Stephen Gutierrez/THE RIDER
The UTRGV Men’s Basketball Team fell to McNeese State University 84-80 Tuesday in a semifinal match of the Southland Conference Basketball Championship, which saw three overtime frames.
Although the Vaqueros were unable to win, head coach Kahil Fennell said he was still pleased with his team for doing a “fantastic job fighting back.”
“I’m proud of our guys’ effort, connectivity and resilience,” Fennell said. “Obviously, it wasn’t the result that we wanted, but I can’t fault them at all for what they poured into [this game].”
He added he takes accountability for the game’s outcome, adding he could have made the game “a little easier” for the team offensively.
“I could do a better job of controlling tempo and keeping our guys a little more poise,” Fennell said. “But our guys made up for my deficiencies tonight. They did a great job manufacturing shots.”
UTRGV put the first score on the board after a layup from Jaylen Washington, a sophomore guard, but McNeese responded with a 7-point scoring run.
Koree Cotton, a junior guard, responded with a driving layup followed by a 2-point jumpshot from Washington, ending the Cowboys run at 6-7.
The Vaqueros, unfortunately, continued to pile on failed attempts at getting the basketball in the basket, allowing McNeese to eventually get a 12-point lead late into halftime.
A swift steal in the final moments by Kwo Agwa, a graduate forward, allowed Damaris Winters, a freshman guard, to score a 3-pointer, putting the Vaqueros behind by 8 points at 23-31.
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In the first five minutes of the second half, UTRGV was able to shrink down the gap further, getting as close as 2 points after a layup from Agwa.
From then, it was a neck-and-neck battle between the Cowboys and the Vaqueros, with both teams knotting the score and overtaking the lead multiple times.
In the final minute, the game came down to a wire, with the score at 56-56, but a successful pair of free throws put UTRGV ahead by 2 points.
For a moment, it looked as though the Vaqueros would take the win as Larry Johnson, a freshman guard, failed a 3-point jump shot, but a tip-in dunk by Garwey Dual, a junior guard, tied the knot, sending the game into its first overtime.
McNeese opened up overtime with a layup from Javon Garcia, a senior guard, but UTRGV responded with their own from Cotton and Filip Brankovic, a junior forward.
Throughout the frame, both teams continued to keep the score tight, until a pair of free throws from Marvin McGhee III, a graduate guard, pushed the Vaqueros ahead by 3 points. However, overtime ended similarly to the second half. This time Johnson connected with a 3-pointer in the final moments, knotting the score once again at 67-67.
Second overtime saw McNeese and UTRGV continue to go head to head on the score board with both teams relying on free throws and layups to stay close to one another. However, free throws from Garcia put the score at 72-72, tying the game and sending it into triple overtime.
Johnson started the third overtime frame with a dunk, but a pair of layups from Julien Gomez, a freshman guard, and Washington helped put UTRGV ahead at 77-76. The score tied again at 80-80 in the final minute. However, the Cowboys secured their victory, 84-80, after a steal by Johnson allowed him to score the final dunk of the game, ending the Vaqueros’ run in the tournament.
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