UTSA fends off McNeese State for Southland Conference automatic bid
Associated Press
KATY, Texas -- Devin Gibson had dreamed of winning a championship ever since he decided to play for Texas-San Antonio.
After each of his first three seasons ended short of that goal, coach Brooks Thompson told him they'd do it this year.On Saturday, in the senior's last shot at a title, Gibson and the Roadrunners finally did it, beating McNeese State 75-72 in the Southland Conference championship for an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament."He's everything to our basketball program and he's the reason that we're the Southland Conference champions with seven freshmen and one senior," Thompson said. "He wanted [this] for four years and if he wouldn't have got it, it would have been the hardest thing for me to swallow."Gibson, the tournament's most valuable player, took a moment before cutting down the net to reflect on the win."It just kind of hit me. Wow. It's really happening," he said while wearing the net around his neck.
Freshman forward Jeromie Hill scored 25 points to lead the Roadrunners, who were up by nine before McNeese State responded with a 12-5 run that included a pair of 3-pointers to make it 74-72 with 27 seconds remaining.Sei Paye missed a pair of free throws, giving McNeese State another chance.C.J. Collins missed a 3-pointer and got his own rebound, but stepped out of bounds to give the Roadrunners the ball.Melvin Johnson III, who finished with 14 points, made one free throw to push the lead to 75-72, and Patrick Richard's desperation heave at the buzzer bounced off the rim."It felt good and looked good, but just didn't go in," said Richard, who fell face down to the court after the shot.Top-seeded McNeese State (21-11) was led by Diego Kapelan's 20 points.Texas-San Antonio, the No. 7 seed, led for the entire second half and held on to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004 and the fourth time overall.
