RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team fell to the Texas Southern Tigers 70-60 on Tuesday at Bert Ogden Arena.
 
Freshman RayQuan Taylor led the Vaqueros (4-7) with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and six rebounds. Graduate student Marek Nelson scored nine points with four rebounds, a career-high five assists and a career-high tying four steals. Junior LaQuan Butler scored nine points. Graduate student Mike Adewunmi scored nine points. Junior Justin Johnson scored seven points with eight rebounds. Junior Ricky "Doc" Nelson dished out a season-high nine assists.
 
Brison Gresham led the Tigers (2-7) with 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks. John Jones scored 15 points with three rebounds and four assists. Justin Hopkins scored 12 points with five rebounds and four assists.
 
The game was tied at 5 in the opening minutes on the power of a Johnson layup and a Doc Nelson three-point play. Then, after three-straight Tigers baskets, Taylor drained a three to bring the Vaqueros to within 11-8.
 
The Tigers pushed their lead to 15-8 when Marek Nelson came up with a steal and a dunk to bring the Vaqueros within five.
 
The Tigers went up 23-13 before sophomore BJ Simmons hit a three to set off a span off the two teams trading baskets that ended with the Tigers up 32-21 at the half.
 
The Vaqueros pull within 37-28 early in the second half on a hook shot by freshman Donte Houston Jr., but the Tigers scored the next seven points to go up 44-28.
 
A pair of Butler three-pointers and a layup and a dunk by Taylor powered a 10-0 run to bring the Vaqueros within 44-38.
 
The Vaqueros were again within six at 48-42 on a Marek Nelson layup and 54-48 on an Adewunmi three, but that's as close as they got.
 
UTRGV is back in action on Friday at 7 p.m. at UTSA.

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