RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team fell short in a good effort, 88-81, on Thursday against the Utah Tech (UTU) Trailblazers at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
UTRGV (14-15, 5-11 Western Athletic Conference) trimmed an 18-point deficit to four points in the second half. Senior
Justin Johnson led all scorers with 30 points, shooting 68.8 percent from the field and hitting two 3-pointers while swiping three steals and six rebounds. Freshman
Adante' Holiman was a major contributor late in the game, scoring 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc with four assists and one block. Junior
Daylen Williams added 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and one block. Sophomore
Will Johnston and junior
Ahren Freeman scored eight points each and Freeman had a team-high nine rebounds.
UTU (12-16, 4-11 WAC) was led by
Cameron Gooden's 26 points on 80 percent shooting from the field and at the free throw line. Gooden also made 6-of-7 3-pointers.
Isaiah Pope added 18 points,
Jacob Nicolds scored 16 and
Tanner Christensen scored 12.
The Trailblazers got off to a fast start aided by a pair of 3-pointers from Gooden to take a 12-4 lead. The Vaqueros went on a small run to cut the deficit to five at 20-15, but UTU went back up by nine.
UTRGV got it to a one-possession game, trailing 28-25, behind an improved defensive effort and Johnson's inspired offensive performance. After a deep 3-pointer by Johnson to beat the shot clock, the Trailblazers leaned on their speed and size to expand the lead again, controlling the boards to go up 43-32 following a Gooden pullup jumper. UTU outrebounded UTRGV 16-11 and shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half.
Williams was strong down low and Holiman drained back-to-back quick-release 3-pointers to provide a spark for the Vaqueros late in the first half. Johnson led all scorers with 16 points at halftime, while Holiman and Williams scored 10 each in the first 10 minutes.
UTU held a 51-42 lead at the break following a buzzer-beating putback layup by
Frank Staine.
Freeman got the scoring started in the second half, flying in to snag an offensive rebound and finishing the put-back layup through contact. But UTU continued to rebound well, particularly on the defensive boards, and kept the hot shooting going to claim a 65-49 lead at the under-15 media timeout.
The Vaqueros strung together some defensive stops then applied good pressure on a UTU inbound play leading to a Johnson steal and layup to cut the deficit to 68-57 midway through the second half.
Gooden, however, couldn't seem to miss as the Trailblazers continued to shoot at a high percentage to get their largest lead of the game at 77-59.
UTRGV's defense showed up again to keep the Trailblazers scoreless for a good stretch of time, with Holiman drawing an offensive foul in that period. Johnston and Johnson drilled 3-pointers, and Johnson finished a strong drive following a stop with a layup to aid a 10-1 run for the Vaqueros. Freeman made another great play in the paint, reeling in an offensive rebound and going up strong for the bucket to trim the lead down to 78-71 with five minutes to play. Freeman followed that up with a steal, then Williams cleaned up his miss and drained a layup to get within five.
After a UTU bucket, Holiman drained his third 3-pointer of the game to make it 80-76 and hit his fourth with 17.3 on the clock to keep the game within reach. UTRGV's early foul trouble put the Trailblazers in the double bonus for the final stretch of the game, and they shot 8-for-10 from the charity stripe and recorded two steals in the final minutes to put the game away.
UTRGV will play its final home contest of the season Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against Tarleton at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
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