HOUSTON – A full team effort prevailed in Houston, as the Roadrunners picked up their first road win of the season, defeating Rice 84-79 on Thursday evening in Tudor Fieldhouse. 

John Buggs III led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 8 for 10 from the field and 5 for 7 from beyond the arc.

Josh Farmer added 18 points off the bench while also shooting 8 for 10 from the floor in UTSA’s second conference victory this season.

Rice managed to climb out of their 13-point deficit and trail the Roadrunners 79-77 with a minute left in the fourth quarter.

Cameron Sheffield made a 3-pointer with one minute remaining in the game. 

Japhet Medor missed a layup on UTSA’s next possession to give the Owls another chance at completing the comeback. 

Rice guard Mekhi Mason missed a layup on the other end, in which DJ Richards grabbed the rebound. Richards was then intentionally fouled and forced to go to the free-throw line.

After missing the first free throw, Richards made the second to give the ‘Runners a 3-point lead. 

Medor made two pairs of free throws to ice the game and claim the 84-79 victory. The JUCO transfer finished Thursday’s game with 14 points. Medor is currently the team’s leader in points per game with 12.9.

Jacob Germany was the fourth Roadrunner in double-figure scoring with 16 points while also snagging eight rebounds. Germany is currently third in Conference USA in average rebounds per game with 8.0. 

Rice (16-10, 7-8 C-USA) finds themselves fifth in the league standings. 

The Roadrunners currently have a 2-14 C-USA record and are 8-19 overall, finding themselves at the bottom of the conference standings. Thursday night’s triumph is the first victory for UTSA since the 75-72 win over Middle Tennessee on Jan. 5. 

The ‘Runners are now 12-9 all-time against Rice. 

UTSA will look to add another win as they face UAB at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18.