EL PASO – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball fell to the New Mexico State Aggies 69-51 on Tuesday at UTEP's Don Haskins Center.
 
Graduate student Jeff Otchere led the Vaqueros (9-7, 2-3 WAC) with a season-high 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore Connor Raines scored nine points. Senior Javon Levi scored eight points with two steals.Junior Uche Dibiamaka scored eight points with three rebounds. Junior LaQuan Butler finished with seven points.
 
Jabari Rice led the Aggies (8-7, 5-6 WAC) with 16 points and eight rebounds. Clayton Henry scored 15 points with five rebounds. C.J. Roberts scored 12 points with six rebounds. Johnny McCants scored 10 points with six rebounds.
 
The Vaqueros opened up with their trademark lockdown defense, holding the Aggies to 1-of-13 (7.7%) shooting over the first seven minutes while taking a 5-2 lead.
 
The Vaqueros pushed their lead to 11-5 on a Dibiamaka three-point play at the 11:25 mark of the first half. The Vaqueros held the Aggies to 2-of-18 shooting (11.1%) over the first nine and a half minutes.
 
The Aggies answered by going on a 7-0 run before a free throw by senior Anthony Bratton tied the game at 12. Levi followed with a three to put the Vaqueros back on top.
 
The Aggies scored the next 11 points while closing the half on a 19-4 run to go up 31-19.
 
The Aggies led by as much as 20, going up 46-26 with 12:48 remaining.
 
A three-pointer and a three-point play by Raines helped to fuel a 15-5 run that cut the deficit in half by bringing the Vaqueros to within 51-41.
 
The two teams traded baskets over the next three minutes, with the Vaqueros again pulling to within 10 at 58-48 on a Raines three. The Aggies, however, scored the next six points to push the game out of reach.
 
UTRGV hosts Tarleton on Friday at 7 p.m. for Coach Lew Hill Tribute Night as part of the Bert Ogden Arena Series, presented by the City of Edinburg. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive commemorative t-shirts honoring Coach Hill. There will also be tributes to Coach Hill throughout the game. Tickets are on sale now at BertOgdenArena.com.
 
Bert Ogden Arena will be allowing approximately 1,200 fans to attend the game to allow for proper social distancing. UTRGV faculty and staff can enter their email addresses at checkout to receive a 20 percent discount. Current UTRGV students can pick up their tickets for free by showing their UTRGV student ID at the Bert Ogden Arena box office starting at 6 p.m. on game day.
 
Fans can also watch for free online at WACDigitalNetwork.com.

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