Nov. 28, 2005
Final Stats
ARLINGTON, Texas - Senior Steven Thomas tallied a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Texas-Arlington past Texas Wesleyan, 78-64, Monday evening at Texas Hall.
In the second half, Texas Wesleyan (2-4) opened on a 7-4 run in the first five minutes to cut the Maverick lead to, 47-39, with 15:36 remaining in the game. Evan Patterson led the Mavericks with three points during the mini-run.
Texas-Arlington (3-3) used a 17-9 run to answer Wesleyan's call, led by seven points from freshman Anthony Vereen and five points by senior Brady Dawkins. The run increased the Maverick lead to 64-48, with 7:38 remaining in the ballgame.
Down 68-55, with 3:49 remaining, the Rams cut the lead to 70-60 on a three-pointer by Khayri McKinney with 2:41 remaining, but the Mavericks made four free throws in the final minute to seal the game.
"I think we pulled away in the second half when we got a couple of big rebounds and fast-break points," UTA head coach Eddie McCarter said. "The defense was the key to this victory. Wesleyan can really score and we held them to 64 points tonight. Our inside presence was also a key."
Thomas led all Maverick scorers with his 17 points and also picked up two assists, two blocks and two steals. Vereen chipped in with 15 points, while Dawkins added 14 of his own. Senior Jarrett Howell led Texas-Arlington with six assists.
Patterson led all Ram scorers with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and McKinney added 10 points for the Rams. Ben Hunt tallied seven points and four assists, while Brad Schilder registered nine points and seven rebounds.
Texas Wesleyan opened the game on a 10-6 run in the first four minutes. The Rams were led by Scott Reasoner and McKinney who both canned treys during the stretch. Sophomore Larry Posey kept the Mavericks in the game, scoring all six points.
Both teams slugged it out over the eight minutes, with the Rams clinging to a 24-23 lead with 7:35 remaining in the first period. Patterson tallied six points for Texas Wesleyan, while Dawkins rallied the troops for Texas-Arlington with seven points, which included a three-pointer.
Texas-Arlington went on an 11-5 run over the next four minutes, sparked by six points from freshman Brandon Long off of the bench. The Mavericks held a 34-29 with 3:32 left on the clock in the first half.
A dunk by Jermaine Griffin and layups by Dawkins and Thomas helped the Mavericks to a 43-32 halftime advantage. Dawkins was the scoring leader for the Mavericks in the first half with nine points. Patterson was the leader for the Rams with eight points.
Texas-Arlington shot 50 percent (27-54) from the field and 86 percent (19-22) from the charity stripe. The Mavericks also connected on 25 percent (5-20) from behind the three-point line.
Texas Wesleyan shot 37 percent (23-63) from the floor and 67 percent (12-18) from the free-throw line. The Rams also shot 35 percent (6-17) from behind the arc.
Texas-Arlington will be back in action Saturday when it travels to take on #2-ranked Texas. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The game will be televised statewide on Fox Sports Southwest.
