Dec. 11, 2010
Final Stats
Birmingham, Ala. - You know when you play a team that plays a "Princeton" style offense, you know you have to make the most of every offensive possession because they come at a premium.
That was the case for the UT Arlington men's basketball team as they dropped a 68-60 decision at Samford Saturday as the game featured six lead changes and four ties before the final buzzer sounded.
The Mavericks turned a tied game at halftime into a 45-37 lead after Armani Williams made two free throws with 11:32 to play. Samford's Josh Bedwell then hit three consecutive 3-pointers to put Samford in the lead at 46-45.
UTA battled back to take the lead at 53-51 with 5:12 to play only to see Andy King follow the lead of his Samford teammate Bedwell.
King, who had not scored to that point in the second half, and who was playing with four fouls, copied Bedwell with 3-pointers on three consecutive trips down the floor to give the Bulldogs a 60-53 lead that they would never give up.
"There is no way we should give up open 3-pointers," UTA head coach Scott Cross said. "Against this team you can't relax on any possession but it happened and you have to give them credit, they made them."
After taking that two-point lead, the Mavericks struggled from the field which also allowed Samford, now 6-4, the opportunity put the game out of reach. UTA made just 4-of-13 from the floor in the final few minutes of the game and finished the game shooting 39%.
"They are a well-coached team that," Cross said. "We had to change defenses during the game but when we do not communicate it can lead to open shots and that is what happened."
UTA came into the game ranked in the top 10 in the nation in field goal percentage defense but Samford finished the game shooting 45% for the game which included going 12-of-25 from 3-point range in the second half.
The game got off to a bad start for the Mavericks as they fell behind 19-9 before making a 21-11 run to close the half tied at 30.
"We got off to a bad start," Cross said. "But we changed our defense and they helped to get us back in the game."
King finished the game with a team-high 13 points, 11 of which came in the second half. LaMarcus Reed led the Mavericks with 14 points.
Darius Richardson added 11 points and a team-high four assists, for the Mavs while Bradley Gay had 10. Jordan Reves led UTA with seven rebounds.
Bedwell finished with 11 points and he along with King helped the Bulldogs outscore the Mavs bench 34-19.
The Mavericks, now 5-3, next play at Louisiana Tech next Saturday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m.
