Feb. 28, 2004
Box Score
THIBODAUX, La. - Texas-Arlington used a 15-4 run to begin the second half and pull away from Nicholls State for their seventh straight win, a 79-67 decision in a Southland Conference game at Stopher Gym Saturday afternoon.
UTA (15-11,10-5) can claim the No. 2 seed in the upcoming SLC Postseason Tournament, March 8-12, with a win against Sam Houston State Wednesday. Nicholls State fell to 6-19 and 1-13.
Obasohan scored 19 of his team-high 24 points in the second half. Beacham chipped in 17 and Keith Howell added 12. For Nicholls State, Willie Depron scored 13 of his game-high 15 points in the first half. Stefan Blaszczynski added 14 points.
"I thought we did a good job of coming into a tough place to play and taking care of business," said UTA head coach Eddie McCarter. "We struggled in the first half with their offense, but we made some adjustments at halftime."
Seniors Derrick Obasohan, Donny Beacham and Keith Howell scored the first 29 points of the second half for UTA as they stretched a 35-33 halftime lead to a 50-37 edge after a Beacham basket with 14:09 to play. Nicholls could get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. After the Colonels cut the lead to 58-50 after two Shawn King free throws with 7:35 to play, UTA went on an 11-0 run to put the game away. A 3-pointer by Brady Dawkins with 5:19 to play ended the run and gave UTA a 67-50 edge.
UTA jumped out to an 8-2 lead to begin the game thanks to a 3-point-play and a 3-pointer jumper by Beacham. Nicholls State used three, 3-pointers by Blaszczynski in the first half to rally for a 25-23 lead with 7:53 to play. The Conoles built the lead to six, 29-23, after a Jason Wilkins jumper with 5:21 to play, before UTA ended the half on a 12-4 run. A Stephen Floyd tipin at the buzzer gave the Mavericks a 35-33 halftime lead.
NOTES: UTA's seven-game winning streak is the longest streak in head coach Eddie McCarter's 12-year coaching tenure... The win was McCarter's 150th career win game.
Texas-Arlington 79, Nicholls State 67 Texas-Arlington (15-11, 10-5) - Beacham 6-9 3-5 17, Obasohan 5-11 12-12 24, Johnson 1-1 2-2 4, J. Howell 2-4 1-1 5, K. Howell 5-12 2-4 12, Dawkins 1-3 0-0 3, Floyd 2-6 2-4 7, James 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 2-3 1-2 5, Henderson 1-1 0-1 2. Totals: 25-50 23-31 79
Nicholls State (6-19, 1-13) - Veal 1-4 0-0 2, Wilkins 2-5 2-2 7, Gleeson 2-2 2-2 6, King 3-10 2-2 9, Depron 6-14 2-2 15, Blaszczynski 5-8 0-0 14, Brown 1-2 3-4 5, Cox 0-0 0-0 0, Geason 3-4 1-1 7, James 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 12-13 67.
Halftime: UTA 35, NSU 33. Three-point field goals: UTA 6-12 (Obasohan 2-2, Beacham 2-3, Floyd 1-3, Dawkins 1-3, K. Howell 0-1), NSU 7-20 (Blaszczynski 4-5, King 1-4, Depron 1-4, Wilkins 1-4, Brown 0-1, Veal 0-2). Rebounds: UTA 32 (Obasohan 9), NSU 26 (Brown 5). Assists: UTA 12 (Beacham and J. Howell 3 each), NSU 12 (Depron 7). Turnovers: UTA 12 (four with 2), NSU 16 (Depron 5). Blocks: UTA 5 (Beacham 3, NSU 0. Steals: UTA 4 (Beacham and K. Howell 2), NSU 4 (Depron 2). Total fouls: UTA 15, NSU 23. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None. Att.: 797.
