UTRGV Wins Inaugural Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division Title; Day 2 Recap
UTRGV Wins Inaugural Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division
The UTRGV Vaqueros put forth a dominant performance Saturday afternoon in the Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division championship game, defeating Tennessee Tech 83-58 to take home the tournament title.
Hasan Abdul Hakim won tournament MVP honors, finishing with a team-high 15 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. He averaged 19.5 points over the two games in the Tournament. DK Thorn joined Abdul Hakim on the All-Tournament Team, averaging 11.5 points, 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds over the two games at The Greenbrier.
Jaylon Johnson and Rodney Johnson Jr. once again paced Tennessee Tech, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively, to lead the way for the Golden Eagles.
UTRGV dominated the glass on Saturday afternoon, nearly doubling up Tennessee Tech, 47-24, including a major 16-7 edge on the offensive glass. The Vaqueros also dominated the paint, outscoring the Golden Eagles, 42-24.
UTRGV travels to face Wisconsin on Monday, while Tennessee Tech heads to UCF for a Tuesday afternoon tilt. Both games are part of the on-campus portion of the Greenbrier Tip-Off.
Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division All-Tournament Team
R.J. Johnson, Charleston Southern
Augustinas Kiudulas, VMI
Daniel Egbuniwe, Tennessee Tech
DK Thorn, UTRGV
Hasan Abdul Hakim, UTRGV
Most Valuable Player: Hasan Abdul Hakim, UTRGV
VMI Takes Third-Place, Defeats Charleston Southern 80-69
Greenbrier Tip-Off All-Tournament Team member Augustinas Kiudulas finished with a game-high 22 points, adding four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block to pace the VMI Keydets to an 80-69 win over Charleston Southern on Saturday afternoon, securing a third-place finish in the Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division.
Three other Keydets scored in double-figures in the game, including Tan Yildizoglu (17 points), TJ Johnson (11) and Rickey Bradley (11). The VMI defense held Charleston Southern to 20 percent shooting from 3-point range and also forced 17 turnovers.
It was a one-point game at halftime, with VMI clinging to a 40-39 advantage, but the Keydets slowly pulled away in the second half, holding Tennessee Tech to 35 percent shooting from the field and 16 percent from 3-point range.
RJ Johnson, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, finished with 14 points against VMI and averaged 14.5 points and 5.5 assists over the weekend.
Next up, VMI heads to Pitt for a Monday night tilt, while Charleston Southern heads to Baton Rouge to face LSU on Tuesday evening. Both games are part of the Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division on-campus games.