By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Jamir Simpson scored 22 points and Brent Moss added 19 off the bench Tuesday night as the UTSA Roadrunners rallied for a 77-64 victory over the Georgia Southern Eagles to close out play in the Jacksonville Classic.
After losing to Abilene Christian 61-50 on Monday, UTSA fell behind early against Georgia Southern, trailing by 13 midway through the first half.
The Roadrunners continued to struggle and found themselves down by 11 after intermission. Down the stretch, UTSA kept playing hard, and the bench — led by Moss, a guard, and forwards Daniel Akitoby and Macaleab Rich — spearheaded the comeback.
Simpson, a 6-foot-6 lefthander from Lima, Ohio, scored at least 20 for the fourth time in his last five games.
“We have a young team,” UTSA coach Austin Claunch told Andy Everett on the team’s postgame radio broadcast. “We’re still growing and getting a lot better. But this is a huge win coming off last night and responding quick. Really, really proud.”
Moss, a native of the Bahamas, enjoyed a solid all around game with 19 points and eight rebounds. He had 15 of his points in the second half.
Rich, from East St. Louis, Ill., had 11 points and eight boards. In addition, Akitoby, from Fairfax, Va., supplied nine points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.
As a result, UTSA came away from the two-day event in Florida with a split and a 4-3 record for the season.
Georgia Southern, meanwhile, lost its second straight in Jacksonville and fell to 3-5. Forward Alden Applewhite led the Eagles with 18 points, followed by guards Tyren Moore with 16 and Taverus Webb with 14.
First half
For the second straight night at the Jacksonville Classic, the Roadrunners suffered through a poor start to the game, falling behind the Eagles by 13 points with eight minutes left in the half.
With some of their reserves leading the way, they battled back to tie the game late, only to watch as the Eagles made a few more plays in the last few minutes to take a 33-29 lead into intermission.
Records
UTSA 4-3
Georgia Southern 3-5
Coming up
South Alabama at UTSA, Sunday, 1 p.m.
Notable
In keeping with their Jekyll and Hyde persona on offense, the Roadrunners shot 25.8 percent from the field in the first half and 51.7 percent after intermission. Defensively, they proved much more consistent by holding the Eagles to 35 percent in the first half and 25 percent in the second.
The Roadrunners are 2-0 this season against sub-NCAA programs, meaning that their record against NCAA Division I opponents stands at 2-3.
Strength of schedule notwithstanding, UTSA’s confidence seems to be growing with its gritty play away from San Antonio. UTSA owns Division I wins against the Denver Pioneers (on the road) and now against the Georgia Southern Eagles (on the neutral site court at Jacksonville).
Jamir Simpson, in his last five games, has scored 22 points at Texas State, 20 at Denver, 21 at home against Southwestern Christian, 18 in the opener of the Jacksonville Classic against Abilene Christian and 22 against Georgia Southern.
South Alabama coach Richie Riley and UTSA coach Austin Claunch worked together for two years at Nicholls State University, with Riley as a head coach and Claunch as an assistant from 2016-18. Claunch took over as the Nicholls head coach when Riley took the South Alabama job.
Riley’s South Alabama team is 6-1 after starting the season with six straight wins. The Jaguars finally lost last Friday at UAB, falling 80-72, on the road in Birmingham.