The UTRGV men’s basketball lost to the Chicago State Cougars 78-68 during a Western Athletic Conference contest Monday at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Junior Elijah Elliott led the Vaqueros with 17 points, adding a career-high five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior Hasan Abdul-Hakin scored 16 points, while senior Daylen Williams added 14 points and seven boards.
Chicago State’s Wesley Cardet finished with a game-high 20 points, along with two blocks and two steals. Noble Crawford chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds, while Brent Davis added 11 points.
The Vaqueros jumped out to a 7-2 lead following a pair of buckets by senior forward Ahren Freeman.
A pair of free throws by Williams gave the Vaqueros a 9-6 advantage, but the Cougars responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead.
A 5-0 run put the Vaqueros back on top, but once again the Cougars responded with a run of their own, outscoring UTRGV 14-4 to take a 27-18 advantage.
UTRGV pulled within three on multiple occasions during the first half, but the Cougars responded each time to take a 36-27 lead into the break.
The second half proved much of the same, with the Cougars countering any Vaqueros’ run with a run of their own, going up by as many as 15 during the final period.
A 7-1 run late during the contest pulled UTRGV within nine, but that’s as close as they would get, with the Cougars holding off the Vaqueros for the win.
The loss marks the second straight for the Vaqueros and sixth in their last seven games. They fall to 3-9 on the year.
UTRGV get 11 days off before returning to action for their non-conference finale at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 30 against Incarnate Word at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
