UTSA guard Marcus Millender scored a career-high 28 points against Tulane, knocking down five 3-pointers along the way. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Fans in the UTSA Convocation Center fell silent on Wednesday night when guard Rowan Brumbaugh hit two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining, lifting the Tulane Green Wave to a stunning 61-60 comeback victory over the Roadrunners.

The Green Wave trailed the home team by 15 points late in the first half, by 12 early in the second, by 10 with three minutes to play and by one when they inbounded the ball 94 feet away with 11.1 seconds left.

Brumbaugh brought it up and attacked to the right side, drawing a shooting foul from UTSA’s Marcus Millender. The Tulane guard stepped to the line and made both free throws, effectively capping a 12-1 run in the final three minutes of the game.

UTSA scoring leader Primo Spears sat out his first game of the season with a foot injury, but he is expected to play Saturday at home against East Carolina. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Down by the eventual final score, UTSA inbounded to Damari Monsanto, whose 75-foot heave was off the mark to end the game.

UTSA played without injured guard Primo Spears, the team’s leading scorer, who was sidelined with a walking boot on his left foot.

In his absence, the Roadrunners came painfully close to winning twice in a span of five days against a top-tier foe in the American Athletic Conference.

UTSA won Saturday on the road in Denton, shocking the North Texas Mean Green, 54-50. Against Tulane, the Roadrunners had the Green Wave on their heels and led for most of the game.

In the end, they couldn’t hold on.

Nevertheless, Millender left a lasting impression on the Green Wave, scoring a career-high 28 points in 40 minutes. Forward Raekwon Horton also played 40 minutes and added 11 points. Monsanto scored nine. Freshman walk-on Baboucarr Njie finished with seven points and three rebounds off the bench.

UTSA coach Austin Claunch praised his team’s defensive effort against one of the better offenses in the American.

Also, he said the team fared well in compensating for the loss of Spears, who averages 20.5 points per game, and others who have been out with injuries and other issues. UTSA had eight scholarship players available for Tulane.

“Yeah, listen, we got a tough team,” Claunch said. “Tonight certainly is a bummer. We had great preparation. We had a lot of respect for Tulane. They’re a really good team. To give that lead up at the end when they played so well, is too bad.

Freshman guard Baboucarr Njie, a walk-on, played 30 minutes against Tulane. He had seven points, three rebounds and two steals. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“They were right there to win the game. You got to give Tulane a lot of credit (for winning, but) certainly, we’re moving in the right direction.”

For Tulane, guard Asher Woods led the way with 18 points on six of eight shooting from the field. Brumbaugh had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Forward Kaleb Banks, Tulane’s leading scorer, was held to six. But it was Banks who hit one of the biggest shots of the night — a three with 41.1 seconds remaining, bringing the Green Wave to within one at 60-59.

On UTSA’s next possession, Tulane made an emphatic defensive stop. Working the ball from the perimeter into the paint, the Roadrunners got it to Njie, whose hook shot was blocked out of bounds with 14 seconds remaining. Only three seconds remained on the shot clock.

Inbounding the ball from the end line near the UTSA bench, Monsanto tossed it high to Millender, who caught it and fired a 3-point shot that missed everything. Officially, it was a shot clock violation, with the ruling that it was released after the clock expired.

Tulane then called time with 11.1 seconds left and set up the final play.

All in all, UTSA played much better against Tulane than it did in New Orleans on Jan. 4. In the earlier game, the Green Wave won easily, 92-63.

In the first game, Tulane shot 63.5 percent from the field, including 72.7 percent in the second half, and scored 46 points in the paint against UTSA. In the rematch, the Green Wave shot 43.2 percent against the Roadrunners’ switching defensive scheme. They scored only 26 paint points.

Forward Raekwon Horton had 11 points and three rebounds for the Roadrunners. .- Photo by Joe Alexander

For the most part, Millender was the show. Nicknamed “Smurf,” the 5-foot-11 sophomore hit nine of 19 from the field and five of nine from three. He also knocked down five of six at the line. Was he on the boards? He was, snaring five rebounds.

As the clock wound down in the second half, the Green Wave smothered Millender just about every time he touched the ball, holding him without a field goal in the last nine minutes. In the last three minutes, he got to the free-throw line on two possessions, hitting three of four at the stripe.

“Down the stretch we didn’t get the stops,” Millender said. “We slowed down the offense a little bit (and) couldn’t score in the last three minutes, or something like that … They were just more aggressive and they hit some threes at the end of the game.”

First half

Millender started fast for the UTSA Roadrunners, hitting four of his first five shots from the field.

Even though he cooled off a bit at the end of the half, he had a team-high 16 points as the Roadrunners went into the dressing room at intermission with a 33-25 lead.

Guard Tai’Reon Joseph returned to action after not playing the last four games. He couldn’t find a rhythm in 12 minutes, scoring two points on one of six shooting. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Millender finished the opening period hitting six of nine from the field and four of four from the 3-point arc.

While the Green Wave struggled initially against the Roadrunners’ switching defensive scheme, guard Asher Woods kept them afloat, scoring eight points. He was three of five from the field.

UTSA shuffled its starting lineup, starting Tai’Reon Joseph in place of Primo Spears, the team’s leading scorer.

Spears, who has been slowed by an injury the past few games, was on the bench in a walking boot on his left ankle/foot. It’s the first time this season that Spears has sat out after starting the first 21 games.

Joseph, meanwhile, hasn’t played since Jan. 18 in a home game against North Texas. He sat out the the last four.

UTSA was already short-handed, playing without scholarship players Paul Lewis, Mo Njie, Jaquan Scott and Skylar Wicks.

Records

Tulane 13-10, 7-3
UTSA 10-12, 4-6

Coming up

East Carolina at UTSA, Saturday, 7:08 p.m.

Notable

UTSA coach Austin Claunch said he expects Primo Spears to be available to play on Saturday against East Carolina. Taking Spears’ spot in the starting lineup was Tai’Reon Joseph, who has not played since Jan. 18.

Joseph, who has a season high of 28 points, had missed four straight games before suiting up against Tulane. He played 12 minutes and couldn’t find a rhythm, scoring two points on one of six shooting.

The coach said forward Jaquan Scott and guard-forward Sky Wicks will not be back with the team this season. He said both center Mo Njie and Paul Lewis are “banged up and done for the year.” The coach said both were ill and didn’t attend the game.