MBB: LA Tech takes down UTSA in high-scoring second half

By Rylan Renteria Contributor

SAN ANTONIO – After a lowscoring first half, LA Tech took off in the second half and handed UTSA their 8th straight loss, winning 66-55 on a rainy Saturday afternoon in the UTSA Convocation Center.

With this loss, UTSA extends their conference-leading losing streak to eight and brings their record on the season to 7-16, with an abysmal 1-11 record against Conference USA opponents.

Isaiah Adoo-Ankrah led the Roadrunners with 14 points and 6 rebounds while going 4-of-9 from the three-point line. Teammates Christian Tucker and John Buggs III each added 13 points.

Japhet Medor, UTSA’s leading scorer in points per game with 13.7, returned midway through the first half after missing the last three games with a foot injury.

Though the Roadrunners’ most important offense cog returned to the court, UTSA lacked offensive production, scoring a season-low 18 first-half points. Roadrunners missed their first seven shots from beyond the arc. Addo-Ankrah ended the dry spell with the team’s first three with 9:58 remaining in the half.

LA Tech’s shots began to fall in the second half as the gap widened to as much as a 12-point lead just three minutes into the period. Tucker and Adoo-Ankrah managed to break the Bulldogs’ run with threes of their own. LA Tech maintained their lead and came out with the victory 66-55.

“I feel like we just need to put a lot of pieces together and go on more runs,” Medor said. “Less stops and less droughts as a team; just the little things.”

Despite the disappointing conference record, the players remain faithful to the coaching and will stay intact for the remainder of the season.

“We’re bought into the system and bought into the coaches,” Medor said. “I feel like everything else will speak for itself later on in the season.”

UTSA takes on Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, at the E.A. Diddle Arena.