SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men’s basketball team’s (4-12, 0-4 AMER) offense got off to a hot start but cooled in an early defensive battle against Tulane (12-4, 3-0 AMER) on Saturday at the Convocation Center. As the Roadrunners slowed, the Green Wave began to surge from long range and created extended scoring runs en route to an 85-52 win to deal UTSA its ninth consecutive loss.
Although Austin Nunez got the friendly bounce for a three on the first possession to take the initial lead, and Jamir Simpson tied the game with a layup through contact moments later, Curtis Williams Jr. logged back-to-back threes for the Green Wave to create a little space. Dorian Hayes countered with his own triple and a mid-range floater from Brent Moss drew the game to two at 13-11, but Rowan Brumbaugh registered the next nine points for Tulane and sparked a 15-2 run over the next eight minutes that changed the face of the game – setting up a 39-21 Tulane advantage at the half.
The Green Wave hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc to open the second half with a 14-4 push in the first five minutes of the period and never looked back, putting down 19 total three-pointers to pull away to an 85-52 final margin. Brumbaugh and Williams paced the Green Wave with a combined 12 triples, scoring 23 and 22, respectively.
Nunez led the Roadrunners for the fourth consecutive game, scoring 12 on 40 percent shooting, while Simpson had 10 with four rebounds. With a game-high on the glass, Mathéo Coffi collected a career-high 11 rebounds.
Up Next
Rivalry week is up for the closing game of the three-game homestand, hosting Rice at the Convo on Wednesday, Jan. 14, for Salute to Armed Forces. UTSA closes next week with a nationally televised road matchup on Sunday against defending American Champion Memphis at FedEx Forum.
- UTSA -