RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team won its second straight Southland Conference (SLC) contest at the UTRGV Fieldhouse Monday, holding off the Southeastern (SLU) Lions, 68-65.
Graduate student guard
Marvin McGhee III tabbed his second double-double of the season with a game-high 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to lead UTRGV (8-11, 4-6 SLC), going 5-for-11 from three. Junior guard
Koree Cotton scored 15 with a career-high tying seven free throws as he shot 87.5% from the line. Junior forward
Filip Brankovic finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Sophomore guard
Jaylen Washington added nine points, six assists and two steals.
Isaiah Gaines had a double-double for SLU (5-14, 2-8 SLC), scoring 13 points on a 6-for-9 night from the field with 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Jeremy Elyzee added 14 points and
Jaiden Lawrence scored 11.
The Vaqueros opened the game sharp on defense, turning the pressure into a 12-1 lead. McGhee carried his momentum over from the big Saturday win, knocking down a corner three on the first possession of the game. UTRGV didn't allow the Lions to score from the field for nearly five minutes to begin the contest. Cotton snatched a steal and took it straight to the hoop, then freshman guard
Julien Gomez drained a three on the following possession to fire up the bench as SLU called an early timeout.
The Lions responded to the message in the huddle and went on a 10-1 run. SLU made a pair of threes, including one through contact, to cut UTRGV's lead down to one as the Vaqueros went scoreless for over four minutes. McGhee hit his second three and redshirt senior guard
Jalen Ricks recorded a block to keep the Vaqueros on top.
Washington and freshman guard
Demarris Winters showcased their mid-range games to maintain the advantage for UTRGV deep into the half. Washington knocked down a pull-up jumper from the top of the key and Winters made a turnaround jumper at the shot clock buzzer. But the Lions went on a 6-0 run and led by as many as three points with 3:20 to play.
McGhee made four consecutive free throws and his third triple of the half, but the Lions kept finding an answer and evened the contest at 29-29. Brankovic's jumper was the difference to send the Vaqueros to the locker room with a 31-29 lead. McGhee finished the half with 13 points and seven rebounds.
The first four minutes of the second half were low scoring, but the Vaqueros used a 6-1 run to create some separation. Washington added a three and Gomez powered his way to the hoop through contact to have UTRGV on top, 44-39. Southeastern went on a 7-0 run capped by an electric dunk to take a brief lead, but McGhee answered right back with a three to swing the momentum and make it 49-48 Vaqueros.
UTRGV went on a 7-0 run anchored by extra-effort plays. Cotton turned an offensive rebound into a putback layup and Washington delivered a good pass through traffic to Brankovic for a jumper. The defense was solid, too, keeping SLU scoreless for nearly four minutes as the Vaqueros won on the boards and forced contested shots. McGhee hit his fifth three of the night to make it 61-51.
Southeastern made a late push and cut its deficit to 61-59 after knocking down a corner three with 3:59 on the clock. Brankovic stopped the run with a hook shot jumper and UTRGV's defense was lights-out to make stops on four consecutive possessions and didn't allow a score from the field for three minutes in crunch time. Graduate student forward
Kwo Agwa slammed home a dunk for the 66-60 lead, but the Lions kept things interesting with a three to make it a one-possession game with 26 seconds to play.
Washington made one free throw before the Lions hit a jumper off the glass to get within 67-65 with 12.4 on the clock. Gomez made one free throw to force the Lions to throw up a desperation three that was off the mark, securing the win for UTRGV.
UTRGV's next game will be Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Houston Christian University.
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