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Texas-San Antonio captures Southland title

Mar 12, 2011 - 11:48 PM Katy, TX (Sports Network) - Jeromie Hill posted 25 points to complete Texas- San Antonio's surprising run in the Southland Conference Tournament with a win over McNeese State, 75-72, as the Roadrunners claimed their first title since 2004.

Devin Gibson notched 15 points and Melvin Johnson III had 14 points for the seventh-seeded Roadrunners (19-13), who won their third conference crown and is riding a five-game win streak into the NCAA Tournament. They defeated second-seeded Northwestern State by one point in the quarterfinal round and disposed of third-seeded Sam Houston State in the semifinals on Thursday by a 79-70 final to get to the championship game.

Stephen Franklin chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Diego Kapelan scored 20 points for the top-seeded Cowboys (21-11), who got 12 points and 10 rebounds from Patrick Richard. P.J. Alawoya added 10 points and 12 boards in the loss.

UTSA score six straight points capped by Gibson's left-handed floater for the largest lead yet, 66-58, with 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation. But Stephan Martin made a jumper during the next possession to stop the bleeding.

McNeese State's next four baskets were all three-pointers, finished by Martin's with 26.8 ticks left on the clock, making it a two-point game, 74-72.

On the other end, Sei Paye missed both free throws to keep the score. But C.J. Collins missed a lay up and a wide open trey. He collected the rebound off the missed three but stepped out of bounds to give UTSA the ball with 7.5 seconds remaining. Johnson then sealed the game from the free throw line.

UTSA held onto a slim 30-28 lead at the break, shooting just 37.5 percent from the field, while holding McNeese to 36.7 percent.

Game Notes

Texas-San Antonio leads the series 23-16...The Roadrunners won the only regular-season meeting between the two teams, 65-61, last month...UTSA made nearly 60 percent of its shots in the second half.