NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team closed out 2019 with a 91-72 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners on Monday at Lloyd Noble Center.
 
Graduate student Jordan Jackson led the Vaqueros (4-9) with 21 points. Senior Lesley Varner II scored 19 points. Junior Javon Levi dished out a game-high 10 assists with three steals.
 
Brady Manek led the Sooners (9-3) with 29 points and seven rebounds. Kur Kuath scored 17 points with eight rebounds. Austin Reaves scored 12 points with five assists and three steals.
 
The Vaqueros led in the opening minute when freshman Connor Raines hit a three to make the score 3-2. The Sooners scored the next eight points as part of a 15-2 run to go up 17-5.
 
Jackson responded with a three-point play, sparking a 10-2 run that was capped by an emphatic Jackson dunk to bring the Vaqueros within 19-15.
 
The Vaqueros were again within four when a three by junior Chris Freeman made the score 24-20, and five when a Varner three brought the Vaqueros to within 31-26 with 6:52 remaining in the first half. The Sooners, however, answered with a 19-4 run over the next six minutes to go up 50-30.
 
The Vaqueros pulled within 62-46 on a Varner three six minutes into the second half, but the Sooners scored the next 11 points to push the game out of reach.
 
UTRGV opens up Western Athletic Conference play on Thursday at 9 p.m. at California Baptist University.

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