Huge second-half run propels No. 7 Texas past UTRGV, 88-58

AUSTIN, Texas — After taking a 46-41 lead into halftime, the No. 7 Texas Longhorns stormed out of the gates in the second half with six consecutive points and then a 19-0 run as the UTRGV Vaqueros were overwhelmed during the decisive stretch of an 88-58 victory for the Longhorns at the Erwin Center on Friday evening.

The Vaqueros went nearly six minutes without scoring during that run by the Longhorns and didn’t record a field goal for almost eight minutes as the Texas defense tightened. In the second half, the visitors shot 31.6 percent from the field and committed 14 of their 22 turnovers after hitting 53.6 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. UTRGV only managed 17 points out…