RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team beat the UT Tyler Patriots 101-72 in an exhibition game on Wednesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Junior
Justin Johnson led the Vaqueros with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Junior
Ricky "Doc" Nelson scored 14 points with nine assists and two steals. Junior
LaQuan Butler scored 14 points with four assists. Graduate student
Mike Adewunmi scored 13 points with five rebounds. Graduate student
Xavier Johnson finished with 11 points. Sophomore
Quinton Johnson II hit a trio of three-pointers for nine points with five rebounds and two steals. Graduate student
Marek Nelson scored eight points with 10 rebounds.
Milan Szabo led the Patriots with 12 points.
Jaxon Edelmayer scored 11 points.
The Patriots had the early lead, going up as much as five at 15-10. That's when Butler hit a floater and two free throws and
Xavier Johnson followed with a three to give the Vaqueros a 17-15 lead.
The Patriots regained the lead at 21-19 before Adewunmi three-pointers sandwiched an
Xavier Johnson three-pointer as part of an 11-0 run to put the Vaqueros up 30-21.
The Patriots responded with a 10-5 run to pull within 35-31 before a Doc Nelson jumper sparked an 11-2 run to give the Vaqueros a 46-33 lead.
The Vaqueros' lead was cut to 51-40 early in the second half. Freshman
RayQuan Taylor answered with back-to-back layups and then
Quinton Johnson II hit back-to-back three pointers as part of a 12-0 run that became a 22-4 run to put the Vaqueros up 73-44 and push the game out of reach.
UTRGV opens the regular season on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Texas A&M International at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at
UTRGVTickets.com. The party starts in Vaquero Village at 5:30 p.m. Those unable to attend the match in person can watch in the United States on
ESPN+ or internationally on the
WAC Digital Network.
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