EDINBURG — UTRGV men’s basketball head coach Matt Figger emphasized unselfishness when building his 2022 roster. From his point guard to his big men, the second-year head coach wanted players able and willing to pass the basketball.
Figger’s vision was on full display during their home opener Saturday, with the Vaqueros assisting on 35 of their 41 field goals en route to a dominating 115-33 victory over the Southwestern Adventist Knights at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg.
The performance marked just the third time an NCAA Division I team has recorded at least 35 assists on 41 or fewer baskets since 2010. Davidson accomplished the feat in 2015, recording 35 assists on 40 baskets, with Iona the other team to do so in 2014, with 35 assists on 41 baskets.
“This is what we’ve done since they’ve gotten here,” Figger said. “The only thing was the K-State game was so out of wack. We played, I wouldn’t say scared, but we were intimidated by the environment. … We got back into character from what I’ve seen. During our scrimmage with Lamar, we played that way. Our exhibition game, you guys have seen it, then today. It is unselfish. I like to play a lot of guys. I want to play with this fast tempo, so it requires that.”
UTRGV junior Daylen Williams led the Vaqueros with a career-high 10 assists. The Vaqueros forward narrowly missed a triple-double, adding a career-best 13 rebounds and eight points. Dima Zdor added a double-double, scoring a career-high 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds and three blocks.
The Vaqueros started off slow offensively, netting just one field goal during the first eight minutes of play. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Adante’ Holliman and Derrius Ward jumpstarted the offense, leading to an 8-0 run to put UTRGV up 22-7.
Holliman and Ward were just two of several UTRGV bench players to impact the contest, with Alex Horiuk scoring 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, adding nine rebounds and one block. C.J. Jackson chipped in 16 points off the bench, with Ward adding 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.
UTRGV’s bench finished with 59 total points, including five by McAllen Rowe alum Louie Yebra Jr., who made his collegiate debut with 3:29 left. Yebra scored his first collegiate points on a pair of free throws adding a 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining.
“That is something we didn’t have last year,” Figger said. “We hadn’t faced zone all year. We faced some in practice when we were trying to get things accomplish. But there was some hesitation and pause in that. I feel like our bench got us going. I feel like they got us moving in the right direction. I got some dilemmas I have to figure out with playing time. We got to compete every day. I’m really happy with what our bench did.”
The Vaqueros (1-1, 0-0) return to action at 6:30 p.m. Monday, hosting the St. Francis Saints at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg.
