Nov. 29, 2003
EDINBURG, Texas - Sophomore forward Steven Thomas scored a career-high 23 points and senior forward Derrick Obasohan added 22 as UT-Arlington rallied from six points down for a come-from behind 81-75 win over Texas-Pan American at the UTPA Fieldhouse Saturday night.
UTA (1-2) trailed 52-46 with 13:19 to play in the game, but six straight points by Obasohan, including a 3-pointer, tied the game at 52-52 with 12:30 left.
The Mavericks made 31-of-37 free throws (83.8%), including 6-of-6 in the final 1:00 of the game to seal the victory.
"I was proud of the way we battled after getting behind on the road," said UTA head coach Eddie McCarter. "We could have given up with Roy out of the game and the crowd against us, but we refused to lose and I that is a real credit to the guys."
Keith Howell added 14 and Brady Dawkins added 10 for UTA.
UTPA (1-2) was led by Matt Berry with 22 points. Eric Montalvo had 13 and Allen Holcomb chipped in 11 before fouling out.
UTA built an 11-point first-half lead, 26-15, after a Steven Thomas layup with 7:25 remaining. UTPA went on a 9-0 run over the next 2:41 to trim the lad to 26-24 after an Allen Holcomb free throw with 5:41 left in the first half.
Brady Dawkins canned his second 3-pointer of the first half to make it 38-35 with 1:19 remainning, by Alvaidas Gedminas drove past Jay Neukomm for a hook shot and Chris Fagan sank a free throw with :11 left in the half to tie the game at 38-38.
UTA's home opener is Wednesday versus Texas Wesleyan at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard live on UTA Radio (Comcast Channel 98-Arlington).
- utamavs.com -
Texas-Arlington 81, Texas-Pan American 75 Texas-Arlington (81) - Obasohan 5-10 10-11 22, Thomas 6-12 11-12 23, Johnson 1-5 2-2 4, Beacham 1-2 0-0 2, Howell 4-7 6-8 14, Dawkins 3-7 1-1 10, Hairfield 1-1 0-0 3, Floyd 0-1 1-2 1, Neukomm 0-0 0-1 0, Henderson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 22-47 31-37 81.
Texas-Pan American (75) - Sakalys 3-6 3-5 9, Berry 8-15 3-3 22, Hocomb 4-9 3-3 11, Montalvo 3-30 6-7 13, Sanchez 0-4 3-4 3, East 1-3 5-7 7, Fagan 3-4 2-4 8, Castillo 0-1 0-0 0, Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Weir 0-2 0-0 0, Diaz 0-0 0-0 0, Gedminas 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 23-56 25-33 75.
Halftime: Tied at 38. Three-point field goals: UTA 6-14 (Dawkins 3-7, Obasohan 2-2, Howell 0-2, Hairfield 1-1, Floyd 0-1), UTPA 4-19 (Berry 3-5, Montalvo 1-5, Sanchez 0-4, Sakalys 0-2, Fagan 0-1, Castillo 0-1, Weir 0-1). Rebounds: UTA 32 (Thomas 10), UTPA 35 (Berry, Holcomb, Montalvo 6 each). Assists: UTA 11 (Dawkins 4), UTPA 12 (Sakalys 4). Turnovers: UTA 16 (Beacham), UTPA 17 (Sanchez 6). Blocks: UTA 1 (Henderson), UTPA 1 (Gedminas). Steals: UTA 7 (Howell 2), UTPA 6 (Berry 2). Total fouls: UTA 25, UTPA 27. Fouled out: Sakalys, Holcomb, Thomas. Technical fouls: UTA coach. Att.: 2,276.
