By Jerry Briggs
Special for the JB Replay
The embattled UTSA Roadrunners opened with some intensity and stayed with the San Jose State Spartans for the first 14 minutes.
But in the season opener for both teams on Monday afternoon in California, the Spartans closed with a flourish to open an 18-point lead at the intermission, en route to a 95-74 victory at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
UTSA played without head coach Austin Claunch, who was suspended last week after an arrest for driving while intoxicated.
Nick Bowman is the acting head coach while the university reviews Claunch’s status.
Building the lead to as many as 27 points eight minutes into the second half, the Spartans cruised the rest of the way.
Guards Mekhi Mason and Joey Chammaa, both newcomers, led a San Jose State offense that shot 59 percent from the field.
Mason, a 6-4 guard who played last year at Wake Forest, knocked down five 3-point baskets and scored 28 points. The 5-foot-11 Chammaa, a South Alabama transfer, scored 27.
Forward Robert Vaihola, in his return to the team after playing two years at Minnesota, produced a double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Spartans had their way on the boards, out-rebounding the Roadrunners, 43-22
For UTSA, transfers Preston Turner from Eastern Illinois and Shey Eberwein (South Dakota) led the team with 15 points each. Isaiah Coleman added 12, while KJ Tenner had 11.
Bowman, working as a head coach for the first time in his career, told Andy Everett on the team’s radio broadcast that the Roadrunners allowed missed shots in the first half to affect their performance.
“We let it affect our attitude, our defense and we just spent too much time in the first half in defensive transition,” he said. “Shots didn’t go in (for) the first time. Preseason we hadn’t dealt with that sort of adversity where we hadn’t made more shots than the other team in the first half. That affected us.”
The Roadrunners shot 29 percent in the first half and 42 percent for the game. From 3-point distance, they started slowly and finished 12 of 34 from behind the stripe.
In the first half, UTSA had multiple good looks from distance, only to see the ball spin in and out of the rim. The Roadrunners finished the half 4 for 18 from distance.
First half
San Jose State shot 53 percent from the field and raced to a 45-27 halftime lead.
Mason scored seven of his 17 first-half points in the last six minutes as the Spartans hit the Roadrunners with a 17-2 run.
Coleman scored nine in the half for the Roadrunners, who were held to 33 percent shooting from the field and 26 percent from three.
UTSA started the game with Tenner at point guard, with Isaiah Watts, JJ Kelly and Turner on the wings. Chinedum Okpukpara started in the post.
Records
UTSA 0-1
San Jose State 1-0
Coming up
VMI at UTSA, Saturday, 4 p.m.