MBB: Roadrunners snap 11-game skid with win over Rice

By Luke Lawhorn Sports Editor

HOUSTON – A full team effort prevailed in Houston, as the Roadrunners picked up their first road win of the season, defeating Rice 84-79 on Thursday evening in Tudor Fieldhouse.

John Buggs III led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 8 for 10 from the field and 5 for 7 from beyond the arc.

Josh Farmer added 18 points off the bench while also shooting 8 for 10 from the floor in UTSA’s second conference victory this season. Rice managed to climb out of their 13-point deficit and trail the Roadrunners 79-77 with a minute left in the fourth quarter. Cameron Sheffield made a 3-pointer with one minute remaining in the game.

Japhet Medor missed a layup on UTSA’s next possession to give the Owls another chance at completing the comeback. Rice guard Mekhi Mason missed a layup on the other end, in which DJ Richards grabbed the rebound. Richards was then intentionally fouled and forced to go to the free-throw line.

After missing the first free throw, Richards made the second to give the ‘Runners a 3-point lead. Medor made two pairs of free throws to ice the game and claim the 84-79 victory.

The JUCO transfer finished Thursday’s game with 14 points. Medor is currently the team’s leader in points per game with 12.9. Jacob Germany was the fourth Roadrunner in double-figure scoring with 16 points while also snagging eight rebounds. Germany is currently third in Conference USA in average rebounds per game with 8.0. Rice (16-10, 7-8 C-USA) finds themselves fifth in the league standings. of 3:12.45. The final relay was UTSA’s first conference victory in the event since 2014.

The Roadrunners currently have a 2-14 C-USA record and are 8-19 overall, finding themselves at the bottom of the conference standings. Thursday night’s triumph is the first victory for UTSA since the 75-72 win over Middle Tennessee on Jan. 5.

The ‘Runners are now 12-9 all-time against Rice.

UTSA will look to add another win as they face UAB at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18.

Roth also broke the school record in the 400m dash with a time of 46.42. The record-setting continued in the 200m dash, where the sophomore clocked a 21.09 which would land him runner-up in the event and No. 2 all-time in the event in UTSA history.

Jack Turner claimed his third career C-USA Indoor heptathalon title. His 5,794 points in the event broke the conference record set by Scott Filip of Rice in 2015.

Turner extended the Roadrunners streak of four consecutive seasons of winning the event.

Jamuel Miller won the triple jump in back-to-back seasons for the ‘Runners. Miller leaped a 15.63m (51-3.5) in the fifth round to claim the gold over teammate Gabriel Binion who finished with a jump of 15.52m (50-11), earning him the silver medal.

UTSA’s second place finish adds to nine straight top-three finishes as the conference meet.