njie’s free throw gave UTSA a 13-point advantage with 26 seconds left. Unfortunately, Jamille Reynolds notched a last second tip-in to trim the UTSA lead to 40-29 at the half. The Roadrunners racked up 10 South Florida turnovers in the half, already logging eight three-pointers on 42.1-percent long-range shooting.
Spears opened second-half scoring with a three and Monsanto fired two more to grant the Roadrunners an 18-point lead amidst a 9-2 start to the period. However, the Bulls quickly equalized the scoring before Marcus Millender created some distance with a three of his own, pulling up at the left arc on a fast break. Joseph’s triple with 9:55 to go pushed the lead back to 18 and Spears collected a pair of free throws that ballooned the lead to a game-high 20 points less than a minute later. However, three consecutive threes from Jimmie Williams and Quincy Ademokoya brought the margin back to 11. When Monsanto hit his seventh and final trey with 4:31 remaining, getting fouled on the shot, it looked like the Roadrunners were in position to keep the offense rolling and be able to fend off the advance.
However, that was the final UTSA score for nearly the entire remaining game. Led by Brandon Stroud, the Bulls forced five Roadrunner turnovers and erased an 11-point UTSA advantage over the next four minutes. Despite a solid Njie block in the final minute, Williams collected the board and earned a second-chance jumper to knot the score at 71-all with 49 seconds remaining.
An ‘unnecessary contact’ flagrant foul call gave the Bulls free throws and Stroud converted on just one opportunity. A called foul on the ensuing possession saw Jayden Reid make just one, as South Florida left the door cracked for UTSA to retake the lead. However, Spears’ turnaround jumper with 14 seconds to go was off the mark and the Bulls were able to put the game away at the line, finishing off the 16-2 run to seal a 78-73 South Florida win.
Monsanto led all scorers, matching his season highs of 22 points and seven three-pointers, shooting 7-for-13 beyond the arc. Spears finished with 18 points.
The Roadrunners forced 18 USF turnovers, logging 12 steals, but 16 of their own turnovers proved costly – as USF recorded 11 points off turnovers in the second half.
The Roadrunners maintained the lead in Wednesday’s game for 36:21.
Up Next
UTSA will see its first Sunday contest of the conference slate, traveling to Greenville, North Carolina this weekend for a Feb. 23 rematch at East Carolina. Next week is Senior Day back at the Convo, opening the new month with Rice at home on March 1.
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