CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The UTSA men’s basketball team (12-18, 6-12 AAC) earned a crucial regular season-ending win in the Queen City on Sunday. However, the 83-80 victory over Charlotte (10-21, 3-15 AAC) didn’t come without significant nail-biting tension and an all-out fight with the 49ers all the way to the closing seconds on Sunday at Halton Arena. Claiming victory in the finale, UTSA earns the most wins since the 2020-21 season and sets themselves with the No. 11 seed in next week’s American Athletic Conference Championships.
Though the Roadrunners were first to strike, Charlotte quickly rallied in Senior Day fashion, plugging a 7-0 run in to push in front by the opening media timeout. However, out of the break, Damari Monsanto came alive with back-to-back threes that drew the deficit to one point, before Marcus Millender followed with a triple of his own that nudged UTSA back in front – as the Roadrunners built to a 10-point lead off of David Hermes’ floater with four minutes to go.
With time to fight still remaining in the first half, Aleks Szymczyk and Nik Graves orchestrated a quick Charlotte rally, with Robert Braswell cutting the deficit to just two points at the one-minute mark. With 35 seconds remaining, Millender drove the lane only to get free throws and push back to a four-point advantage. On the subsequent possession, UTSA made a solid defensive stand in forcing a shot clock turnover. But Graves intercepted the inbound and pulled up for a buzzer-beating three that left UTSA with a 39-38 halftime advantage.
It wasn’t smooth sailing for the Roadrunners coming out of the locker room, as the 49ers knotted the game in the first 28 seconds and Kylan Blackmon’s three-pointer at 17:38 gave Charlotte its first lead in over 16 minutes of action. The momentum see-sawed with six lead changes and four ties in the first 12 minutes of the half. Not to mention the new challenge for the Roadrunners – multiple players in foul trouble and eight team fouls by the first media timeout of the period.
Answering the call, Tai’Reon Joseph lit the match on a big run for UTSA and a big half of his own, running the court for the 55-53 lead-setting layup. Making his second career start, Baboucarr Njie scooped a missed shot midair and buried the tip-in bucket and the Roadrunners were in business as UTSA spread the ball and the scoring around to create breathing room with the 49ers. Monsanto continued to pour it on from the perimeter, while Primo Spears, Millender and Joseph attacked the basket. Hitting his second three-pointer from deep in the corner with 3:08 remaining, Joseph gave UTSA a much-needed 79-71 cushion.
With two UTSA post players fouled out down the stretch and another with four, the Roadrunners remained calm as Blackmon hit another three from the corner. Charlotte accidentally fouled Millender and he delivered at the line. Blackmon again countered with his fourth and final triple, cutting the lead to just three points with 1:19 on the clock.
After the Roadrunners forced Graves into a bad pass, Njie grabbed a crucial offensive rebound on the final UTSA possesion, resetting the shot clock and getting the ball out to Spears with 11 seconds left – the senior guard dropping both to bring UTSA’s total to 83. Although the 49ers took back a pair on free throws, a last-second game-tying heave from 3/4-court was waved off as UTSA secured the 83-80 road victory – logging 12 wins for the first time since 2020-21.
After notching 12 in the first half, Millender finished with a game-high 20 points, recording a season-high eight boards and three assists. Monsanto knocked down five three-pointers and finished with 19 points, four rebounds. After tallying five assists by half, Spears added another dime in the second and also 11 second-half points to reach 19 by game’s end. Scoring all 11 of his points in the second half, Joseph was 4-for-7 and 2-of-3 from the perimeter against Charlotte.
Overall, the Roadrunners shot 52.6 percent from the floor and were 50 percent from the perimeter, keeping pace on the boards with a 29-30 margin and forcing the 49ers into UTSA’s typical complement at 15 – making six steals.
Up Next
With the regular season in the books, UTSA will head next week to the American Athletic Conference Basketball Championships, kicking off March 13 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. The Roadrunners received the No. 11 seed and are slated to face No. 6 East Carolina in the second round with an 8 p.m. tipoff on Thursday, March 13. ECU recorded a 2-0 mark against the Roadrunners this year, but only by a six-point total margin – a one-point game in San Antonio and a five-point overtime finish in Greenville.