Jan. 10, 2009

UTA-TEXAS STATE BOX SCORE

GALLERY

SAN MARCOS, TX. - UTA dropped its first Southland Conference game of the season 87-76 at Texas State Saturday.

The game was close for the first 31 minutes but it was in the final nine minutes where the outcome was decided. The Mavs trailed by three at the half and were down 61-58 with just over nine minutes to play.

It was from that point Texas State started to pull away. UTA committed turnovers on five consecutive possessions and the Bobcats took advantage of those opportunities and turned that into a 9-0 run and 70-58 lead they would never surrender.

Texas State's Emmanuel Bidias A'Moute led the charge for TSU as he scored six of his 16 points during that span. Texas State then increased the lead to 16 a few minutes later and the Mavericks got no closer than the final margin of 11 the rest of the game.

Defense had set the tone for the Mavericks during their three-game winning streak they brought into the game. On this afternoon, however, their defense let them down as Texas State shot 55.4% for the game.

"Our defense was obviously not what it needed to be today," said UTA head coach Scott Cross. "We had been playing well on that end of the floor over the last two weeks but today we didn't and that was the difference in the game."

Shooting was also an issue for the Mavs as they made just 11-of-33 (33%) in the second half and ended the game at just under 41% from the field.

The normally reliable outside shooting of the Mavericks was also not up to par as they made just 5-of-18 from 3-point range and were just 17-of-25 from the line.

The fast-paced game was also physical as the game stopped at least four times with a UTA player on the court. The teams combined for 42 fouls and shot 47 free throws.

Led by Benson and Bidias A'Moute, Texas State enjoyed a big margin in bench scoring at 48-18. The Mavericks did stay in the game with their offensive rebounding as they grabbed 18 which they converted into 20 second chance points.

Marquez Haynes led UTA with 23 points while Brent Benson led Texas State with 21. Trey Parker added a career-high nine rebounds and three blocks for the Mavs in 18 minutes.

UTA can now look ahead to at least wearing their home white uniforms for a change. Today's game completed a span of 10 consecutive games away from home which was the longest stretch in school history. The Mavericks finished this stretch with a respectable 4-6 record.

The Mavericks are now 7-7 (0-1 in Southland Conference play) while Texas State improved to 8-6 (1-0). UTA plays for the first time at home in over six weeks on Wednesday, Jan. 14 when they host Lamar.