UTRGV through the roof - The Rider Newspaper

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Men’s Basketball Team demolished Howard Payne University 93-42 tonight at the Vaqueros’ Home Opener, a game that was cut short due to a leak in the Fieldhouse roof.

With 30 turnovers and a lead of 53 points during the second half, the Vaqueros came out to win and that’s what they did.

“Our first game we were impersonating a Vaquero basketball team,” UTRGV Head Coach Lew Hill said. “This is how we play. We learned from it and came out and played the game that we practice every day. We played the way that we’re supposed to play.”

UTRGV junior guard Javon Levi attempts to rebound the ball during tonight’s home opener game against the Howard Payne University Yellow Jackets in the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus. The game, which UTRGV won 93-42, was cut short with 9 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter when the Fieldhouse roof started leaking after a cold front swept the area.

With a 32-point disadvantage at the end of the first half, HPU Head Coach Troy Drummond detailed his words of encouragement for the Yellow Jackets.

“[I] told them to keep playing hard,” Drummond said during halftime. “Keep trying to execute and keep going. UTRGV [is] a great team. They’re coming out very physical and they’re more athletic than we are. So, we gotta go out there and we gotta keep playing hard.”

Redshirt freshman guard Quinton Johnson II scored 19 points for UTRGV, the highest among the team.

“He’s a really good shooter,” Hill said. “He’s made himself into a shooter. He works really, really extremely hard. He’s one of the first ones out there, one of the last ones to leave. Every time he has a break and he can get into the gym, he’s in the gym.”

Junior guard Javon Levi also scored in double digits with 10 points.

“I think we just came out and really executed the offense,” Levi said. “We made a big jump from last game as far as just running the offense. We played pretty good defense, but we still got work to do.”

UTRGV graduate student guard Jordan Jackson goes for the shot during tonight’s home opener game in the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus.

Nonetheless, the team was disappointed the game had to be cut short after the Fieldhouse roof sprang a leak above the court. A rainy cold front swept the Rio Grande Valley during the game, which ended in the third quarter with 9 minutes and 23 seconds remaining.

“I think we would’ve cracked about 125, 130,” Levi said. “So yeah, I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get to keep playing.”

UTRGV will be back in action at the Islander Invitational at 5 p.m. Friday against North Dakota State University in Corpus Christi.

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