Alley’s slam lifts Roadrunners in close win

HOUSTON — UTSA senior forward Cedrick Alley Jr. took Roadrunners coach Steve Henson’s counsel serious late in a tight game against Sam Houston on Saturday evening.

“He said, ‘Let’s go make plays,’ ” Alley said with a grin. “So I said, ‘Let’s go make a play.’ ”

Alley did on that key occasion and on plenty of others as well in UTSA’s 78-73 victory over the Bearkats in Toyota Center, home of the NBA’s Rockets.

UTSA led 72-66 with two minutes remaining when Sam Houston’s Tristan Ikpe elevated in the lane from the left side for what appeared to be a sure dunk. But

UTSA center Jacob Germany shifted over in time for a partial block, before grabbing the deflected ball.

An open Alley hustled down the court and, after receiving a pass, threw down a memorable dunk for an insurmountable 7466 UTSA lead with 1:41 left.

“I was telling him, ‘No, no, no’ and then when he dunked I said, ‘Yes, yes, yes,’ ” Henson said with a chuckle of Alley’s slam on the fast break.

Henson said he could not blame Alley for rolling full steam ahead instead of pulling up and trying to take time off the clock with a slim lead.

“You can’t be scared to win a ball game,” Henson said. “And (that approach) is not always a dunk like that — sometimes it’s something like taking a charge.”

The Roadrunners (6-4) return home to host Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Friday night in the Convocation Center.

The Bearkats (3-6) will try and get back on track at North Texas on Tuesday night.

The Roadrunners, who’ve won five of their last seven games, leaped to a 42-24 lead at halftime Saturday, but Sam Houston fought back to tie the game at 63-63 and give the few hundred fans on hand a reason to scoot to the edges of their seats late in the contest.

“There were a lot of positives in the first half, then (the Bearkats) turned it up and we’re really aggressive,” Henson said.

The Roadrunners outscored the Bearkats 15-10 with the game on the line, however, and improved to 4-0 all-time against Sam Houston at neutral sites.

Guard Dhieu Deing led UTSA with a game-high 26 points, and Alley added 17. Alley attended Klein Forest High School in northwest Houston, and plenty of current and former members of his high school were on hand in the Rockets’ home.

“It’s still shocking to me that I’m playing at this (college) level and my school came out to support me like that,” an appreciative Alley said.

As for playing in an NBA arena, despite the sparse crowd?

“It meant a lot, really,” Alley said. “Being a basketball player, you always want to be on the biggest stage. And being able to come home and play in front of my family … I got to enjoy the moment.”

Henson pointed out that five of his players hail from the Houston area so it was quite a homecoming for about a third of his roster.

“But I don’t know if they’re all Rockets fans or not,” Henson added with a smile.