March 14, 2008
Final Stats
KATY, Texas - -
The best-laid plans don't always work, as UT Arlington focused on Ryan Bright and couldn't stop the All-Southland Conference forward from Sam Houston State on Friday in the SLC Tournament semifinal.
Sometimes, as Mavericks coach Scott Cross pointed out, the result is still pretty good.
That was that case for UTA in its 72-66 victory at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas, because Bright has 19 points to his credit. But UTA is the team making plans for a Sunday afternoon SLC Tournament Championship game. The No. 7 seed Mavericks play fifth-seeded Northwestern State, which knocked off regular-season champion Stephen F. Austin.
Tipoff is slated for Noon. The game will be televised by ESPN2, and the winner advances to the NCAA Tournament. UTA will be searching for the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
UTA, which allowed five 3-pointers to Bright, proved that it has some firepower on offense as well. The Mavericks got 20 points from junior forward Anthony Vereen and 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists from sophomore guard Rog'er Guignard. UTA (20-11) punched out Sam Houston (23-8) by opening the second half with an 18-2 run.
"We're so happy to be in this position right now," Cross said. "Our guys are playing with a lot of confidence and playing very well as a team. This is where you want to be - all you can ask for is a chance to play for the conference championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, and we've put ourselves in that position."
UTA's 20 victories ties a school record, and the Mavericks will be making their first trip to the conference championship game since 1998. Cross was a player on that team, which lost in the title game against Nicholls State.
The Mavericks made it back by hitting 25 of 50 shots against Sam Houston and holding off a late comeback attempt. UTA's 18-2 run early in the second half made it 55-42 with 11:52 left.
Sam Houston slowly crawled back in it, closing to 57-51 with a 9-2 run of its own. In that span, Bright had two 3-pointers, two layups and a steal. From there, the Mavericks were content to pound the ball inside to Vereen, Larry Posey and Jermaine Griffin while taking advantage of open jumpers.
When Mavericks senior guard Rod Epps hit a floater in the lane to make it 67-60 with 1:34 left, it was up to UTA's free-throw shooting and defense. The Mavericks made 3 of 4 foul shots until Domas Kvedys hit a layup to cut UTA's lead to 69-66. Epps was fouled and hit one foul shot to put the game away.
"There were times this year when somebody would make a run at us that we would hang our heads and struggle," Cross said. "We're not doing that right now. We're fighting through it and working as a team."
UTA needed its second-half spurt because of a cold start as Sam Houston jumped to a quick 8-2 lead.
After a timeout, UTA settled down and started its own run with a Tommy Moffitt 10-footer from the left baseline. A Vereen 3-point play cut it to 12-7, and two possessions later, Vereen hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 12-10 at the 15-minute mark.
The Mavericks continued to get the ball inside, but Sam Houston remained hot from the outside to keep the score close. Consecutive Guignard 3-pointers followed by a Cardell Hunter driving layup gave the Mavericks their biggest lead of the first half, 26-20, with seven minutes left.
Sam Houston responded with a 6-1 run to tie just before Sam Houston coach Bob Marlin argued a call and was called for a technical foul. Rod Epps hit one of two free throws on the technical, and Griffin hit one of two foul shots on the disputed call as UTA went back up, 29-27. Neither team led by more than three points until a Ryan Bright 3-pointer from the left wing put UTA down 40-34 with 1:25 left.
It was Bright's third 3-pointer of the half and Sam Houston's seventh in 15 attempts.
UTA closed the half with a 3-point play by Griffin to provide the halftime deficit of 40-37.
