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OMAHA, Neb. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team fell to the Omaha Mavericks 92-82 as part of the
Summit League/WAC Challenge on Sunday at Baxter Arena.
The Summit League now leads the WAC 4-3 with one game remaining.
Senior
Lesley Varner II led the Vaqueros (4-7) with 29 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 1-of-3 from behind the arc plus 10-of-10 from the line with two steals. Junior
Javon Levi scored a career-high 21 points with seven rebounds and eight assists.
Matt Pile led the Mavericks (6-7) with 19 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
JT Gibson and
KJ Robinson each scored 17 points.
Zach Thornhill finished with 12 points.
Ayo Akinwole scored 10 points with eight rebounds and five assists.
In his second-straight game in his hometown, junior
Anthony Bratton opened the game with a jumper to give the Vaqueros a 2-0 lead. The game was tight over the first five minutes, with Varner jumpers tying the game at 4, 6, 8 and 10.
The Mavericks scored the next 11 points before another Varner jumper snapped the run.
The teams traded baskets for most of the rest of the half, as the Vaqueros were within 44-33 on a three by sophomore
Uche Dibiamaka with 1:12 remaining.
The Mavericks scored the final seven points of the half and eight of the first 11 in the second half to go up 59-38.
The Mavericks led by as much as 23 at 65-42 with 15:12 to go. It was a 22-point game at 82-60 with eight minutes left. The Vaqueros responded by hitting four of their next seven shots while going 6-for-8 from the foul line to go on a 14-2 run and pull within 84-74.
The Vaqueros got as close as eight at 90-82 on a Levi layup with 26 remaining, but that's as close as they got.
UTRGV is back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Texas Tech, which played for the NCAA Championship last year, in a game that will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.
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