Victoria Gonzalez | Vaquero Radio
The UTRGV Men’s Basketball Team lost its second-to-last home game in a close 79-74 battle against the Utah Tech Trailblazers Thursday at the Fieldhouse.
The Vaqueros are now 6-24 overall and 2-17 in conference play.
In the first half, the team took the lead 45-35. However, in the second half, it fell 75-74 with 20 seconds remaining, failing to keep the momentum going.
Vaquero junior guards Elijah Elliot and Sherman Brashear started the team off great offensively. Head coach Matt Figger said they set the tone early.
“They came out with a lot of energy, a lot of spark,” Figger said. “Got some steals. They were able to get us a lead. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hang on.”
Figger added the team got tired in the second half.
“We had some mental lapses,” he said. “Missed shots. We were good offensively in the first half. Second half, you know, we couldn’t get shots. Whether it’s fatigue or whatever it is, you know, we didn’t cover a few things when they made the run.”
Figger said the reason the season has been difficult is because players are constantly getting injured.
“It’s not an excuse, it’s a fact,” he said. “We may be the only team in the country playing with seven kids that [had] season-ending injuries. We’re down two at the start of the season. We were down to nine after Dec. 2, and we played with seven and eight to most of January. Now we’re down to five.”
With most of the team on the bench due to injuries, Figger said he was still proud of his athletes.
“When you’re playing with five healthy scholarship players and walk-on, you couldn’t ask more out of them,” he said.
The Vaqueros will finish out their season against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at UTRGV Fieldhouse.
For more information, visit goutrgv.com.
