Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s basketball team rallied from down 11 to beat the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners by 11, 70-59, on Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Graduate student Jordan Jackson led the Vaqueros (7-14, 3-5 WAC) with 17 points. Freshman Quinton Johnson II scored 11 points with a career-high nine rebounds, three assists, and a career-high-tying three steals. Junior Javon Levi scored 11 points with four rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Sophomore Sean Rhea finished with nine points, four rebounds, and one steal.
Greg Lee led the Runners (10-13, 4-4 WAC) with 18 points and six rebounds. Czar Perry finished with 11 points.
The Runners led 23-12 with 7:58 remaining in the first half. That’s when the Vaqueros went on a 10-2 run that included a Johnson dunk and a layup by junior Anthony Bratton to pull within 25-22.
A Rhea dunk and free throw toward the end of the half brought the Vaqueros to within 31-29.
The Vaqueros then opened the second half on a 15-4 run that included a go-ahead dunk by Jackson to go up 44-38.
The Runners pulled within two twice, including at 49-47 with 9:46 remaining. The Vaqueros responded with a 9-0 run that included a layup, a three and a free throw by Johnson, to extend their lead to 58-47. The Vaqueros led by at least eight the rest of the way.
UTRGV visits Kansas City on Thursday at 7 p.m.