Photo Gallery

EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men's basketball team won its fifth-straight game to move into a tie for second place in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) standings by beating Seattle U 59-44 on Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
UTRGV (15-12, 7-4 WAC) is tied with Grand Canyon (7-4 WAC) and CSU Bakersfield (7-4 WAC) for second.
 
UTRGV is on its longest winning streak in 11 years, after having won seven-straight from Dec. 31, 2007 through Jan. 28, 2008.
 
This is the first time UTRGV has ever swept Seattle U (13-11, 1-8 WAC) in a season.
 
Sophomore Javon Levi grabbed a career-high seven steals, increasing his season total to 81 to pass LSU's Tremont Waters (75), Florida International's Brian Beard Jr. (76), and Washington's Matisse Thybulle (79) for the NCAA lead. Levi now ranks sixth for steals in a season in program history, one behind Greg Black (82, 1993-94) for fifth place. Levi also has 116 career steals, tied for the 10^th-highest total in program history with Hall of Famer Marshall Rogers (1974-76) and Michael Anderson (1984-86).
 
Levi also had 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting and a game-high nine assists. Junior Jordan Jackson scored a team-high 14 points with two steals. Sophomore Greg Bowie II scored 12 points. Junior Lesley Varner II finished with seven points, seven rebounds and two steals.
 
UTRGV forced 25 turnovers, marking the eighth time the team has forced at least 20 turnovers and the third-highest total of the season. UTRGV scored 25 points off of turnovers. UTRGV finished with 14 steals, its second-highest total of the season.
 
Myles Carter led Seattle U with 16 points and seven rebounds. Terrell Brown finished with nine points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
 
Jackson hit an early three and a jumper as UTRGV jumped out to a 13-5 lead over the first seven minutes. During that time, UTRGV held Seattle U to just two shot attempts while forcing eight turnovers.
 
UTRGV pushed its lead to 21-12 late in the first half on a Bowie jumper.
 
Seattle U was within seven at 45-37 with 4:47 to go, but UTRGV hit four of its next five shots as part of a 14-5 run to push the game out of reach.
 
UTRGV hosts Utah Valley on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the homecoming game at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. There will be a tailgate party in the parking lot starting at 5. UTRGV will honor the 2019 Hall of Fame induction class late in the first half and then retire Fred Taylor's jersey during a special halftime ceremony. 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