RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team fell to the Sam Houston Bearkats 67-61 on Saturday at Bert Ogden Arena in front of a season-best crowd of 2,717.
This was UTRGV's largest crowd since Nov. 9, 2018, when 5,071 fans watched UTRGV host Oklahoma at Bert Ogden Arena.
Junior
Justin Johnson led the Vaqueros (7-20, 2-13 WAC) with 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. Graduate student
Xavier Johnson scored 18 points. Junior
LaQuan Butler scored 10 points with four rebounds, four assists and a career-high four steals. Sophomore
Quinton Johnson II finished with nine points. Freshman
RayQuan Taylor grabbed seven rebounds to go with four points.
Savion Flagg led the Bearkats (17-11, 12-3 WAC) with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Demarkus Lampley scored 10 points with six rebounds.
Jaden Ray scored 10 points with three steals.
The Vaqueros led 3-2 on a
Justin Johnson 3-pointer before the Bearkats scored 13-straight points as part of an 18-3 run to go up 20-6.
The Vaqueros followed with a 12-4 run, capped by a
Xavier Johnson 3-pointer, to pull within 24-18.
The Vaqueros got as close as five in the first half when Butler made a 3 to make the halftime score 32-27.
The Vaqueros closed to within 34-30 early in the second half on a Quinton Johnson 3-point play. The Bearkats responded with a 9-3 run to go up 43-33.
That's when
Justin Johnson took over, hitting three-straight layups before a Taylor layup capped an 8-0 run that made the score 43-41.
The Bearkats scored the next six points as part of a 10-2 run to go up 53-43.
Then, with the score 55-45,
Xavier Johnson hit two free throws and a 3-pointer to bring the Vaqueros within five.
The Bearkats extended their lead back to 10 at 66-56 with 33 seconds left.
Justin Johnson made a layup and a 3-pointer to bring the Vaqueros back within five, but that's as close as they got.
UTRGV visits Tarleton on Thursday at 7 p.m. Fans can watch in the United States on
ESPN+ or internationally on the
WAC Digital Network.
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