RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team won its first-ever Southland Conference game, 68-65 over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks on Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Graduate student
DK Thorn led the Vaqueros (5-3, 1-0 SLC) with 20 points on a career-high tying 5-of-10 shooting from behind the arc. Senior
K.T. Raimey scored 17 points. Senior
Cliff Davis scored eight points with a career-high nine rebounds and two assists. Junior
Trey Miller dished out a career-high tying eight assists while scoring seven points.
Keon Thompson led the Lumberjacks (5-4, 0-1 SLC) with 20 points, four assists and two steals.
Matt Hayman scored 14 points with six rebounds and four steals.
The Lumberjacks jumped out to a 7-2 lead over the opening six minutes before a Raimey 3-pointer brought the Vaqueros to within a basket.
The Lumberjacks led 12-9 when Miller and junior
Howie Fleming Jr. made layups to give the Vaqueros their first lead at 13-12 with 6:43 remaining in the first half.
Just under three minutes later, with the Vaqueros down 16-15, a flagrant foul sent Fleming to the line to hit two free throws and on the ensuing possession, Thorn nailed a 3 to put the Vaqueros up 20-16.
The Lumberjacks scored the next six points to regain the lead, but Davis made a layup and Raimey hit a pair of free throws to give the Vaqueros a 24-22 halftime advantage.
The Lumberjacks scored the first six points of the second before Davis hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Vaqueros a 30-28 lead.
The Lumberjacks responded with a 10-0 run, but a pair of Thorn 3-pointers and one by Raimey powered a 13-4 run to give the Vaqueros a 43-42 lead.
Three baskets later, with the Lumberjacks up 46-45, Thorn hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Vaqueros the lead for good at 51-46 with 9:17 remaining.
The Vaqueros continue this 7-game homestand on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. when they host Lamar in the second game of a single-admission doubleheader with the women's basketball team, which hosts Stephen F. Austin at 2 p.m., at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at
UTRGVTickets.com. 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 1 p.m.
Fans can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
Southland International.
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