BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men's basketball team rallied back from a 17-point deficit to pull into a third place tie in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) standings with a 79-74 overtime victory over CSU Bakersfield on Saturday at the Icardo Center.
 
UTRGV (14-12, 6-4 WAC) is now tied with CSUB (15-9, 6-4 WAC) and Utah Valley (5-3 WAC) for third and one game behind Grand Canyon (7-3 WAC) for second.
 
UTRGV has now won a season-best four in a row after beating two of the top three teams in the WAC standings on the road this weekend.
 
This is the fourth time UTRGV has come back from a double-digit second half deficit after rallying back from down 24 against Lamar (11/21), 16 at California Baptist (1/5), and 11 at Grand Canyon (2/7).
 
Sophomore Javon Levi led UTRGV with 12 points, six rebounds, a game-high six assists and a game-high five steals. Junior Jordan Jackson scored a team-high 15 points with two steals. Graduate student Tyson Smith scored 12 points with five rebounds. Sophomore Greg Bowie II scored 11 points while hitting three three-pointers. Senior Terry Winn III scored nine points. Senior Ndene Gueye scored a career-high eight points. Junior Lesley Varner II scored seven points with eight rebounds. 
 
Jarkel Joiner led CSUB with 20 points and four rebounds. Justin Edler-Davis scored 13 points with 10 rebounds. Rickey Holden scored 12 points with four assists. Damiyne Durham finished with 11 points.
 
UTRGV trailed 58-41 with 15:08 remaining in the second half. That's when Winn hit a layup, Smith made a three and Varner sunk a layup to bring UTRGV to within 10.
 
UTRGV still found itself down 10 with 5:36 to go, but UTRGV held CSUB 0-for-6 from the field while scoring 10 points, including a Gueye jumper, a Winn layup and a Jackson layup to tie the game and force overtime.
 
Levi hit two free throws and Smith made a jumper to give UTRGV the early lead in overtime. Then, after CSUB pulled to within two, Jackson nailed a three with 1:29 remaining to put UTRGV up 75-70.
 
Levi sunk four free throws down the stretch to put the game on ice.
 
UTRGV led 6-3 in the opening minutes on a Bowie three. UTRGV still led at 9-8 on a Varner free throw, but CSUB followed with a 22-7 run to go up 30-16.

CSUB led by as much as 17, with the first time coming at 43-26 late in the first half.
 
UTRGV used an 8-2 run to climb to within 45-34 at the start of the second half. Then, with the score 52-41 after a Bowie three, CSUB scored six-straight points go up 17 again. 
 
UTRGV returns home on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Seattle U for the Battle of the Colleges at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Deans from different colleges across campus, along with students from their colleges, will compete in a halftime free throw shooting competition. The winner receives a trophy. There will also be a spirit competition among the colleges with a second trophy at stake. UTRGV Athletics would like to show its appreciation for all current UTRGV faculty and staff by offering free general admission and free popcorn with a UTRGV employee ID. The first 200 fans in attendance will receive a special Valentine's Day giveaway. Doors open at 6.

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