Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men’s basketball team learned on Monday that freshman forward RayQuan Taylor is the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Week for his efforts at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi during the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, on Wednesday.
Taylor posted his first-career double-double with a career-high 19 rebounds, 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, plus a career-high tying 3-of-4 from the line, one assist, one block and one steal in a career-high 35 minutes.
The 19 rebounds are the highest single-game total for the program since Jan. 19, 2002, when Marcus Quinn had 19 at home against Gardner-Webb.
Taylor is one of only 14 players (15 occurrences), and one of only three true freshmen to record a game of 19 or more rebounds in NCAA Division I this year. He’s also the only one to do it on the road.
Since 2010-11, Taylor is one of 26 players (27 occurrences) to post a game of 19 or more rebounds off the bench. He’s one of eight to do it on the road. Taylor is also one of only two true freshmen to do it and the only one to do so in regulation.
For the season, Taylor is averaging 6.6 points on 51.9% shooting and a team-high 7.0 rebounds in 10 games (one start).
Taylor ranks 92nd in the NCAA and fifth in the WAC in offensive rebounds per game (2.80), 147th in the NCAA and fifth in the WAC in total rebounds (70), and 179th in the NCAA and eighth in the WAC in rebounds per game (7.0).
UTRGV hosts Texas Southern at Bert Ogden Arena on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at BertOgdenArena.com. The game is part of a single-admission doubleheader, as the women’s basketball team faces Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as the next event in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, at 5 p.m. Doors open at 4. Those unable to attend the game in person can watch in the United States on ESPN+ or internationally on the WAC Digital Network.
