DENTON, Texas – The Roadrunners made a strong push in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to climb out of a major first-half deficit, as UTSA men’s basketball (4-15, 0-7 AMER) saw its win streak at the Super Pit snapped with Wednesday’s 81-62 loss at North Texas (12-7, 3-3 AMER).
Though North Texas put the first seven points on the board, the Roadrunners made quick offensive moves to keep the margin steadily within two possessions. However, a 12-0 Mean Green scoring run beginning at the 12-minute mark proved to be a costly swing for the Roadrunners. North Texas grew its lead to 25-9 on the push, only broken as Jamir Simpson drove from the free throw line for a pull-up jumper with 8:38 remaining, giving the Roadrunners a spark of their own as UTSA outscored UNT 8-1 over the next two minutes and cut the deficit to nine.
Swinging the momentum the opposite direction, UNT’s Je'Shawn Stevenson and David Terrell Jr. led a 17-6 finish to the half, which included four UTSA turnovers and three Mean Green triples across the final six minutes – sending the teams to the locker room with North Texas leading 45-23 after Stevenson pulled up for a logo three with three seconds remaining.
Turnovers were a costly factor in the first half, as UTSA surrendered the ball 12 times, including eight UNT steals, translating to 19 first-half points for UNT.
Coming out of the break, the Roadrunners showed they weren’t prepared to just lay down, matching scores right out of the locker room – protecting the ball and turning the tables on the Mean Green defensively.
After Dylan Arnett’s free throws gave UNT a game-high 24-point lead at 16:14, the Roadrunners began to chip away as Mathéo Coffi put away a three at the 15:52 mark, while Baboucarr Njie and then Mo Njie followed with back-to-back buckets. B. Njie trimmed the game to 16 with his second three of the year.
Although the Mean Green jumped back to a 22-point advantage, UTSA wouldn’t lie down, as Austin Nunez, Jamir Simpson and Dorian Hayes led a 12-3 charge over the next four minutes that sliced the deficit to 13 with 4:49 to go.
North Texas got its offense free after missing seven of the previous eight shots, putting down three consecutive three-pointers to quell the Roadrunner rally and close out the 81-62 win – dealing UTSA its 12th consecutive loss of the season.
The Roadrunners only allowed two turnovers in the second half and no UNT points off turnovers, conversely collecting eight points off eight second-half UNT turnovers.
A very active component as the Roadrunners worked to rally in the second half, Baboucarr Njie registered seven blocks (six in the second half) to snap Tom Oswald’s single-game record (6) from 1996 against Louisiana-Monroe – Njie also logging seven points with three rebounds.
Simpson earned his 17th double-figure performance of the year, leading UTSA with 14 points, while Nunez scored 12 and both Roadrunners notched four rebounds.
Up Next
Returning home after two consecutive road contests, UTSA gets its first rematch of the year on Saturday, with Temple coming to the Convo for Rowdy Rodeo with a 1 p.m. tipoff.
- UTSA -