DENVER – Pouring on steady offense throughout with timely defensive stands, the UTSA men’s basketball team (2-2) earned a mile-high victory on Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Gymnasium. Paced by a Baboucarr Njie double-double and a clutch shooting day from Jamir Simpson, the Roadrunners racked up big numbers on the scoreboard and the glass, spoiling the Denver (2-2) home opener in the first road win of the year, 84-79.
Coming off a slow start earlier in the week at Texas State, the Roadrunners wasted little time kicking the offense into gear against the Pioneers, with the grad guard Simpson hitting his first of four threes just 75 seconds into the game. Simpson teamed with freshman Mathéo Coffi and junior Austin Nunez to put three triples on the board and snatch the early lead.
The Pioneers briefly regained the lead at 14:31 and created a four-point advantage, but the sophomore wing Njie scored two consecutive unanswered buckets, Simpson pulled up for the go-ahead jumper at 15-13 and Njie crashed the lane with a statement driving dunk. Simpson closed off the 11-0 UTSA run with another long-range shot to go ahead 20-13 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half.
Denver started to push back as the half wound down, behind the efforts of forward Jeremiah Burke, who scored 16 of DU’s 28 first-half points, drawing the game to 27-24 with four minutes to go in the period. However, Njie and Simpson tag-teamed the Pioneers for 10 points in the final stretch of the half to build out a 37-28 advantage at the break.
UTSA held the Pioneers to 33.3 percent shooting in the opening stanza and only three Denver players scored. Helping things along, UTSA nabbed seven offensive rebounds in the opening period. Meanwhile, both Njie and Simpson hit double-figures before the break and six Roadrunners were on the scoreboard at half.
Both teams came out of the locker room on fire, combining for 32 points in the opening five minutes of the new period. However, Denver put all their momentum behind five straight buckets and 15 points in that stretch by Carson Johnson, tying the game at 49 and going back on top for the first time in 19 minutes with a pair of Burke free throws at 51-50.
The Roadrunners responded perfectly, with back-to-back Njie buckets and then freshman guard Dorian Hayes entered the picture with consecutive threes. Though the Pioneers kept within an arm’s length, Njie and Simpson had a swift response to swing momentum back to the Roadrunners – with Simpson then draining a three to break the game’s second tie with 8:46 on the clock.
After Nunez got the layup to grow the lead, Simpson hit his fourth and final three to make the lead eight with six minutes left. Once again, the Pioneers came rushing back, using the three-ball to make things tight, but Brent Moss dropped a triple at four minutes to keep them just out of reach.
After Johnson made it a two-point game in the final two minutes with another three, Nunez capitalized on a foul while driving the lane, putting away the two key free throws to make it a two-possession game. Njie grabbed the next defensive board and sunk a pair at the line to take the lead to six. Nunez collected the final four UTSA points with a layup and two at the line to secure the 84-79 road victory.
Njie registered his first career double-double on a pair of career highs – with 23 points in his first career 20-point game and 12 boards, shooting 52.9 percent from the field and going 5-of-7 at the line.
Simpson produced his second 20-point game of the week with 20 points exactly, hitting 7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Nunez was the third Roadrunner in double-figures, collecting a career-best 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, notching a pair of threes and 4-of-5 shooting at the line. Hayes finished with nine and doled out five assists. Coffi collected a season-high nine rebounds
As a team, UTSA shot a season-best 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the floor and 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from long distance. The Roadrunners won the rebounding battle with a 37-27 margin. The Roadrunners shot 75 percent at the free throw line, going 8-for-8 in the second half.
Up Next
After a two-game road swing, the Roadrunners will be back at the Convocation Center on Tuesday, Nov. 18, with a Thanks4giving Food Drive and the first game of the Rowdy’s Fast Break Field Trip program, an elementary school education game at the 11 a.m. tipoff against Southwestern Christian.
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