An audience of more than 800 people witnessed the UTRGV Men’s Basketball Team fall 84-76 to the Wolverines of Utah Valley University tonight in the Fieldhouse.
Vaquero shooting guard Nick Dixon sunk a walloping 26 points and nine rebounds in what was a night of spectacular dunks and playmaking. The team’s overall record falls to 10-10 and 2-2 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Wolverines exposed several weaknesses in UTRGV’s defense early in the game. Head Coach Lew Hill said the team’s perimeter defense allowed too many 3-pointers.
“We just didn’t fly around,” Hill said. “That was one of our things we talked about … covering the three and we didn’t come out of the gate like that. We dug ourselves in such a deep hole, it was hard to get out of it.”
UVU led the first half 51-46 with 50 percent on 3-point attempts.
Nixon ended as the top scorer for both sides.
On UVU’s side, small forward Conner Toolson scored a total 23 points and two rebounds; power forward Kenneth Ogbe scored 17 points and six rebounds while playing 36 out of the 40 total game minutes.
On the home side, power forward Terry Winn attributed the loss to not following the game plan.
“They’re just a good team,” Winn said. “It’s just hard to guard everything. We practiced for everything they brought to the table. We should have stuck to the game plan more.”
Follow the men’s team as it attempts to obtain a home victory at 7 p.m. Saturday against Seattle University.
