CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After falling behind by 13 points beyond the midpoint of the second half, the UTSA men’s basketball team (5-20, 1-12 AMER) did anything but fold in Sunday’s slump-snapping victory at Halton Arena. Down 70-57 at the under-eight timeout, the Roadrunners fired off a huge unanswered scoring run and outpaced Charlotte (13-12, 7-5 AMER) by a 31-9 margin down the homestretch to claim the 88-79 win and snap a 17-game losing streak on the national ESPNU broadcast.
Squaring off with the 49ers on their own turf, who entered the game in a tie for third in the American Conference standings, the Roadrunners fell behind early but made it clear that resilience would be the theme of the day. At the first media timeout, Charlotte led 12-4 after a pair of Arden Conyers threes. However, the Roadrunners fired off a 9-0 run to bring things even on Brent Moss’ drive up the lane with 12:12 on the clock and a 16-16 game. UTSA moved past the tie while Jamir Simpson and Kaidon Rayfield added five more to push the Roadrunners in front for the first time at 21-16.
After seeing its offense stalled for three minutes, Charlotte got back on the board with a Raúl Villar second-chance layup and kicked off six minutes putting momentum in the balance – as the teams delivered five lead changes and five ties in that stretch.
As the half wound down, the 49ers started to make some space, breaking a 32-32 tie with Ben Bradford and Major Freeman combining for 12 points in the final four minutes to build a nine-point lead. Cushioning the run and giving UTSA some momentum into the break, Simpson drove off Daniel Akitoby’s screen at the perimeter to battle a lefty layup over 7-foot-2 Anton Bonke with the foul, drawing the deficit to 44-38 with :03 remaining and the six-point halftime deficit.
At the half, Akitoby led all scorers with eight, but the scoring and rebounds were spread across the roster in the team effort, as the Roadrunners scored 24 in the paint and claimed 10 points off five Charlotte turnovers.
Though Charlotte was riding high off perimeter shots, hitting nine in the first half, Freeman started piling on with two more that stretched Charlotte’s lead to double-digits. After a Freeman fast break made the lead 13 for the first time with 15:14 to go, the Roadrunners rallied and swung the deficit to single-digits three times – but each time the 49ers managed a response.
Trailing by 13 again at 70-57 coming out of the 8:38 media timeout, the Roadrunners started chipping away with Simpson kicking the ball out to Mathéo Coffi for a three in the corner. With Coffi forcing a 49ers turnover on the ensuing possession and pushing the ball ahead for a Moss dunk on the break, the Roadrunners were clearly on the move.
On the next possession, it was Simpson kicking out to Coffi again on the perimeter, draining a three on the wing, and Baboucarr Njie added a spinning layup off the glass on the next trip up the floor to bring the deficit to a single possession. Moss scooped up a Charlotte turnover on the other end and then took the step-back three to tie it at 70-all when he caught up to the break.
Moss forced Bonke to lose the ball out of bounds on the next 49ers possession and found LJ Brown on the wing for the go-ahead triple with 3:56 remaining. Sticking with what was already fueling the run, Brown then caused an out-of-bounds turnover and Simpson went to the floor hard on the ensuing drive, but buried the bucket. Moss got the rebound off a big Charlotte miss and flipped the ball ahead to Njie, who tipped the ball back to Simpson for the fast break layup – extending the run to 20-0 with a 77-70 advantage.
Bonke finally snapped a Charlotte scoring drought that ran 6:41 with a pair of free throws from Bonke. However, the Roadrunners held the 49ers without a field goal until :44 remained in the game – stretching it to 7:54 without a Charlotte bucket. Down the stretch, the Roadrunners took care of business at the line with 13-of-14 made in the second half, finishing off a 31-9 push across the final 8:38 to earn their first conference victory at 88-79.
The Roadrunners ended the afternoon with six players in double-figures, paced by Simpson with his ninth 20+ scoring performance of the year, while also grabbing career highs of eight rebounds and seven assists – all three leading UTSA against the 49ers. Moss and Njie each totaled 16, with Moss grabbing six boards and two steals, while Njie registered four rebounds and three assists.
After being such a huge factor in keeping the Roadrunners centered in the first half, Akitoby finished with 12 points and Rayfield went a career-best 3-for-4 from three for 11 points.
The Roadrunners finished with 24 points off 13 Charlotte turnovers, pushing the ball in transition for 17 points and shooting 48.4 percent from the field on the game. UTSA shot 18-of-20 at the free throw line (90 percent) and only committed three turnovers in the game.
Up Next
The Roadrunners return to the Convocation Center next Wednesday, Feb. 18, hosting the rematch with Florida Atlantic for Student Appreciation Night, heading to meet Tulsa on the road on Sunday at the Reynolds Center.
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