LAS VEGAS – Sixth-seeded The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team fell to the third-seeded New Mexico State Aggies 77-61 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday at Orleans Arena.
 
Graduate student Jeff Otchere led the Vaqueros (9-10) with a career-high 15 points on a career-best 6-of-6 shooting and two blocks. Senior Javon Levi scored 12 points with four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Junior LaQuan Butler scored nine points. Senior Anthony Bratton and junior Ricky "Doc" Nelson each finished with seven points. 
 
After four seasons with the Vaqueros, Levi ranks as the program's all-time leader in steals (244) while ranking fourth in assists (599). He also ranks sixth in WAC history in steals and tied for fifth in assists.
 
Wilfred Likayi led the Aggies (11-7) with 15 points. Donnie Tillman scored 12 points with five rebounds. Jabari Rice scored nine points with nine rebounds. Johnny McCants scored nine points with six rebounds.
 
The Vaqueros got off to a good start, going up 2-0 on an Otchere dunk and 4-3 on a jumper by junior Marek Nelson.
 
The Aggies scored the next nine points before sophomore Quinton Johnson II made a jumper and then Butler came up with a steal before hitting a layup to make the score 12-8.
 
The Aggies responded by scoring the next eight points as part of a 14-2 run to go up 26-10.
 
The Aggies led by as much as 17 in the first half, going up 32-15 with 5:09 remaining. The Vaqueros answered with a 9-0 run, capped by a Levi layup off a turnover to make the score 32-24, but the Aggies closed the half on a 7-0 run and then scored the first five points of the second half to take a 44-24 lead.
 
The Vaqueros pulled to within 58-41 on a pair of Otchere dunks midway through the second half.
 
The Aggies responded with an 8-0 run to take their largest lead at 66-41. The Vaqueros followed with a 16-7 run to make the score 73-57, but that's as close as they got.

Support UTRGV Men's Basketball | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube