ABILENE – Junior
Elijah Elliott hit a last second 3 to force overtime before The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team fell to the Abilene Christian Wildcats 91-89 on Saturday at Moody Coliseum.
The Vaqueros (4-11, 0-4 WAC) trailed 80-77 with 3.6 seconds left in regulation. Junior
Hasan Abdul-Hakim sent a long inbound pass to junior
Sherman Brashear beyond half court. Brashear immediately relayed the ball to Elliott who nailed a 3 from the right wing.
The Vaqueros took an immediate 82-80 lead in overtime on an Abdul-Hakim layup. Elliott added a jumper to put the Vaqueros up 84-82
The Wildcats led 88-86 when Abdul-Hakim converted a 3-point play with 10.6 seconds remaining to put the Vaqueros up 89-88.
JV Seat, however, made a layup with 1.3 seconds remaining to restore the Wildcats' lead.
Hunter Maddenadded a free throw with half a second left.
Abdul-Hakim led the Vaqueros with a career-high 26 points and six rebounds. Elliott scored 12 points with a career-high eight assists and two steals. Senior
Ahren Freeman scored 12 points. Freshman
J.J. Howard scored 11 points with five rebounds. Freshman
C.J. Booker scored nine points with three assists and two steals. Brashear sunk a pair of 3-pointers for eight points. Senior
Daylen Williams scored seven points with nine rebounds.
Ali Abdou Dibba led the Wildcats (6-8, 1-2 WAC) with 23 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Madden scored 17 points.
Leonardo Bettiol scored 14 points with six rebounds and two blocks.
Kavion McClain scored 12 points with five assists and six steals.
Airion Simmons scored 12 points with nine rebounds and four assists.
The Vaqueros and Wildcats were separated by no more than a basket for the first eight minutes before the Wildcats went up 22-18. Brashear responded with a 3-pointer and a layup to give the Vaqueros the lead.
The Wildcats scored four of the next five points to tie the game at 28 before the Vaqueros went on a 12-5 run, capped by back-to-back Freeman baskets, to go up 40-33.
The Vaqueros led 48-42 on a pair of Adbul-Hakim free throws early in the second half when the Wildcats went on an 8-2 run to tie the game at 50.
The Vaqueros regained the lead at 53-50 on a Booker 3-pointer and 55-52 on an Adbul-Hakim layup before the Wildcats used four free throws to go up 56-55.
Abdul-Hakim and Freeman responded with layups to give the Vaqueros a 59-56 lead and then extended their advantage to 64-59 on an Elliott layup.
The Vaqueros still led 73-70 on a layup by sophomore
Saliou Seye with 4:22 remaining when the Wildcats went on a 6-0 run to take the lead.
The Vaqueros pulled within 78-77 on a Howard 3-pointer with 33 seconds left.
UTRGV plays four of its next five games at home starting with Seattle U on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. The game features the Cane's Challenge. If the Vaqueros win, all fans in the fieldhouse will receive coupons for buy one, get one free box combos at Raising Cane's on their way out.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at
GoUTRGV.com/Tickets. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID. All fans need to follow the clear bag policy, details of which can be found at
GoUTRGV.com/ClearBag. The party starts in Schlotzsky's Vaquero Village at 5 p.m.
Fans unable to attend in person can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
WAC International.
Support UTRGV Men's Basketball |
Become a Fan on Facebook |
Follow us on Twitter |
Follow us on Instagram |
Follow us on YouTube
