The UTRGV Men’s Basketball Team defeated Utah Valley University 80-72 at home Thursday night in a historic game for the Vaqueros, who beat the Wolverines for the first time under Head Coach Lew Hill.
In the start, the first half, UTRGV got the first numbers on the board with two good free throws by senior forward Lesley Varner II.
Utah Valley had a five-point lead in the first half at the 10-minute mark as UTRGV struggled to defend the paint.
In the last four minutes of the game, the Vaqueros turned the tide in the game and ended the quarter with a 10-point lead (35-25).
“UTRGV does an excellent job of changing defenses,” Head Coach Mark Madsen of the Wolverines said about the Vaqueros.
“The press, the man, the zone, the switching,” Madsen said. “I felt like we were able to find a stride attacking it in the second half, but it was too late because they had already built up a great cushion and they were effective in taking us out of our sets in the first half, especially.”
Going into the second quarter, the home team played more like the end of the first half, defending the ball and making sure they kept the lead.
UTRGV held a 12-point lead in the second half and retained it for the entirety of the quarter.
In the last 12 seconds of the game, junior guard/forward Casdon Jardine of Utah Valley scored the last two points of the game but it was too late as UTRGV was up by eight points.
“That’s what we’ve been doing on this winning streak,” Hill said.
He responded to what the team has been doing effectively in the last four games.
“We haven’t been fouling like we were,” Hill said. “We’ve been attacking more, getting to the free throw line more and making them. So, whenever you shoot a low percentage and [you’re] getting to the free throw line, that’s the balance.”
The team is now 6-5 in the Western Athletic Conference and 10-14 overall.
The Vaqueros will return to the court for their Homecoming game against Seattle University at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Fieldhouse in Edinburg.
UTRGV junior forward Anthony Bratton blocks Utah Valley University redshirt junior Casdon Jardine during Thursday night’s game in the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.
