CEDAR CITY, Utah – Graduate student
Marvin McGhee III dropped 30 points on Saturday to lead The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team to their first win of the season, defeating the Southern Utah University (SUU) Thunderbirds 95-72 at America First Event Center.
McGhee III recorded a double-double as he grabbed 10 rebounds and going 12-of-17 from the floor. The Vaqueros (1-1) had three others score in double-figures while having 12 different scorers in the game. Junior
Filip Brankovic scored 11 points with seven rebounds. Sophomore
Dane Christensen added 11 points with six rebounds while junior
Koree Cotton scored 10 points with four rebounds and a team-high six assists.
The Vaqueros finished the game shooting 50% (38-76) while shooting 57.1% (16-28) from the three-point range while outrebounding the Thunderbirds (0-2) 48 to 34.
Jaiden Feroah scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Southern Utah. Elijah Duval, Dylan Jones, and Zach Bell each added nine points.
The Vaqueros found themselves trailing early in the first half but a three-pointer from senior
Kye Dickson kickstarted a UTRGV 10-0 run that gave them the 19-11 lead. Later, a three-pointer from redshirt junior
Marshal Destremau pushed the UTRGV lead to 24-13 with 12:21 left in the half.
Southern Utah got within 27-20 on a Tanner Hayhurst three-pointer but the Vaqueros put together a 11-1 run behind 10-straight points in the paint to push their lead to 38-21. The Thunderbirds climbed back into the game with a 14-2 run to close out the half as the Vaqueros took a 40-35 lead into the half.
The Vaqueros widened their lead to 51-35 as McGhee III led an 11-0 run to start the second half by knocking down back-to-back buckets, including one of five three-pointers.
After a three-pointer from Christensen, that made it 57-40 UTRGV, the Thunderbirds took advantage of the free throw line to climb back into the game as Feroah made four-straight to get within 63-54.
That's as close as the Thunderbirds would get as Cotton knocked down a three to make it 68-54.
Christensen knocked down another three-pointer that made it 78-59 with 6:08 to play and then back-to-back three-pointers from McGhee III and Cotton pushed UTRGV's lead to 88-64 to seal the victory.
The Vaqueros will be back in action on Nov. 11 when they visit (RV) Boise State at 8 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena.
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