Three Roadrunners scored in double figures Friday night as UTSA opened its season with a victory over the Huston-Tillotson Rams 82-65. 

Starters Jeromie Hill and Stephen Franklin both had 16 points while Melvin Johnson III contributed with 12 points off the bench. All 13 players for the Runners recorded playing time and scored. 

UTSA was clearly the bigger team as the Runners were able to score down in the post almost effortlessly all night shooting  51 percent from the floor. 

No one took more advantage of his size than freshman Jeromie Hill. The 6’9 Australian native posted a double-double [16pts, 10 Rebs] in his Runner debut.  Hill shot 7-10 from the floor as he showed why he is going to be one of the main contributors to UTSA this season.

Also very worthy of mention is Stephen Franklin, who showed he could do it all on both sides of the court. Franklin posted 16pts, 4 Rebs, 3 Ast, 4 Stls in his Runner debut. The 2009 JuCo transfer, who did not play last season due to injury, definitely lived up to his expectations offensively. But Franklin was most impressive on defense; his aggressive play and quick hands were constantly causing turnovers and disrupting any hope the Rams had of scoring.

The Runners never trailed in Friday’s game, and at one point had a 25 point lead against Huston-Tillotson. The Rams’ leading scoring and only player to be in double figures was Jerald Ardoin with 27 points on the night.

UTSA at times did show their inexperience, much of which translated into bad shots attempted or bad passes and eventual turnovers offensively.

The Roadrunners had a good performance overall and showed that ,although they are young, they can compete at a high level, particularly, at the point guard position, which was for the entire second half of the game played by newcomers. And defensively if they can stay aggressive and cut down on the fouls, they will definitely see success this season.

The men’s next game will be Wednesday Nov. 17, when they will try to go 2-0 for the season, as they travel to take on the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. You can listen to that game on 92.5 FM.