San Antonio, TX — The UTSA Roadrunners came out firing, feeding off early energy and home-court momentum, but their hot start wasn’t enough to cool off Southern Illinois Edwardsville’s second-half surge. The Cougars overcame a sluggish opening and pulled away late for a 77–60 win Friday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
UTSA senior guard Jamir Simpson ignited the crowd early, scoring eight of the Roadrunners’ first 11 points and hitting his first three shots — two of them from deep — to give UTSA an 11–4 lead. But after that quick burst, the offense went cold.
SIUE (2–0) clawed its way back by capitalizing on free throws and offensive rebounds. A corner three by senior guard Darius Robinson cut the deficit to 20–18 as the Roadrunners went more than four minutes without a field goal. Moments later, senior forward Arnas Sakenis buried a step-back jumper to tie the game.
From there, momentum shifted. Senior forward Myles Thompson gave the Cougars their first lead of the afternoon at 27–26 after sinking two free throws with 3:50 left in the first half. SIUE wouldn’t trail again. Thompson capped the half with a deep buzzer-beater from the left wing to make it 34–29 at the break and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
UTSA’s Austin Nunez tried to rally his team in the second half, scoring 10 points and slashing to the rim for a key fast-break layup. Freshman Dorian Hayes also hit a big corner three to pull the Roadrunners within 44–42. But each time UTSA showed signs of life, SIUE responded — this time with Darrion Baker’s matching three-pointer that reignited the Cougars’ offense.
SIUE then went on a 9–0 run, stretching the lead to 14 as the Roadrunners struggled to convert stops into points.
With six minutes remaining, UTSA’s Baboucarr Nije hit a mid-range jumper and Spencer Pierce added a fast-break layup to trim the deficit to 10, but that was as close as they’d get. On the next possession, SIUE’s Ring Malith drilled an open left-side three, quieting the crowd and restoring control. Malith punctuated the victory with an emphatic alley-oop dunk in the final seconds — his 20th point of the night — sealing the Cougars’ largest lead of the game at 77–60. He also grabbed nine rebounds.
The Roadrunners shot just 28% from the floor (20-of-71) and 24% from beyond the arc (7-of-29). Simpson led UTSA with 16 points and three steals, while Hayes and Rayfield each added 10.
UTSA played without standout transfer Vasean Allette, a preseason All-AAC selection from TCU, who is expected to be a key piece of the offense once available.
Despite the loss, head coach Austin Claunch emphasized growth and patience with his young roster.
“I thought we did some good things, but I’m competitive — we don’t ever want to lose,” Claunch said. “This team is fun to coach. We’re going to get better as the season goes on, and I’m excited to keep improving.”
SIUE returns home to host Indiana State on Monday, while UTSA travels up I-35 to face Texas State on Wednesday night.
