Photo Gallery

EDINBURG – Five Vaqueros reached double-figures in scoring as the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team closed out non-conference play with an 89-81 victory over the Our Lady of the Lake University Saints on Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
Graduate student Dakota Slaughter led the Vaqueros (4-11) with a career-high 22 points while hitting a career-high five three-pointers. Graduate student J.J. Thompson scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 shooting from the line. Senior Shaquille Hines scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting with six rebounds. Sophomore Dan Kimasa scored 11 points with nine rebounds. Freshman Antonio Green posted his first-career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists without a turnover.
 
Darion Brown led the Saints (6-4) with 16 points and five assists. Christian Wood-Dvorak scored 13 points with seven rebounds and four assists while Joe Jackson scored 13 points with six rebounds and three blocks.
 
The Vaqueros outshot the Saints .569 (33-for-58) to .355 (22-for-62).
 
Thompson made a layup and two free throws as the Vaqueros jumped out to an 8-2 lead.
 
The Vaqueros extended their lead to 17-6 on a Thompson layup at the 11:17 mark, but a Brown three brought the Saints within eight.
 
The Saints were within nine with seven minutes remaining, but Slaughter nailed a three-pointer to push the Vaqueros' lead into double-figures for the rest of the half.
 
Slaughter hit another three-pointer to give the Vaqueros a 51-34 lead in the opening seconds of the second half, but the Saints hit their next five shots, three of which were from behind the arc, to pull within 56-47.
 
The Saints were still close at 60-50 with 14:19 remaining, but Thompson hit a layup, Green made a three and Slaughter knocked down a layup to push the lead back out to 17.
 
Olajuwon Garner hit a trio of three-pointers to power a 29-17 run as the Saints climbed to within 86-81 with one minute left, but Green hit a jumper and then Kimasa made a free throw to put the game on ice.
 
The Vaqueros open up Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play on Thursday at 8 p.m. when they visit Grand Canyon.

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