ABILENE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team fell to the Abilene Christian University Wildcats 83-66 on Saturday at the Teague Center.
Junior
Justin Johnson led the Vaqueros (7-16, 2-9 WAC) with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Graduate student
Marek Nelson scored 14 points with five rebounds and one steal. Freshman
RayQuan Taylor posted his second double-double with 12 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks.
Airion Simmons led the Wildcats (16-7, 7-5 WAC) with 31 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Graduate student
Xavier Johnson gave the Vaqueros an immediate lead, hitting a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the game.
The Wildcats followed with a 20-7 run before a pair of
Justin Johnson free throws and a jumper by junior
Ricky "Doc" Nelson brought the Vaqueros within 20-14.
A
Marek Nelson 3-pointer kept the Vaqueros within 24-17, but the Wildcats scored the next five points as part of an 11-4 run to go up 35-21.
Taylor hit two free throws and graduate student
Mike Adewunmi made a layup to bring the Vaqueros within 10 before the Wildcats scored the next eight points to take their largest lead of the half at 43-25.
The Wildcats pushed their lead to 20 early in the second half when a Taylor jumper and a layup and a 3-pointer by
Justin Johnson made the score 52-39.
The Vaqueros were within 13 four more times, including at 62-49 on a pair of free throws by sophomore
Quinton Johnson II with 11:26 remaining, but the Wildcats scored the next six points as part of a 10-2 run to push the game out of reach.
UTRGV visits Seattle U on Thursday at 9 p.m. Fans can watch in the United States on
ESPN+ or internationally on the
WAC Digital Network.
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