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RIO GRANDE VALLEY\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s basketball team rallied late but was defeated, 71-69, in a competitive Southland Conference (SLC) game against the Nicholls Colonels Wednesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Support UTRGV Men’s Basketball<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Become a Fan on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on YouTube<\/a> Read Full Article
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\nFreshman guard\u00a0Julien Gomez<\/a>\u00a0led UTRGV (5-8, 1-3 SLC) with career highs of 16 points, four three-pointers and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard\u00a0Jaylen Washington<\/a>\u00a0scored a career-high 17 points and dished out six assists. Junior forward\u00a0Filip Brankovic<\/a>\u00a0added 14 points with five rebounds and two blocks.\u00a0
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\nJalik Dunkley\u00a0paced Nicholls (5-8, 4-0 SLC) with a double-double, scoring 22 points with 12 rebounds and three blocks.\u00a0Jaylen Searles\u00a0added 13 points with a team-high four assists and\u00a0Sincere Malone\u00a0scored 10 with three steals.\u00a0
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\nThe first 15 points of the game were scored via three-pointers, with the Colonels knocking down three early deep shots and Gomez making two for UTRGV. Nicholls found the first bit of separation, taking a 23-13 lead, but the Vaqueros responded well. UTRGV kept the Colonels off the board for two and a half minutes while going on a 7-0 run with a three from junior guard\u00a0Koree\u00a0Cotton.
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\nBrankovic\u00a0and Gomez were the sparkplugs for a strong finish to the half for UTRGV. Brankovic used two strong drives to the hoop to have UTRGV within three, then the Vaqueros turned defense into offense as a block by Washington\u00a0led to a layup from redshirt junior\u00a0Marshal Destremau<\/a>\u00a0to get within 27-26. Nicholls called timeout and the Vaqueros came off the court fired up as they hit another level of intensity.\u00a0
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\nUTRGV continued its high-energy play and took its first lead at 30-28 with 3:06 to play. Gomez and Brankovic both scored on second chance shots after showing great effort, and Cotton recorded a block to slow the Colonels down. Nicholls answered with a 5-0 run started by its sixth three of the half, but UTRGV used its own 5-0 run to close the half and took a 39-35 lead to the locker room. Graduate student\u00a0Zae Blake<\/a>\u00a0drained a three at the buzzer and had the Vaqueros with all the momentum heading to the break.\u00a0
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\nThe Vaqueros quickly got on the board to start the second half, extending the lead to six points. But Nicholls came right back with an 8-0 run to regain the lead at 43-41. Graduate student\u00a0Marvin McGhee III<\/a>\u00a0contributed key minutes to get UTRGV fired up after the run, snagging a steal that turned into a basket and knocking down a three to give the Vaqueros a 46-43 lead with 15:29 on the clock.\u00a0
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\nThe teams swapped scores, ties and lead changes as the game found another level of physicality. After a brief scuffle, double technical fouls were called, and both teams made one free throw to keep the game knotted at 49-49. The Colonels used aggressive defense to keep the Vaqueros scoreless for over three minutes and scored seven unanswered in the stretch to take a 60-55 lead.\u00a0
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\nCotton swiped a steal and took the turnover straight to the hoop to end the drought and make it a one-possession game. Nicholls responded to push its lead to 65-57 with four minutes to play. Washington came up big to anchor UTRGV’s late rally. The sophomore made two baskets and had the assist on a corner three for Gomez, then nailed two clutch free throws to get within 67-66 with 23 seconds to play. The Colonels were sharp at the free throw line to push the gap to 71-66, which came up big as Gomez hit a last-second three to give UTRGV a chance late.\u00a0
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\nThe Vaqueros will play Saturday at 4:30 p.m. against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, following a women’s game at 2 p.m. The first 400 fans in attendance for both games will receive a free #BeatCorpus t-shirt. There will be free food for the first 300 UTRGV students in the Vaquero Village.\u00a0
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\nFans can purchase tickets at\u00a0UTRGVTickets.com<\/a>. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID but will need to claim a ticket at\u00a0GoUTRGV.com\/StudentTickets<\/a>. Fans can learn more about game day, including parking information, maps, and the clear bag policy by visiting\u00a0RallyTheValley.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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