Dec. 6, 2003
ARLINGTON, Texas - Texas-Arlington held Ouachita Baptist to four field goals in the first 12:48 of the second half, built an 11-point lead and then held off a late rally to defeat the Tigers 91-87 in a non-conference game here Saturday afternoon.
The win was the third in four days for UTA (4-2), and equals the best start since the 1992-93 season. Ouachita Baptist falls to 3-4.
UTA senior guard Donny Beacham led all scorers with a career-high 24 points. Derrick Obasohan (20), Stephen Floyd (16, Steven Thomas (14) and Keith Howell (11) also scored in double figures for the Mavericks. OBU was led by Rylan Coulter and Travis Williams with 18 points each. Lucky Butler (16), David Mercer (13) and Eze Andrews (12) also scored double figures for the Tigers.
With UTA leading 42-38 at halftime, both teams came out of the locker room blazing. UTA shot 61.5% (16-of-26) from the field in the second half and OBU countered with a 59.3% (16-of-27).
After OBU tied the game at 48-48 with 17:16 to play off a Williams free throw, UTA held Ouachita Baptist two two field goals over the next 5:03 of the game and went on a 13-4 run to take a 61-52 with 12:13 to play after two free throws by Thomas.
UTA maintained the lead at 10, 84-74, with 2:41 to play before OBU reeled off six straight points on an Andrews layup, a layup by Mercer and two free throws by Williams with 1:51 left. UTA made seven of eight free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
For the game, UTA connected on 31-of-36 free throws (86.1%).
UTA defeated Texas-Permian Basin 96-53 on Friday. The back-to-back 90-point games is the first for UTA since Feb. 19, 1994.
UTA returns to action Dec. 22 at Wichita State at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on UTA Radio (Comcast Channel 98-Arlington).
Texas-Arlington 91, Ouachita Baptist 87
Ouachita Baptist (3-4) - White 1-3 1-5 3, Williams 5-12 5-5 18, Francis 1-3 3-4 5, Mercer 6-10 0-0 13, Coulter 6-12 0-0 18, Ross 0-1 2-4 2, Butler 6-9 0-1 16, Andrews 4-5 4-4 1212, Livers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 29-55 15-23 87.
UTA (4-2) - Obasohan 8-15 2-2 20, Thomas 2-3 10-12 14, Johnson 1-2 4-4 6, Beacham 8-11 6-7 24, Howell 2-5 6-7 11, Dawkins 0-2 0-0 0, Floyd 6-9 3-4 16, Henderson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 27-48 31-36 91.
Halftime: UTA 42, OBU 38. Three-point field goals: OBU 14-27 (Coulter 6-12, Williams 3-8, Butler 4-6, Mercer 1-1), UTA 6-12 (Obasohan 2-3, Beacham 2-3, Floyd 1-2, Howell 1-2, Dawkins 0-2). Rebounds: OBU 21 (Francis 4), UTA 35 (Beacham 8). Assists: OBU 18 (Francis 5), UTA 16 (Howell 6). Turnovers: OBU 14 (Francis 5), UTA 24 (Dawkins 6). Blocks: OBU 3 (Andrews 2), UTA 2 (Johnson 2). Steals: OBU 10 (Williams 4), UTA 3 (Beacham 2). Total fouls: OBU 30, UTA 19. Fouled out: Francis, White. Technical fouls: None. Att. 305.
