CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the concluding clash of their regular season, UTSA narrowly triumphed over Charlotte with an 83-80 victory, propelled by Marcus Millender’s 20-point performance. Both teams are now gearing up for their next challenge in the American Athletic Conference tournament, which tips off on Wednesday.
Charlotte is set to head to Denton, Texas, where they will face off against Rice for an opportunity to challenge fifth-seeded Florida Atlantic in the tournament’s second round on Thursday. Meanwhile, UTSA, having secured the 11th seed, is poised to compete against the No. 6 seed, East Carolina, on Thursday.
For the Roadrunners, Millender also pulled down eight rebounds, contributing significantly to UTSA’s game plan. Damari Monsanto had a strong outing with 19 points, achieving notable shooting success by hitting 7 out of 13 attempts, inclusive of 5 successful three-point shots out of 11. Primo Spears complemented the effort by delivering 19 points, shooting 8 for 18 in field goals, nailing one three-pointer, and converting two of his four free-throw attempts.
On the other side, Charlotte saw a standout performance from Kylan Blackmon, who emerged as the team’s top scorer with 22 points, while also grabbing seven rebounds. Supporting the offensive effort, Nik Graves contributed 21 points, and Robert Braswell added another 12 points to Charlotte’s tally.
In the initial half, Millender excelled by scoring 12 points for UTSA, which led to a narrow lead of 39-38 by halftime. The turning point arrived during a critical 8-0 run in the second half, which allowed the Roadrunners to overcome a three-point deficiency and seize a 58-53 lead with just over 11 minutes left to play. Tai’Reon Joseph also played a vital role in the latter part of the game, scoring 11 points in the second half to cement the win.
