Buckley scores 32 as New Orleans beats UT Rio Grande Valley 85-69

By Canadian Press on December 29, 2025.

EDINBURG, Texas (AP) — Jakevion Buckley put up 32 points as New Orleans beat UT Rio Grande Valley 85-69 on Monday.

Buckley had five rebounds for the Privateers (5-8, 2-1 Southland Conference) and shot 12 of 20 from the field. Coleton Benson scored 12 points while shooting 3 for 11 and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. MJ Thomas had 10 rebounds to go with eight points.

Koree Cotton finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks for the Vaqueros (5-7, 1-2). UT Rio Grande Valley also got 12 points from Filip Brankovic.

The Privateers had a 35-24 lead at halftime, shutting out the Vaqueros for more than seven minutes in the middle of the first half on a 14-0 run. The Vaqueros cut the deficit to as few as four points, but failed to score for nearly three minutes, starting with 3:23 left in the game.

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

The Associated Press