UTRGV Defeats Charleston Southern, Advances to River Division Championship

Hasan Abdul Hakim poured in a game-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting, adding four steals as UTRGV pulled away for an 86-76 win over Charleston Southern in the opening game of the Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division on Friday afternoon.

Abdul Hakim was one of four Vaqueros to finish in double figures, with K.T. Raimey adding 14 and DK Thorn and Trey Miller chipping in 12 apiece.

The Vaqueros held a slim two-point advantage at the break, but pressured Charleston Southern into 10 turnovers in the second half – and 21 for the game – to pull away.

The Buccaneers were led by Daylen Berry’s 18 points, while Taje Kelly had 16 points and RJ Johnson had 14.

UTRGV advanced to face Tennessee Tech in the River Division Championship Game at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.

UTRGV Recap | Box Score

Tennessee Tech Pulls Away from VMI, Earns River Division Title Game Berth

A layup by Jaylon Johnson with six seconds to play gave Tennessee Tech a 72-71 victory over VMI in the second semifinal for the Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division on Friday afternoon. Johnson was one of five players to score in double-figures for the Golden Eagles, who will face UTRGV in the tournament title game at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Jaylon Johnson and Rodney Johson Jr. led the way with 13 points apiece for Tennessee Tech, with Daniel Egbuniwe (12 points), Ray Glasgow (11) and Grant Slatten (10) also finished in double figures. The Golden Eagles finished with 22 assists on 24 made field goals

Augustinas Kiudulas paced VMI with a double-double, scoring 21 points and pulling down 12 rebounds to go along with three blocks and two steals in the contest. TJ Johnson finished with 10 points as the Keydets will face Charleston Southern in the Tournament’s third-place game at Noon ET on Saturday.

The Keydets trailed by as many as 14 points in the game, and trailed by 11 with 6:30 to play in the game before eventually taking their only lead of the game after a pair of free throws by Kiudulas with 12 seconds to go in the game.

Tennessee Tech Recap | Box Score