Dec. 22, 2009
Final Stats
By Josh Bowe for utamavs.com
ARLINGTON, Texas - Midway through the second half against Texas Wesleyan, Marquez Haynes drove the lane and freed himself up for a short lay-up.
Inexplicably, the Texas Wesleyan defense didn't rotate over. All Haynes had to do was bank in the shot. He banked it all right, past the rim and into the waiting hands of a Ram defender.
"Well I turned the corner and I was expecting someone to be there and nobody was there," Haynes, senior guard, said with a smile "I should of just dunked it."
It was about the only thing that went wrong for Haynes, or the rest of the Mavericks for that matter, as the Mavs dismantled the Rams 101-85 at Texas Hall.
UTA shot a blistering 19-for-27 in the first half (70.4 percent) while connecting on 10 three pointers in that half alone. It was a sight for the sore eyes of coach Scott Cross, who has watched his team struggle to shoot the ball consistently all season.
"I don't even know if we've shot it that well in practice this year," Cross said. "Hopefully this is a good sign. This is one of the things we talked about in practice yesterday."
Texas Wesleyan kept the game reasonably close in the first half, using its size advantage to accumulate 12 offensive rebounds in the first half alone. But with UTA only leading 29-21 with 10 minutes left in the first half, the three point parade began.
The Mavericks made five three pointers from that point on, two from freshman Armani Williams, to blitz the Rams with their four-guard lineup. Cross especially liked the tempo his guards were creating early on after getting beat badly by Baylor on Sunday
"It wasn't just a loss it was an embarrassment," Cross said of the Baylor game. "I was glad to see the guys respond because sometimes you can let losses linger on."
UTA kept the pressure on in the second half, not letting the big first half lead cause any lazy play.
Haynes didn't need to score another 20 points like he did in the first half, but he scored 11 for his fourth 30-point game of the season, finishing at 31, to keep any Texas Wesleyan rallies at bay.
"We had a tough shooting night against Baylor and we all knew what was on the line," Haynes said. "We had to have a better showing for ourselves. Everyone was super focused."
MAVERICK NOTES
FORMER MAV RETURNS
Former UT Arlington guard Jeremy Smith returns to Texas Hall for the first time since transferring to Texas Wesleyan. During his sophomore season at UTA, Smith was second on the team in assists. This season at Texas Wesleyan he is second on the team, averaging 4.6 a game. Smith was the primary defender on former teammate Marquez Haynes.
REED NOT IN THE STARTING LINE UP
Up until tonight LaMarcus Reed has started all 8 games the Mavericks have played. Reed is the Mavs third highest scorer and rebounder on the season thus far, averaging 9.1 ppg and 4 rpg.
MAVS LIGHT IT UP EARLY
The Mavs started the game hitting their first 13 shots from the field. A very deep 3 point try by Brandon Long was first shot that didn't go down. They had their highest scoring half so far this season scoring 67 points on 70% shooting. They ended up with their highest point total in regulation, scoring 101 on 59% shooting.
SIZE DOES MATTER
Texas Wesleyan has 4 players that are 6' 7" or taller. Hector Mukweyi, a 6' 7" forward of Texas Wesleyan, had 17 points in the first half and 25 for the game. Only one other player, Brian Wanamaker, scored in double digits. Similar to the Baylor game the Mavs had to rely on their quickness to overcome the size discrepancy.
STAT O' THE NIGHT
101. The Mavs had their highest scoring output of the year. Four Maverick players scored in double figures including Marquez Haynes, with 31, and Brandon Long, with 17.
