Texas Border Business
PHOENIX – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s basketball team broke a tie for the No. 3 seed in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament by beating the Grand Canyon University Lopes 88-80 on Saturday at GCU Arena.
UTRGV (13-16, 8-7 WAC) now leads Grand Canyon (12-17, 7-8 WAC) by one game. UTRGV entered the night half a game behind Seattle U (7-6 WAC) in the race for the No. 2 seed. Seattle U is at California Baptist on Saturday with the game starting as the UTRGV game ended.
Senior Lesley Varner II led the Vaqueros with 32 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc, with seven rebounds. Junior Javon Levi scored a career-high 25 points with four assists and three steals. Junior Chris Freeman scored a career-high 18 points. Freshman Quinton Johnson II finished with seven points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Alessandro Lever led the Lopes with 18 points and six rebounds. Isiah Brown scored 17 points. Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored 15 points, with five rebounds and five assists. Carlos Johnson scored 11 points with five rebounds. Lorenzo Jenkins finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
The Lopes led briefly in the second half, going up 68-65 after trailing for the majority of the game. That’s when Freeman drilled a three from the right corner, drew the foul and hit the free throw to spark the Vaqueros. Varner followed with a three and Levi hit a jumper to put the Vaqueros up 74-68.
The Lopes got as close as four at 76-72, but Varner responded with a three-point play and Johnson made a backdoor layup as the Vaqueros put the game on ice.
The Vaqueros came out on fire in the first half, going up 9-2 on a Freeman three. Then, with the score 14-9, Varner and Johnson made back-to-back threes and Varner hit a jumper to put the Vaqueros up 22-9.
The Vaqueros extended their lead to 14 at 34-20 on a Freeman three midway through the half.
The Vaqueros took their largest lead with 7:23 remaining in the first half when a Levi layup made the score 40-24.
The Lopes closed to within five early in the second half before a Varner three punctuated a 7-2 run to give the Vaqueros a 56-46 lead. The Lopes followed with a 16-5 run to tie the game to take their first lead at 62-61.
UTRGV closes out the regular season on Saturday at 7 p.m. against California Baptist University at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. There will be a special senior day ceremony to honor the graduating senior class before the game. It’s season ticket holder appreciation night. UTRGV Athletics wants to thank its men’s and women’s basketball season ticket holders for all their support by inviting them to the pregame party at Vaquero Village. It’s also Junior Vaqueros Appreciation Night. Members of the Junior Vaqueros Club will be recognized on the court during the game. If UTRGV wins, fans can take home a buy one, get one free Raising Cane’s box combo coupon. Current UTRGV students get free general admission with a valid UTRGV student ID. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at UTRGVTickets.com. Fans purchasing their tickets online prior to game day can save up to $2 per ticket. The party starts at Vaquero Village at 5:30.
 Vaqueros men's basketball team broke a tie for the No. 3 seed in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament by beating the Grand Canyon University Lopes 88-80 on Saturday at GCU Arena.){kind=link}