AUSTIN – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team fell to the No. 19 Texas Longhorns 91-55 in the season opener on Wednesday at the Frank Erwin Center.
 
Sophomore Quinton Johnson II led the Vaqueros (0-1) with 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Junior LaQuan Butler scored 10 points while hitting a pair of three-pointers and grabbing two steals. Senior Chris Freeman finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

"Quinton came out and executed," UTRGV head coach Lew Hill said. "He did what we asked him to do. He shot-faked a lot and got to the free throw line. He drove and didn't take as many contested shots. He's learning the game and the game is slowing down for him. I thought he competed at a high level tonight. I thought he was probably our most consistent player overall."
 
Courtney Ramey led the Longhorns (1-0) with 20 points, five rebounds and six assists. Matt Coleman III scored 17 points with five assists. Kai Jones scored 14 points with eight rebounds. Gerald Liddell finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. Greg Brown III posted a double-double with 11 points with 10 rebounds. 
 
The Vaqueros were within 5-4 on a Freeman dunk and a pair of free throws by senior Javon Levi in the opening four minutes.

The Longhorns scored the next 12 points as part of a 24-7 run over a span of nine minutes to go up 29-11.
 
The Longhorns took their largest lead of the half at 36-17 with 4:46 remaining. That's when Johnson and Butler used three-pointers to power a 10-0 run to bring the Vaqueros to within 36-27.
 
The Vaqueros were still within nine at 38-29 with 1:50 left on a layup by senior Anthony Bratton, but the Longhorns scored the final seven points of the half to take a 45-29 lead.
 
Johnson opened the second half with a jumper, but the Longhorns answered with a 13-6 run to push the game out of reach.

"Our guys fought," Hill said. "There were a bunch of games within the game. When we played the right way, we cut it to nine. Our fight and our toughness were there for the most part, so I'm proud of that."
 
UTRGV is back in action on Saturday at 3 p.m. against UTSA at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Fans will not be admitted to this game. Fans can watch for free online at WACDigitalNetwork.com.

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