Staveskie leads Incarnate Word against UT Rio Grande Valley after 27-point outing

Published Jan. 4, 2026 4:43 a.m. ET
Associated Press

Incarnate Word Cardinals (8-6, 3-2 Southland) at UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (5-9, 1-4 Southland)

Edinburg, Texas; Monday, 7:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Incarnate Word faces UT Rio Grande Valley after Tahj Staveskie scored 27 points in Incarnate Word's 73-56 victory against the Houston Christian Huskies.

The Vaqueros have gone 3-4 at home. UT Rio Grande Valley is 0-1 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Cardinals are 3-2 against Southland opponents. Incarnate Word is second in the Southland scoring 82.1 points per game and is shooting 46.9%.

UT Rio Grande Valley averages 9.3 made 3-pointers per game, 3.0 more made shots than the 6.3 per game Incarnate Word gives up. Incarnate Word has shot at a 46.9% clip from the field this season, 5.3 percentage points greater than the 41.6% shooting opponents of UT Rio Grande Valley have averaged.

The Vaqueros and Cardinals square off Monday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Koree Cotton is scoring 11.7 points per game with 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists for the Vaqueros. Filip Brankovic is averaging 10.1 points over the last 10 games.

Davion Bailey is shooting 38.4% from beyond the arc with 4.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Cardinals, while averaging 22.1 points. Staveskie is averaging 18.4 points and 4.2 assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Vaqueros: 3-7, averaging 70.2 points, 32.9 rebounds, 15.2 assists, 5.5 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.4 points per game.

Cardinals: 6-4, averaging 81.2 points, 32.0 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 6.0 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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