Photo Gallery

EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men's basketball team completed the season sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by winning 82-78 during the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, on Wednesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
UTRGV (5-6) now leads Corpus Christi (2-6) 18.5-to-9.5 in the showdown standings.
 
Senior Nick Dixon led UTRGV with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sophomore Lesley Varner Jr. scored a season-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc. Senior McAllen-native Moe McDonald scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Senior Mike Hoffman finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
 
Joseph Kilgore led Corpus Christi with 25 points and seven rebounds. Emmanuel Toney scored 15 points.
 
UTRGV hit five of its first eight shots while forcing three turnovers to take a 14-4 lead over the first five minutes. Corpus Christi responded by hitting seven of its next 11 shots, including a trio of three-pointers, to go on an 18-2 run and take a 22-16 lead.
 
A pair of Hoffman three-pointers helped UTRGV pull within 24-22.
 
Then, with Corpus Christi up 29-24 at the 5:41 mark, Varner scored 10 points to power a 19-5 run that put UTRGV ahead 43-34.
 
UTRGV pushed its lead to 10 on a McDonald jumper that made the score 47-37 at the start of the second half.
 
Corpus Christi started chipping away from there, outscoring UTRGV 29-18 over the next 12 minutes to take a 66-65 lead. A jumper by senior Dan Kimasa put UTRGV up 67-66 before a Tre Gray three gave Corpus Christi the lead. Kimasa answered with a layup to tie the game at 69 before a Perry Francois jumper again gave Corpus Christi the advantage. McDonald tied the game again, this time with a layup.
 
York Benjamin hit a pair of free throws to put Corpus Christi ahead 74-73, but Dixon hit a three-pointer and McDonald made a layup to give UTRGV the lead for good.
 
UTRGV continues the home stand on Saturday at 7 p.m. against UC Irvine. UTRGV Athletics would like to congratulate the graduating class of the fall of 2017 by providing complimentary graduation photos in front of a UTRGV backdrop before the game. Graduates are encouraged to bring their cap and gown for the photos. Doors open at 6.

Support UTRGV Men's Basketball | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube