Nov. 23, 2005
Final Stats
ARLINGTON, Texas - Senior Steven Thomas scored a game-high 30 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to lead Texas-Arlington to a 84-74 victory over Texas-Dallas, Wednesday evening at Texas Hall. With the 30 points, Thomas moved into the Top-10 for career scoring in Maverick history with 1,097. He passes Brian Myers who previously held the 10th spot with 1,084 points.
Texas-Arlington (2-3) opened the second half on a 22-10 run, led by nine points from sophomore Jermaine Griffin and eight points from Thomas. The run increased a three-point halftime lead to 60-45, with 13:52 remaining in the game.
Texas-Dallas (0-3) was unable to cut the Maverick lead to single digits, as Thomas continued to pour it on. The forward had 19 second-half points to lead both teams.
Thomas finished 12-15 from the floor and seven of his nine rebounds were on the offensive glass. Griffin added 12 points, while freshman Brandon Long added 11 points off of the bench.
Martin Salinas led the Comets with 20 points, connecting on 5-of-11 shots from downtown. Jay Swafford added 17 points, going 7-of-9 from the floor. Adam Bush led Texas-Dallas with eight rebounds to go along with his 11 points.
Texas-Arlington forced the Comets into 18 turnovers, while they only committed a season-low three turnovers themselves.
Texas-Dallas opened the game hitting all four shots that they took, which included two treys from Martin Salinas. The Comets took the opening lead, 10-7, with 16:21 left in the opening period.
The Mavericks fought back using a 10-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 17-12 advantage with 12:29 remaining. Long hit a long three-pointer, while Thomas and Griffin both added layups during the run.
The Comets used a 12-4 run, capped off by a free throw from Bush to retake the lead 24-21, with 8:16 remaining. Travis Carruthers poured in two treys to lead Texas-Dallas.
Texas-Arlington ended the half, outscoring the Comets, 18-16 in the final eight minutes. Thomas led all scorers in the first frame with 11 points. The Fort Worth, Texas native, also grabbed six rebounds before the break.
For the game, the Mavericks outrebounded the Comets, 29-26, and pulled down 14 offensive rebounds in the process.
Texas-Arlington shot 53 percent (31-59) from the field and 63 percent (17-27) from the charity stripe. The Mavericks also shot 31 percent (5-16) from the three-point line.
Texas-Dallas shot a blistering 64 percent (29-45) from the floor, but only 46 percent (5-11) from the free-throw line. The Comets also shot 50 percent (11-22) from behind the arc.
"Most of the time you are not supposed to win games where your opponents shoot over 60 percent from the floor," UTA head coach Eddie McCarter said. "Luckily we forced them into turnovers when we needed them the most."
Texas-Arlington will be back in action Monday when it host cross-town foe Texas Wesleyan. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
