RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team won its second-straight game, beating the University of St. Francis Fighting Saints, a team coached by former legacy institution UTPA head coach
Ryan Marks (2009-13), 77-51 on Monday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Junior
C.J. Jackson led the Vaqueros (2-1) with 16 points, six rebounds and two steals. Sophomore
Will Johnstonscored 14 points. Senior
Justin Johnson scored 11 points and five rebounds. Graduate student
Dima Zdor scored 10 points with seven rebounds, two steals and three blocks. Freshman
Adante' Holiman scored eight points with two assists. Freshman
Alex Horiuk scored seven points. Junior
Daylen Williams grabbed seven rebounds with six assists, two steals and four points.
Aitor Anabitarte led the Saints with 12 points and three assists.
Casmir Ochiaka scored 10 points with eight rebounds.
Darius Wright also scored 10 points.
The Vaqueros hit four of their first eight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, to jump out to a 12-0 lead over the opening five and a half minutes.
The Vaqueros extended their lead to 26-6 on a Johnson layup at the 6:43 mark. The Fighting Saints followed with a 7-0 run pull within 26-13 two and a half minutes later.
The Vaqueros responded by scoring the next eight points as part of a 13-3 run, capped by a Zdor dunk, to take a 39-16 lead.
The Fighting Saints scored the first six points of the second half as part of a 13-4 run to pull within 45-31.
Jackson responded with a layup and then Johnston knocked down a 3 to put the Vaqueros up 19.
The Fighting Saints pulled within 14 twice more, including at 54-40 with 8:19 remaining, but the Vaqueros answered with an 8-2 run, capped by a Holiman 3, to push the game out of reach.
UTRGV visits Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, on Thursday at 7 p.m. on
ESPN+.
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