Nov. 29, 2008
Final Stats
HOUSTON, Tx. - Houston - Brandon Long and Marquez Haynes each registered season-highs with 20 and 18 points respectively to lead UT Arlington to an 88-74 victory over Houston Baptist Saturday.
The victory was the first road win of the early season for the Mavericks who improved to 1-1 away from Texas Hall. The game was also the first of 10 consecutive games away from Arlington for the Mavericks which is the longest such stretch of games in school history.
"We told the players at halftime that every possession counted and we really picked up our defense in the second half," said UTA head coach Scott Cross. "They forced us to make outside shots and we were able to make some. Road wins are always tough to come by and we were fortunate to get one tonight."
The Mavericks jumped out quickly in the second half opening up as much as an 11-point lead in the first five minutes. HBU cut that lead to six at 53-47 on consecutive possessions before the Mavs turned up their defense and went on a 12-2 run to go up by 16 at 65-49. The lead got as big as 18 and was never less than 11 the rest of the game.
"When we picked up the defensive intensity at the start of the second half that really turned the game into our favor," said Cross.
Long's night was highlighted by a career-high tying six three-pointers while attempting a career-high 13 3's. For the night he finished 7-of-15 from the field. He has now led the Mavericks in scoring in four of their five games.
"I was feeling it tonight," said Long. "My teammates were getting me the ball when I was open and I was just letting it go."
"Brandon was on fire tonight," said Cross. "Every time he touched the ball I thought he was going to score. We also did a good job of finding him and getting him the ball."
Haynes made 6-of-11 from the floor which included two 3-pointers and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line.
It was not the best shooting night for the Mavericks as they shot a season-low 42.3% (30-of-71) from the field. However UTA scored 18 points off of 18 HBU turnovers and had 18 offensive rebounds which they converted into 17 second chance points. They also were 11-of-28 from beyond the arc.
Anthony Vereen led the Mavericks on the boards with 11 which included six on the offensive end.
The Huskies used a 16-3 run in the middle of the first half to open an eight-point lead at 30-22. From there the Mavericks cut into the lead with a 19-8 run to end the half. UTA was shooting just 33.3 percent in the first half with just under eight minutes remaining but made 6-of-8 from the field in the remainder of the half to lead by three - 41-38 at the break.
Long hit two three-pointers which pulled the Mavs to within one at 35-34. Trey Parker then made two free throws to give UTA the lead with 2:20 to play in the half they would not give up the rest of the contest. Parker then converted a three-point play after a resounding dunk to help increase the lead.
Long finished with 12 points in the first half while Haynes added 10.
The Mavericks improved to 4-1 on the season and now head to the Grizzly Basketball Classic in Missoula, Mont. next weekend where they will play Denver on Friday, Dec. 5 and host Montana on Saturday, Dec. 6. Houston Baptist falls to 0-6.
