EDINBURG — The UTRGV Vaqueros had their hands full Saturday night.
Seeking to follow up the biggest conference win in program history in the first of back-to-back games Friday, the Vaqueros didn’t disappoint in their encore performance against Western Athletic Conference newcomer Dixie State at UTRGV Fieldhouse.
After a back-and-forth first half, senior point guard Javon Levi tallied a 16-point, 11-assist double-double and five Vaqueros reached double figures in scoring as depth and defense propelled UTRGV to a 72-65 victory over the visiting Trailblazers and the program’s first 8-3 start since 2001-02.
“Every game is going to be different and every opponent is going to be different, so we’re going to have to adjust in the second game to how they adjusted to us in the first game,” UTRGV head coach Lew Hill said after his team’s first back-to-back series of the season. “They handled the pressure, but then we went to the matchups. That gave us some good energy and switched it up on them. Whatever offense you run and whatever you do, we’ve got something for it, but we have to see what you’re bringing to us first.”
“Playing back-to-back in college is a new experience in itself. Just playing a team one time and trying to beat them is tough enough, but playing them back-to-back on Friday and Saturday is really tough,” said Vaqueros redshirt junior power forward Sean Rhea, who tallied 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
“They knew how physical we were going to be and they knew how this game was going to be, but we did too. I’m glad we pulled this one out. It was a dog fight and they came back ready to fight. That’s how it’s going to be (from this point forward). … But as long as we win, that’s all that matters.”
Levi powered UTRGV in only his second game in the past month, leading the team in points and the game in assists, as the team’s spark plug on the offensive end and its dynamo defensively.
His work as a distributor on offense helped the Vaqueros shoot at a 45.9% clip from the floor as a team. Levi’s tenacity on defense also enabled UTRGV to force 18 turnovers on the night and outscore Dixie State 22-11 in transition.
“It feels real good to be out there,” Levi said. “You can’t take this game for granted and you’ve got to give it your all every time you step out there on the court.”
“He does what he always does: he’s the leader,” Hill said. “He makes sure we’re what we need to be in (offensively). He moves the ball and makes the right plays. He’s one of the best point guards that people don’t talk about.”
The Trailblazers got off to a hot start shooting the ball in the first half converting on 14 of 28 attempts from the floor before the half.
Levi, Rhea and junior guard LaQuon Butler, however, led a reinvigorated UTRGV squad in the second half that turned the tide.
The Vaqueros showed why they’re one of the WAC’s most elite defensive teams, as they held Dixie State to 35.7% shooting from the floor in the second half and 14.2% from deep to secure their second straight win over a Dixie State squad that was determined not to drop its second WAC game in a row.
UTRGV also held the Trailblazers to one bucket in the final two minutes of game time and outscored their opponents 10-2 during that stretch to emerge with the victory.
“We took it up a notch,” Hill said. “I challenged the guys, and to their credit, the guys challenged each other. … Offensively we were doing fine, but defense is our bread and butter. We weren’t stopping them and getting out in transition. In the second half, we started defending, rebounding and running.”
“We knew what we had to do,” Rhea said. “We just picked up the intensity and once we did that, the tone was set. In the second half, we did a good job communicating and locking in on the game plan.”
Butler and junior guard Chris Freeman combined for 21 points off the bench as UTRGV’s role players collectively delivered one of their strongest performances of the season by outsourcing the Trailblazers’ bench 31-18.
That depth figures to be a key component to the Vaqueros’ future success this season with every conference game from this point forward featuring back-to-back games on back-to-back nights.
“This year, we’ve got about eight or nine guys that can score double figures on any given night,” Levi said. “You’ve got to be ready for every single one of us on any given night. I think that’s going to help us and make it difficult for other teams to game plan for us.”
UTRGV will travel to Arizona for its next WAC series where the team will square off against reigning conference champion New Mexico State in a two-game series on the campus of Grand Canyon University on Friday and Saturday.
The New Mexico State Aggies have only played three games so far this season due to schedule shuffling and COVID-19 postponements and have only played one Division I opponent so far, but the Vaqueros are anticipating a physical battle for first place in the WAC.
“You can’t take anybody for granted at all. You always have to be ready,” Rhea said. “We just have to lock in on the little things. … (New Mexico State) has been a thorn in our side for a long time, so it’s time to lock in and do that next weekend.”
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