THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s basketball team fell to the University of Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors 76-57 on Friday to open the Acrisure Invitational at Acrisure Arena.
Junior Elijah Elliott led the Vaqueros (2-4) with 18 points and two steals. Senior Ahren Freeman grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds with eight points and one block. Junior Hasan Abdul-Hakim also scored eight points.
Freshman J.J. Howard scored eight points. Junior Sherman Brashear scored seven points. also finished with five points.
Matthue Cotton led the Rainbow Warriors (4-0) with 23 points, two blocks and two steals. Noel Coleman scored 17 points with seven rebounds. Bernardo Da Silva scored 14 points with seven rebounds.
Abdul-Hakim opened the game with the jumper to give the Vaqueros a 2-0 lead. A minute and a half later, graduate student DeAnthony Tipler Jr. made a jumper to bring the Vaqueros within 5-4.
The Rainbow Warriors responded with a 9-0 run before Abdul-Hakim hit back-to-back baskets as part of a 6-0 run to bring the Vaqueros within 14-10.
The Rainbow Warriors, however, connected on their next five 3-point attempts as part of a 19-5 run to take a 33-15 lead.
Tipler converted a 3-point play and Elliott made a layup to bring the Vaqueros within 13 at 33-20 with 4:50 remaining in the first half.
The Vaqueros trailed by as much as 26 at 60-34 with 12:27 remaining. That’s when Elliott hit back-to-back baskets to spark a 21-10 run to bring the Vaqueros within 70-55 at the 3:23 remark, but that’s as close as they got.
UTRGV closes out the Acrisure Invitational on Saturday at 7 p.m. against the loser of the game between Arkansas State and San Diego. Fans can watch online via Be the Beast Event Live+.
Support UTRGV Men’s Basketball | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube