EDINBURG — Home court advantage has rung true for the UTRGV men’s basketball team this season, with five of its six victories heading into Thursday coming on RGV soil.
The Vaqueros’ victories include three wins at the UTRGV Fieldhouse and two wins at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg.
UTRGV continued its home cooking Thursday, cruising past the Southwestern Christian Eagles 106-80 at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, improving to 6-0 in the Valley this season.
“You have to win home games if you want to compete in the league,” UTRGV head coach Matt Figger said. “You can’t leave home games on the table. Secondly, hopefully it starts striking some interest in the Valley. … Hopefully that is what it helps. We have 10 more home games after this. So there are 10 more opportunities in the Valley to hopefully come see the team, and we can use their support because there are games like tonight that our guys didn’t have juice.”
After a quick 13-1 lead to open the game, the Vaqueros hit a lull offensively, with the Eagles going on an 11-0 run to make it 13-12 with 12:01 left in the first half.
Sophomore Sherman Brashear helped jump start the Vaqueros offense shortly after the Eagles’ run, scoring 13 points off the bench to send UTRGV into the break with a 48-35 advantage.
Brashear finished with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, adding five rebounds and a career-high two steals.
“I’m really just trying to find my niche on this team,” Brashear said. “I’m just trying to get in where I fit in. Whatever the team needs, I’m trying to contribute. I’m just trying to contribute to the team to win a WAC championship.”
Brashear’s first-half explosion was complemented by a dominant closing effort from senior Justin Johnson, who scored seven points during the final two minutes of the first half to help extend the lead, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Johnson continued his offensive outburst into the second half, opening the final period with another 3-pointer to set the tone for a 58-point half by the Vaqueros. Johnson finished with a game-high 31 points, adding a season-high 11 rebounds to secure his first double-double of the year.
“Every game I try to come out hard and help my team win with whatever I can do,” Johnson said. “My 3-pointer gave us momentum going into the half. We knew we wanted to come out hot and win that first media timeout. We kept winning it and putting up points to put it away.”
The victory moves UTRGV to 7-4 overall. Southwestern Christian drops to 5-6.
The Vaqueros (7-4) head to the beach for their next contest, taking on Houston Christian in the UTRGV South Padre Island Battle on the Beach at 6 p.m. Sunday at the South Padre Island Convention Center.
