NATCHITOCHES, La. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team led 63-58 with 45 seconds left but fell 64-63 as the Northwestern State Demons scored the final six points on Monday at Prather Coliseum.
The Vaqueros (6-11, 2-6 SLC) got a game-high 19 points from junior
Filip Brankovic. Junior
Koree Cotton scored 14 points with four rebounds. Freshman
Julien Gomez scored nine points while graduate student
Zae Blake added eight points with four rebounds and sophomore
Jaylen Washington dished out seven assists with five points.
The Demons (6-11, 4-4 SLC) got 17 points and five assists from
Micah Thomas.
Willie Williams scored 14 points, and
Chris Mubiru scored 10 points. The Demons went 18-of-23 from the free throw line compared to 7-of-7 for the Vaqueros.
After the first half saw the game tied at 28-28, The Vaqueros opened the second half with a layup from Gomez, which also kick started a 7-2 run that was capped by a Gomez three-pointer that made it 35-30. The Demons converted from the free throw line to get within 35-34 but a three-pointer from
Blake and a three-point play from Washington gave UTRGV the 41-34 lead.
After a layup by JC Riley Jr., Brankovic got the offense going as he started a 14-5 run by scoring nine-straight points behind a layup, a three-pointer, and four free throws before getting a Cotton Jumper and a three-pointer from Blake that gave the Vaqueros their biggest lead of the game at 55-41.
The Demons didn't give up as they put together a 13-0 run powered by six points from Williams that made it 55-54 with 4:20 left to play but the Vaqueros found the holes in the Demons defense and got three-straight layups to push their lead to 63-58.
The Demons knocked down a three-pointer and four-straight free throws, including one with one second left, to close out the game.
The Vaqueros grabbed the early momentum as they opened the scoring with a layup from Gomez and a three-pointer from Brankovic making it 5-0 less than a minute into the game. Later, Cotton got a layup and then Brankovic knocked down a three-pointer to give UTRGV their biggest lead of the half at 12-6 with 14:52 to play in the half.
The Demons took advantage of their trips to the free throw line as part of a 9-2 run that gave them the 18-17 lead. The Vaqueros answered with an 11-5 run behind Cotton's five of his 10 first half points to take the 28-23 lead, but the Demons got a jumper from Adegbola and a three-pointer from Riley Jr. to even the score heading into halftime.
The Vaqueros return to action on Jan. 17 when they host McNeese 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.
