Varner II propels UT Rio Grande Valley to victory

Dec 1, 2018, 07:43 pm

ARLINGTON, Texas -- 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.