Jan. 6, 2007
Box Score
Northwestern State held UT Arlington to two points for more than 13 minutes and outscored the Mavericks 25-2 during the stretch to claim a 78-65 victory in Southland Conference men's basketball play Saturday afternoon at Texas Hall.
Northwestern State (6-8, 1-1) snaps a four-game losing streak while UT Arlington (5-9, 1-1) dropped its eighth game in 10 tries.
Northwestern State, minus senior starter Jermaine Spencer and junior sub Trey Gilder who missed their fifth straight game with injuries, were led in scoring by senior guard Keenon Jones with 16 points. Keithan Hancock came off the bench for 15 points and Luke Rogers added 11, all in the second half.
UT Arlington was led by Jermaine Griffin with 22 points. Griffin, ranked fourth in the nation in field-goal percentage, made 9-of-10 shots from the field. He also added a season-high 14 rebounds. Brandon Long scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and Anthony Vereen added 11.
UTA led 19-13 before the scoring drought. Cardell Hunter's lay up with 10:27 remaining in the half gave the Mavs a 19-13 lead in the first half, but UTA did not scored again until a Ro'ger Guignard's 3-pointer with 17:10 to play in the game. by that time, NWLA had built a 38-24 lead and never looked back.
"We didn't take care of the ball at all," said UT Arlington first-year head coach Scott Cross. "You can't give a team like Northwestern State freebies like we did. They got easy shots and converted them into points off our turnovers."
Northwestern State took advance of the Mavs' carelessness, turning 17 first-half turnovers into 21 points. UTA finished with a season-high 29 turnovers. The Demons stayed fresh throughout the game, subbing five players at a time to wear down the Mavs.
UTA rallied to cut the lead to nine, 58-47, after two Cardell Hunter free throws with 5:30 to play in the game. A jumper by Rogers and two Gerrell Thomas free throws quickly stretched the lead to 13, 61-48, with 3:51 to play.
UT Arlington jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Griffin scored the Mav's first six points in the first 82 seconds and Vereen added a pair of free throws before a NWLA time out.
NOTES: Griffin scored in double figures for the seventh straight game... He recorded his second double-double of the season with 22 points and a season-high 14 rebounds... the 29 turnovers eclipsed the season-high of 27 at Illinois State on Dec. 2.
utamavs.com
