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RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team won its fifth-straight game by defeating the Seattle U Redhawks 79-72 on Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
The Vaqueros (11-14, 7-5 WAC) are now just half a game behind Grand Canyon (7-4 WAC) in the race for the No. 2 seed in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament.
 
Senior Lesley Varner II led the Vaqueros with 23 points and eight rebounds. Graduate student Jordan Jackson scored 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Sophomore Sean Rhea recorded his first double-double with 10 points and a season-high 10 rebounds. Junior Javon Levi scored 10 points with seven assists and three steals. Freshman Quinton Johnson II scored seven points with a career-high tying nine rebounds.
 
Terrell Brown led the Redhawks (12-14, 5-6 WAC) with 18 points and five rebounds. Morgan Means scored 17 points with 10 rebounds and five assists. Myles Carter scored 11 points with six rebounds and three steals.
 
Johnson and Jackson hit early threes as the Vaqueros jumped out to a 10-3 lead. The Redhawks responded with a 20-7 run to take the lead.
 
The Redhawks still led at 32-29 late in the half, but Johnson and Varner jumpers fueled a 10-0 run to put the Vaqueros on top.
 
Varner hit a jumper, a layup and two free throws to help the Vaqueros score nine of the first 13 points in the second half and take their largest lead of the game at 50-40. The Redhawks scored the next nine points as part of a 15-4 run to regain the lead.
 
The game stayed tight from there, but with the Redhawks up 61-58, junior Rob McClain Jr. hit a free throw and then Varner made a jumper and a three as part of an 11-2 run to put the Vaqueros up 69-63.
 
The Redhawks pulled within 73-70 with 1:23 to go, but Levi made a layup as the Vaqueros scored six of the game's final eight points.
 
UTRGV hosts UT Permian Basin on $2 Tuesday at 12 p.m. General admission tickets and most concession items will cost $2 or less. If UTRGV wins, fans can take home a buy one, get one free Raising Cane's box combo coupon. Current UTRGV students get free general admission with a valid UTRGV student ID. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at UTRGVTickets.com. Fans purchasing their tickets online prior to game day can save up to $2 per ticket.

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