Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s basketball team rallied back from a 23-point deficit to get as close as one before ultimately falling to the Sam Houston State University Bearkats 69-66 on Monday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
The loss snaps the Vaqueros’ (5-3) nine-game home winning streak.
Junior Sean Rhea led the Vaqueros with his first double-double of the season, scoring a career-high 25 points with a season-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore Quinton Johnson II finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Zach Nutall led the Bearkats (5-5) with 14 points and eight rebounds. Demarkus Lampley scored 10 points with seven rebounds.
The Vaqueros trailed 56-33 with 12:17 remaining in the second half. That’s when Rhea bookended a 14-0 run with layups to bring the Vaqueros to within 56-47.
The Vaqueros pulled to within 61-53 on a pair of Rhea free throws with 4:04 remaining.
Then, down 65-54 with 1:20 left, Johnson hit a free throw, Rhea made two, and senior Chris Freeman made a three and two free throws to make the score 65-62.
After a pair of Lampley free throws, junior Ricky “Doc” Nelson made a jumper and junior LaQuan Butler made a layup to make the score 67-66, but Nutall made two free throws to complete the scoring.
The game was tight early, with the Vaqueros going up 8-6 and 11-8 on Rhea three-point plays, 13-11 on a jumper by sophomore Connor Raines, 17-12 on a layup by Butler, 20-14 on a Butler three, and 21-16 on a free throw by junior Marek Nelson.
The Bearkats responded by scoring the next 11 points as part of a 26-4 run close the half up 42-25.
The Beakats pushed their lead to 20 on a Lampley three at the start of the second half, but Rhea converted a three-point play and Johnson hit a three-pointer to bring the Vaqueros within 45-31.
The Bearkats answered by scoring the next nine points to go up 54-31.
UTRGV is back in action on Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. against Dallas Christian at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. UTRGV Athletics is capping capacity at the UTRGV Fieldhouse at 255 fans made up of current UTRGV students, season ticket holders, corporate partners, and families of student-athletes and coaches. Doors open at 5. For more information about game day, visit GoUTRGV.com/game-day.
Fans can also watch for free online at WACDigitalNetwork.com.
