EDINBURG — The UTRGV men’s basketball team found itself with a chance to tie or win the game with 12 seconds remaining in regulation. With the clock winding down, senior forward Justin Johnson let it fly from beyond the arc.
The shot bounced off the rim and into the hands of UTRGV’s Sherman Brashear. The sophomore guard put up the shot but it was no good as time expired and the Vaqueros lost 66-64 to the Seattle U Redhawks during a Western Athletic Conference contest Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg.
“They missed a free throw, and we got a chance to tie it and send it to overtime,” UTRGV head coach Matt Figger said. “We got a wide open shot for 3 that didn’t go in. I’m happy with the shot because it was open. I told them lets go win the game. We got the offensive rebound and couldn’t get the putback. We outrebounded them by nine but the problem was the turnovers. Even though they didn’t score off turnovers that is 15 less opportunities that we had.”
The Vaqueros led by as many as six during the second half, taking a 55-49 advantage with 5:28 remaining following a free throw by junior Ahren Freeman.
A 6-0 run by the Redhawks gave them the lead with 1:53 remaining before Brashear hit a 3-pointer to make it 62-60 with 1:27 left.
The Redhawks responded with another 6-0 run, all points coming from Alex Schumacher to retake the lead 66-62 with 21 seconds remaining. The Vaqueros cut it to two on a layup by Johnson but that is as close as they got with Seattle U holding on for the win.
“We couldn’t close it out,” Figger said. “The same thing as what happened Saturday. We just couldn’t close it out. We led and it was a back-and-forth game, a good game. They’re the defended WAC champions but we just couldn’t close it. We played not to lose and they played to win down the stretch.”
Johnson led the Vaqueros with 19 points and 10 rebounds, his second double-double of the year. Junior Daylen Williams also netted his second double-double, scoring a career-high 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Cameron Tyson led the Redhawks with 27 points and six boards. Alex Schumacher added 16 points.
The Vaqueros (8-7, 0-3) continue their four-game homestand at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, taking on the Utah Valley Wolverines (12-4, 3-0) at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg.
