RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team knocked off the first-place McNeese Cowboys Saturday in a Southland Conference (SLC) game, 79-76, at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in front of a season-best crowd of 2,119.
Graduate student
Marvin McGhee III led UTRGV (7-11, 3-6 SLC) with 17 points, seven rebounds and three three-pointers. Redshirt senior
Jalen Ricks scored 14 with a career-high four three-pointers. Sophomore guard
Jaylen Washington contributed 13 points with three assists and graduate student
Zae Blake added 12 with four rebounds and a pair of threes.
Tyshawn Archie led McNeese (14-4, 7-3 SLC) with 23 points.
Javohn Garcia scored 19 and
Larry Johnson added 17 with a 9-for-9 night at the free throw line.
Jacolb Fredson-Cole tabbed 10 rebounds.
The Vaqueros played with great determination from the first whistle. Right out of the gate, they went on a 10-0 run as they prevented the Cowboys from scoring for over four minutes. Extra passes and patience on offense led to a massive first half for the Vaqueros. The outside shooters smartly forced the McNeese defenders to blow by them with pump fakes, then drilled the open looks. UTRGV had seven three-pointers in the first half, including two from McGhee, who scored 10 in the opening half.
Ricks got the three party started in the corner to help the early spurt and gain a 12-4 lead. Blake and junior forward
Filip Brankovic went back-to-back from behind the arc to erase a small 5-0 run by the Cowboys and put UTRGV up, 22-15.
Junior guard
Koree Cotton brought a big spark to the Fieldhouse to help a commanding 12-0 run which put the Vaqueros on top, 34-15. Freshman guard
Julien Gomez got things going with a three and a steal which turned into a fastbreak layup for Cotton, who then scored the next seven with a three that got the fans fired up. UTRGV's defense kept McNeese off the board for nearly three minutes as the Vaqueros built up a lead as large as 23 points. McGhee hit two threes late in the half and Washington side-stepped defenders for a layup to have the Vaqueros with a 46-30 lead heading to the locker room.
UTRGV shot 61.5% from the field and was 7-for-13 (53.8%) from behind the arc in the first half. Defensively, the Vaqueros forced six turnovers and turned those into 12 points as they held the Cowboys to 32.3% shooting from the field with only two made threes on 13 attempts.
McNeese hit shots with much more frequency in the second half and was assisted with repeated trips to the free throw line to sit within 12 points of UTRGV for most of the half. The Cowboys were 10-for-10 from the line while UTRGV had zero free throw attempts with 7:22 left in the game, helping them cut the deficit to 69-60. Ricks nailed an electrifying three to extend the lead to double-digits again.
The Cowboys went on a 12-3 run after the three to cut the lead to 75-72 with under three minutes to play. McGhee made two clutch free throws and Cotton tabbed a huge block in the final 1:30 of play, but a late layup cut the lead to one possession. McNeese made another trip to the free throw line and went 2-for-2 to make it 77-76 with 25 seconds on the clock.
UTRGV erased 12 seconds with good ball movement against a heavy full-court press on the ensuing inbound, earning a trip to the line for Blake. He made both to make it 79-76. McNeese got the last two offensive possessions of the game and UTRGV's defense held strong in the final 13 seconds, forcing two missed threes to secure the win. The Vaqueros didn't make a field goal for the final 6:53 of action but went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe to stay in control.
The Vaqueros will host Southeastern at 6:30 p.m. Monday. The Monday Madness game will feature a DJ for pregame and in-game festivities, party lights throughout the night, and glowsticks, presented by Vaquero Outfitters, that will be distributed to fans. Lights will be turned off at various times during the game to allow party lights and glowsticks to illuminate the gym.
Fans can purchase tickets 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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