UTSA and UAB battled from start to finish but the Blazers came out on the high end of a 78-76 win over UTSA
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UTSA men's basketball began its life in the American Conference Tuesday night by hosting a foe they got familiar with as members of Conference USA. The Roadrunners began their new life in the American as they did much of the final years in their old conference, on the short end of the score.
UAB took the 78-76 win when Efrem "Butta" Johnson knocked down a contested mid-range jumper with 2.5 seconds left in the second half.
The Roadrunners were unable to get any look at a buzzer beater when their inbounds pass was intercepted by the Blazers.
Johnson's basket in the final seconds was the 18th time the lead changed hands on Tuesday night. UTSA and UAB were also tied 13 times in a game that was shown to a national audience on ESPN U.
The game was close from start to finish. UTSA's largest lead was six points which they reached with a bucket from Jordan Ivy-Curry at the 9:12 mark of the second half to give UTSA a 61-55 lead.
UAB's largest lead of the night was five and it came just a minute and a half into the game when the Blazers opened the game on a 5-0 run.
Despite the loss there were positives for the Roadrunners. UTSA led for 20:05 of the game. UAB had the lead for 13 minutes and the two teams were tied for a total of six minutes and 55 seconds.
UTSA also forced 20 Blazer turnovers and got 12 points off those turnovers. The Roadrunners bench outscored that of the Blazers 39-22 and UTSA had twice as many points in the paint as UAB, 32-16. The Roadrunners also did better scoring on the fast break with a 19-11 advantage in that category.
One area that proved costly for UTSA was at the free throw line. UAB made 15 of their 18 free throws while UTSA managed only 13 makes on 19 attempts.
The Roadrunners had three players score in double figures. Jordan Ivy-Curry led the Roadrunners with a double-double, scoring 20 points and coming down with 10 rebounds. Dre Fuller Jr. and Christian Tucker both finished with 15 points for the Roadrunners.
UTSA fell to 2-3 all-time in conference debuts with the loss to UAB. The Roadrunners will look to get their first win in the American on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Houston to face the Rice Owls. That game is scheduled for 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way
