Carter’s career night can’t rescue UTSA
PJ Carter scored a career-high 22 points but UTSA suffered a fifth straight loss, trailing from wire to wire in a 79-70 loss to Charlotte on Thursday at Halton Arena in Charlotte, N.C.
After falling behind by as many as 13 points during the opening half, UTSA pulled to within a three-point margin with less than six minutes to play and was down by just four with two minutes remaining.
But the Roadrunners (8-17, 2-10 AAC) never found a breakthrough, as the 49ers (16-8, 10-2) shot 60.6% on 2-point shots, hitting 20-of-33 attempts inside the arc.
UTSA shot 35.8% overall and 30.3% from 3-point range. Carter scored 19 of his 22 in the first half, hitting 7-of-14 shots for the game, including 5-of-9 from outside. Christian Tucker added 13 points, while Dre Fuller Jr. notched 10.
SOUTH ALABAMA 72 TEXAS STATE 55
The Jaguars charged out to an early lead and never relented, snapping the Bobcats' four-game win streak on Thursday at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala.
South Alabama (13-13, 5-8 Sun Belt) scored the first eight points and led 35-18 at halftime. Texas State (11-15, 4-9) pulled no closer than 15 during the final 20 minutes.
Three Bobcats cracked double figures in scoring, as Brandon Love netted 13, Davion Sykes posted 12 and Jordan Mason scored 11. But Texas State could not keep up with South Alabama's blistering shooting pace, as the Jaguars hit 52% of their shots overall and 46.7% from beyond the arc.
Women
INCARNATE WORD 72 TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE 61
Jorja Elliott scored a career-high 25 points and Nina De Leon Negron added her fourth doubledouble of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds, spurring the Cardinals to a win in the Mcdermott Center.
Myra Bell added 15 points with seven rebounds for UIW (14-9, 7-5 Southland), which jumped out to a 14-point lead during the first quarter.
The Lions (11-12, 6-7) closed to within a twopoint margin at halftime, but the Cardinals broke the game open a onepoint game with a 9-0 run during the fourth quarter.
With the victory, Incarnate Word clinched a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament.
TROY 85, TEXAS STATE 69
Julia Coleman posted career highs with 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to lead the Bobcats, but the Trojans stormed to a 30-12 margin in the third quarter to build an insurmountable lead.
Troy (14-10, 10-3 Sun Belt) owned a 46-29 advantage in rebounding and hit 54.7% on 2-point shots.
Texas State (13-13, 3-10) shot 43.5% overall but hit just four of its 19 (21.1%) from 3-point range and finished with 24 turnovers.
Tiffany Tullis scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and added eight rebounds for the Bobcats, while Gara Beth Self scored 11.