NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s basketball team held multiple leads and was still within three possessions midway through the second half before falling to the Oklahoma Sooners 90-66 on Friday at the Noble Lloyd Center.
Junior Elijah Elliott led the Vaqueros (1-3) with 15 points and three steals. Junior Hasan Abdul-Hakim scored 14 points with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Graduate student DeAnthony Tipler Jr. scored 14 points with two steals. Senior Daylen Williams scored nine points with 10 rebounds. Junior Sherman Brashear scored eight points while hitting a pair of 3-pointers. Senior Ahren Freeman finished with six points and four rebounds.
John Hugley IV led the Sooners (4-0) with 16 points and eight rebounds. Rivaldo Soares scored 15 points with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Otega Oweh scored 14 points with three rebounds and four assists. Le’Tre Darthard scored 13 points. Javian McCollum finished with 11 points and three assists.
The Vaqueros held the lead five times in the first half, at 2-0 on a Freeman layup, 4-2 on a Williams layup, 6-4 on an Elliott layup, 8-6 on an Abdul-Hakim jumper, and 19-16 at the end of a 9-0 run that featured four steals.
The Vaqueros trailed 16-10 when Freeman made a driving layup. Ten seconds later, Elliott recorded the Vaqueros’ first steal of the day. After a miss, sophomore Isaiah Barganier came up with a steal, leading to a Brashear 3-pointer. Twelves seconds after that, an Elliott steal led to a Brashear layup. On the ensuing possession, Tipler came up with a steal and then drove down the lane for a layup.
After a 7-0 Sooners run made the score 23-19, an Abdul-Hakim steal led to a Tipler 3-pointer.
The Vaqueros tied the game at 23 on an Elliott free throw and 25 on a Freeman layup.
The Sooners followed with a 10-0 run before an Abdul-Hakim steal led to a Tipler 3-pointer.
The Vaqueros’ final of seven steals during the first half, by Williams, led to an Abdul-Hakim layup to bring the Vaqueros within 39-33. The Vaqueros scored 19 points off 10 Sooners turnovers during the first 17 minutes.
After the Sooners scored the final eight points of the first half, the Vaqueros opened the second half by scoring five of the first seven points to pull to within 49-38.
The Sooners responded with a 7-0 run before 3-pointers by Elliott and Brashear powered a 10-2 run to bring the Vaqueros within 58-48.
Then, after a pair of Oweh free throws, Elliott hit two free throws, and on the next possession, picked up a steal that led to a Williams dunk to bring the Vaqueros to within 60-52 with 10:35 remaining.
The Sooners, however, followed with a 15-4 run to push the game out of reach.
UTRGV returns home on Monday at 6:30 p.m. against North American University at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. It’s educators appreciation and dress like a turkey night. School employees get discounted $6 tickets. Fans coming dressed as a turkey get free admission. Fans dressed as a turkey will take the court and the crowd will determine who has the best costumer. The winner gets a $100 H-E-B gift card.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at GoUTRGV.com/Tickets. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID. All fans need to follow the clear bag policy, details of which can be found at GoUTRGV.com/ClearBag. The party starts in Schlotzsky’s Vaquero Village at 5 p.m.
Fans unable to attend in person can watch domestically on ESPN+ or internationally via WAC International.
