SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men’s basketball team (3-2) was in prime time form despite Tuesday’s matinee matchup with the visiting Southwestern Christian Eagles (2-3), building a double-digit lead in the first six minutes and then running away with the 103-70 victory in the only game this week – notching back-to-back wins.
The Roadrunners set the tone quickly and early, reeling off an 8-0 run to start Tuesday’s game. However, the Eagles chipped the advantage down to just three once they got their offense on track, with Michal Wooldridge trimming the deficit to 9-6 with 16:17 on the first half clock. UTSA’s response took control of the game and the momentum, outscoring SCU 15-3 over the next four minutes, beginning with back-to-back buckets from graduate student Jamir Simpson.
Simpson and redshirt junior Austin Nunez combined for 12 of UTSA’s first 22 points.
Graduate center Mo Njie battled to the hoop for a three-point play to make the advantage 19 with 9:51 on the clock and Nunez quickly answered SCU’s reply with a turnaround to rebuild the margin.
The Eagles used the three-ball to slowly chip into the Roadrunners’ lead, cutting the deficit to just 12 with 3:15 remaining in the half on Jalen Goar’s third triple of the half. UTSA’s response was swift and strong, with freshman Dorian Hayes draining a three of his own 15 seconds later and the Roadrunners outpaced the Eagles 12-4 heading into a 20-point halftime advantage of 53-33.
Simpson turned in a 14-point scoring performance in the opening half, going 6-for-11.
Hayes started to heat up after leading off the second half with a triple under a minute into the new period, as UTSA started to unleash the long ball after only four in the opening period. Every time the Eagles started to trim, UTSA had a quick answer to keep the advantage around 20 points while diversifying the lineup. Near the midpoint of the half, SCU lightly stalled the Roadrunners to cut it to 15, but UTSA reeled off a 13-2 push over the next five minutes and finished things off going over the century mark for the first time this season – outscoring Southwestern Christian 30-12 in the final 10 minutes of the game for the 103-70 victory.
Simpson led all UTSA scorers with 21 points for his third consecutive 20-point performance, hitting 8-of-15, along with six rebounds and three assists.
Nunez notched a career high for the second straight game, scoring 18 points along with five assists and four rebounds.
Freshman forward Kaidon Rayfield was a load for the Eagles on the boards, notching his second double-double in the first five games with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Brent Moss also registered his first NCAA double-double at 13 points and 10 boards – the first time with two earning a double-double since Feb. 2024.
The fifth double-digit scoring performance belonged to Macaleab Rich – the second time this season for the Roadrunners. In total, 10 players scored for UTSA as the Roadrunners shot a season-high 53.2 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from long range with 10 threes. UTSA collected 20 assists, forced 17 turnovers and outrebounded SCU 51-32.
UTSA scored over 50 in both halves, making it three consecutive halves cresting that count.
Up Next
UTSA has a few days out of competition before heading to the Sunshine State for a pair of Thanksgiving-week tournament games at the Jacksonville Classic. UTSA will face Abilene Christian on Monday, Nov. 24 and Georgia Southern on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
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