RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's basketball team locked up the #3 seed for the Southland Conference (SLC) Basketball Championships with a 74-62 victory over the Northwestern State Demons Monday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Junior guard
Koree Cotton led UTRGV (18-13, 14-8 SLC) with 21 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the three-point line, with seven rebounds and two blocks. Graduate student guard
Marvin McGhee III scored 13 points with two steals. Sophomore guard
Jaylen Washington added 13 points with eight assists and graduate student forward
Kwo Agwa scored nine.
UTRGV used good ball movement to set up a three from Cotton on the first possession of the game before the Demons went on an 8-0 run. McGhee knocked down a three-pointer to get the Vaqueros offense going. UTRGV scored 10 in a row as Washington juked the defense to create a lane for a layup, then grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a layup for Agwa
. McGhee intercepted a pass and took the turnover coast-to-coast to cap the drive and make it 18-10 in favor of the Vaqueros.
Northwestern State got within four with physical play in the paint before a three-pointer from freshman guard
Demarris Winters sparked a flurry that put the Vaqueros on top by nine. The teams went bucket-for-bucket through a fast-paced stretch late in the half. The Demons were within six before Winters and Cotton knocked down threes to extend the UTRGV advantage to 10. The Vaqueros led 39-30 at halftime.
Washington opened the second half with a three-pointer, growing the lead to 12 points. But the Demons then went on an 11-1 run to trim the deficit all the way down to 44-41. Agwa made an extra-effort play to fire up the Vaqueros, flying in to tip-in a miss and getting fouled in the process. He started an 11-2 run that put the Vaqueros up 55-43 as the defense kept Northwestern State scoreless for over four minutes. Cotton was tremendous in that stretch, recording two monster blocks and slamming home a driving dunk.
Cotton added a three-point play with a solid drive through contact and finished the free throw to extend the lead to 58-45. The Demons scored four in a row but then both teams were plagued with a series of misses as UTRGV went scoreless for over three minutes before Washington made a pair of free throws to put the Vaqueros back up by 11.
Agwa and Cotton fired up the crowd as the clock wound down. Agwa made a layup through contact and Cotton drained his third three as UTRGV pushed the gap to 67-52, forcing a Demons timeout with 2:58 to play. The closing minutes of the game were physical and fast, and UTRGV was able to answer every bit of effort the Demons left on the court to try and mount a comeback. The fourth three-pointer of Cotton's big night secured the win.
Up next for UTRGV will be the SLC Tournament March 8-11 in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Support UTRGV Men's Basketball |
Become a Fan on Facebook |
Follow us on Twitter |
Follow us on Instagram |
Follow us on YouTube
