RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team fell 85-69 to the University of New Orleans Privateers on Monday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
The Vaqueros (5-7, 1-2 SLC) were led by junior
Koree Cotton who scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds with four assists. Junior
Filipi Brankovic scored 12 points with four rebounds.
The Privateers (4-8, 2-1 SLC) got 32 points from Jakevion Buckley while he grabbed five rebounds with four assists. Colten Benson added 12 points while Churchill Abass chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Vaqueros and Privateers went back-and-forth in the early minutes of the first half as New Orleans got buckets from Abass and MJ Thomas while the Vaqueros answered with baskets from junior
Always Wright and sophomore
Dane Christensen that made it 11-10 UTRGV.
After a three-pointer from redshirt junior
Jalen Ricks gave UTRGV the 14-12 lead, the Privateers answered with a 14-0 run powered by seven points from Buckley to take the 26-14 lead.
UTRGV got within 28-18 after a couple of free throws from freshman
Julien Gomez but back-to-back buckets from Enzo Boudouma gave the Privateers their biggest lead of the half at 33-19 as they took the lead into the locker room.
The Vaqueros used the three-pointer to get back in the game early in the second half as a three-pointer from Brankovic got them within 40-29 and then later a three-pointer from Cotton and a free throw from Wright got them within 42-33.
After the Privateers pushed their lead to 56-40 on a Buckley three-pointer, the Vaqueros went on an 11-3 run that was kick started by a Brankovic three-pointer and bookended by a layup from Cotton that made it 59-51 New Orleans with 9:05 to play.
After a Buckley three-pointer pushed the New Orleans lead to 61-51, the Vaqueros had one final push with an 8-2 run punctuated by a Cotton three-pointer that got them within 63-59 but the Privateers pushed their lead back to 16 to close out the game.
The Vaqueros return to action on Dec. 31 when they host Nicholls at 4:30 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Fans can purchase tickets online at
UTRGVTickets.com. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID but will need to claim a ticket at
GoUTRGV.com/StudentTickets. Fans can learn more about game day, including parking information, maps, and the clear bag policy, by visiting
RallyTheValley.com.
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