UT Rio Grande Valley beats Nicholls 86-68 in Southland Conference Tournament quarterfinal

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Filip Brankovic had 21 points to lead UT Rio Grande Valley to an 86-68 victory over Nicholls on Monday night in a Southland Conference Tournament quarterfinal.

No. 3 seed UT Rio Grande Valley (19-13) will play second-seeded McNeese in a Tuesday semifinal. Top seed Stephen F. Austin squares off against fourth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to begin the round.

Brankovic also had five rebounds for the Vaqueros. Koree Cotton totaled 18 points and five assists, sinking four 3-pointers. Jaylen Washington added 15 points.

Trae English led the way for the sixth-seeded Colonels (14-19 with 17 points. Jalin Rice added 13 points and Christian Winborne scored 11.

UT Rio Grande Valley took the lead with 7:48 remaining in the first half and did not trail again. Brankovic led the Vaqueros with 11 points for a 44-32 advantage at the break.

___

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

Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up