UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros

Varner II propels UT Rio Grande Valley to victory

Published Dec. 1, 2018 7:41 p.m. ET

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Lesley Varner II tossed in a career-high 22 points and Javon Levi added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists to guide UT Rio Grande Valley to a 76-65 victory over UT Arlington on Saturday.

The Vaqueros snapped a seven-game slide against UT Arlington and at 6-4 have matched their best start since the 2007-08 season.

Andres Ibarguen finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds for his first double-double with UT Arlington (3-5). No other Maverick scored in double figures.

UTRGV led 32-29 at halftime and Varner had baskets to begin and end a 9-0 surge to open the second half for a 41-29 advantage.

The Mavericks rallied back and took a 56-54 lead on four straight free throws by Ibarguen and Pedro Castro with 4:56 remaining in the game. But Varner sank a 3-pointer, Greg Bowie II had a layup and Varner capped the 8-0 run with three free throws after being fouled beyond the arc to give the Vaqueros a 64-56 lead with 2:15 left. UT Arlington got no closer than four points from there.

The Mavericks had a 46-27 rebound advantage but sank just 1 of 12 from beyond the arc.

Get more from UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros

Western Athletic