Nov. 13, 2005
Final Stats
SEATTLE, Wash. - Senior Jarrett Howell poured in a game-high 19 points, but Texas-Arlington came up short, falling to Miami, 76-65, Sunday afternoon in the BCA Classic at Bank of America Arena.
Down 41-20 at halftime the Mavericks (0-1) came storming out of the locker room on a 14-4 run in the first three minutes to cut the lead to 45-34 with 16:39 remaining in the game. Texas-Arlington didn't stop there, outscoring Miami, 8-2 in the next five minutes to cut the lead to, 47-42 at the 11:45 mark. The Mavericks received another trifecta from Howell and another from long range by freshman Brandon Long during the stretch.
"Jarrett lifted us when we were playing bad in the first half," UTA head coach Eddie McCarter said. "He refused to let us die and he got the team to follow his lead in the second half."
Four points by Guillermo Diaz and a long three pointer by Robert Hite jumpstarted the Hurricanes (1-0) as they went on a 14-11 run, to take a 61-53 lead with 5:18 remaining in the game.
The Hurricanes made 10-of-10 free throws down the stretch to keep the Mavericks at bay and take the game.
Howell led the Mavericks with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, which included 4-of-5 from behind the arc. Freshman Anthony Vereen tallied 14 points and three rebounds off of the bench, while senior Brady Dawkins registered 11 points.
"Anthony can really help this team if he gets in shape," McCarter said. "He is a tremendous scorer. He is just a freshman and he is going to get better with each game."
The Hurricanes were led by 17 points from Hite and Diaz added 16 points. Gary Hamilton posted 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Miami jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first five minutes, keyed by three points from Anthony King and two from Raymond Hicks.
Texas-Arlington couldn't buy a bucket, shooting 1-of-12 from the field in the first nine minutes as the Hurricanes increased their lead to 14-2 at the 11:15 mark of the first half. Brian Asbury came off of the bench to score four points for Miami.
"The first half we couldn't get anything going," McCarter said. "We were not focusing on our defense and passing and they jumped out on us pretty good."
The Mavericks finally got some offense going as they knocked down three treys, with Howell canning two and Dawkins adding another.
Two free throws by Hite with 1:43 left in the opening period gave the Hurricanes their largest lead at 41-16, but the Mavericks closed the half out on a 4-0 run, keyed by jumpers by Dawkins and Howell.
Texas-Arlington forced the Hurricanes into 20 turnovers and outscored Miami, 45-35 in the second half.
"I was happy with our defensive intensity in the second half," McCarter said. "We played winning basketball in the second half, but we gave them too many points in the first half."
The Mavericks shot only 27 percent (7-26) in the first half, but responded in the second half to shoot 47 percent (17-36). They also shot 50 percent (8-16) from behind the arc for the game.
Miami shot 54 percent (23-43) from the floor and a whopping 89 percent (23-26) from the charity stripe.
The Mavericks will be back in action Monday when they take on Northern Arizona at 12 p.m. PST. The Lumberjacks lost to Air Force, 61-49, in the opening game of the tournament.
