Box Score CORPUS CHRISTI – John Jordan scored a season-high 21 points, but a hot-shooting UTSA squad surged past the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team, 73-60, on Monday night at the American Bank Center.
The Roadrunners shot 59.3 percent from the floor in the second half to turn a four-point halftime deficit into a double-digit victory. Ryan Bowie scored 20 points, going 8-for-12 from the field (including a 4-for-5 performance from beyond the arc) for UTSA, while Keon Lewis added 19 points, including a 13-for-15 effort at the free-throw line.
Rashawn Thomas added 18 points and Brandon Pye 10 in a losing effort for the Islanders (3-5). The Roadrunners (4-4) won the battle of the boards, 31-27, in the victory.
Early on, the Islanders scored three of the first four buckets of the game, including a Thomas three-point play, to take a 7-3 lead. But UTSA used the shot from distance to counter, cutting the lead to 7-6 on a Bowie three. The Islanders used shots from beyond the arc to regain control, as Pye and Dale Francis each drained treys to push the lead to 17-10. The Islanders then advanced the score to 19-12.
UTSA got a quick 5-0 run on a block and dunk by Austin Karrer and a three by James Ringholt that made it 19-17 with 6:32 remaining. From there into the locker room, the teams traded points, mostly at the free-throw line, as the Islanders held a 29-25 edge at the break. Both teams excelled at the stripe in the opening half, with A&M-Corpus Christi going 9-for-10 and UTSA 8-for-8.
After the Islanders got a triple from Pye to start the second half, UTSA embarked on a 17-2 run to gain its first lead since the opening minute of the game. After the Roadrunners scored eight points in a row, a Jordan bank shot snapped the rally to regain the lead for the Islanders, 34-33. But UTSA drilled three consecutive threes and held A&M-Corpus Christi off the scoreboard to take a 42-34 edge.
The Islanders were able to snap that run with a drive to the hoop by Thomas for two, and from there the teams traded baskets to a 48-40 UTSA advantage. But the Roadrunners added another decisive run, this one 13-2, to push the lead to a game-high 19 on a Gino Littles layup. A&M-Corpus Christi was able to cut the lead down to 11 with a 7-0 run that included a three-point play by Jordan, but that was as close as the home squad would get, as the Roadrunners emerged victorious.
The Islanders will get right back on the court, as they head to Denver for a Wednesday matchup against the Pioneers. It will be a rematch of a contest the two teams played last week at the American Bank Center, where DU knocked off A&M-Corpus Christi 64-48. Tipoff on Wednesday is slated for 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT and Yannis Koutroupis will have the call of the game on NewsRadio 1360 KKTX.
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