Photo Credit: Daryl Smith/The Paisano

The UTSA Roadrunners men’s basketball team was dealt another tough blow on Thursday, Nov. 21, losing to the Texas-Pan American Broncos, 70-55.

The loss keeps the Roadrunners winless this season at 0-4. It was the second home loss of the season for UTSA at the Convocation Center.

The Roadrunners were led in scoring by junior guard Keon Lewis with a total of 17 points, much of which came from superb free throw shooting. Lewis cashed in more than half of his points at the charity stripe going 9-of-11. UTSA senior guard Devon Agusi contributed 10 points with three rebounds. Senior forward Jordan Sims was 3-of-4 from 3-point range.

The Roadrunners are still missing the presence of the team’s leading scorer senior forward Jereme Hill, who is currently out with injury.

At the start of the game, the Roadrunners looked aggressive and upbeat on defense, even though both teams struggled offensively. Starting off with the 1-2-2 full court press, UTSA was able to collect some steals early on.

The first half saw both the Roadrunners and Broncos struggling from the field. The Roadrunners had a 31-26 lead at the end of the first half, with Agusi leading the way with eight points.

At the start of the second half is when the turning point of the game came in to play. The Broncos went on 9-0 run to give them a 35-31 lead with 17 minutes left to go in the second half.

It seemed as if the Roadrunners handed the momentum to the Broncos. “We just stopped talking,” Lewis said. “We stopped communicating.”

The Broncos not only were hitting perimeter shots, but they began to also exploit the paint. With UTSA senior center Edrico McGregor in foul trouble the whole night and Hill being out, the Roadrunners were outmanned inside.

“It would’ve helped to have McGregor on the floor” UTSA Head Coach Brooks Thompson said, “and also Hill is our leading scorer, so him being on the floor would’ve helped us.”

It was clear to see when Mcgregor was in the game he provided offense and caused the Broncos to think about coming in the paint. As the game continued, the Broncos gained more momentum and confidence while the Roadrunners seemed to just go through the motions.

“We would rather go through these growing pains early in the season, and not later in the season,” Thompson stated. “We have to just block out everyone else and stay together, and go through these growing pains now.”

The Roadrunners will have the chance to redeem themselves at home as the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders visits the Convocation Center Saturday, Nov 23.