By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The Florida Atlantic University Owls registered their third 100-point game of the season Wednesday, opening play in the American Conference men’s basketball season with a resounding 110-70 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

For the Roadrunners, playing on the road in Boca Raton, Fla., it was a humbling experience as they lost a conference game by the widest margin since a 92-63 setback to Tulane in New Orleans on Jan. 4, 2025.

Moreover, the Roadrunners yielded the most points in Coach Austin Claunch’s two seasons as coach and the most for the program since the 2023-24 season under the previous coaching staff.

In that season, the Roadrunners gave up 100-plus points four times, though two of the games went to overtime.

Records

UTSA 4-9, 0-1
FAU 9-5, 1-0

Coming up

UTSA at Temple, in Philadelphia, Saturday, 11 a.m.

First half

Coming off an injury, guard Devin Vanterpool knocked down four of his team’s 10 three pointers in the first half as the Florida Atlantic University Owls manhandled the UTSA Roadrunners.

Opening play in the American Conference on their home court in Boca Raton, Fla., the Owls built leads as large as 35 points and took a 60-28 advantage into the dressing room at intermission.

Defensively, the Owls were excellent, holding the Roadrunners to 25.8 percent shooting from the field and 23.5 percent from three-point distance.

Jamir Simpson led UTSA with nine points, but he earned every one of them as he was guarded closely by Vanterpool and others.

On the offensive end, the Owls torched the Roadrunners. They 65.6 percent from the floor and 52.6 percent from three. FAU sank 10 of 19 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Early in the game, the Roadrunners jumped out to a 5-2 lead. Undeterred, the Owls countered with a 21-0 run. Vanterpool, who sat out FAU’s recent 85-80 loss to the UCF Knights, scored 10 points in the streak.