Dec. 6, 2011
Austin, Texas - The Mavericks men's basketball team gave Texas all it wanted for a majority of the game before falling 80-62 to the Longhorns in Austin.
UTA trailed by just seven at the half and then fell behind early in the second half by as many as 13 before cutting the lead to six at 45-39. The Longhorns then went on a 9-3 run, started by two free throws by J'Covan Brown, to lead by 12.
The Mavs hung in the game trailing 67-54 with six minutes to play before being outscored 13-8 the rest of the way.
The Mavericks fought an off night from the field the entire game as the missed 8 of their last 11 field goals in the first half and at one stretch made just 5-of-20 from the field as the Longhorns built their lead in the second 20 minutes.
"It's tough to win when you struggle to make shots," UTA head coach Scott Cross said. "We got a lot of good looks but the ball just didn't go in for us tonight."
Overall in the game, UTA made 20-of-60 (33%) from the field. However, the Mavs made a season-high nine three-pointers and shot 39.1% from long range but were under 30% on two-point shots as they made just 11-of-37 (29.3%).
Texas used a decided advantage in points in the paint in the second half to earn the victory. The Longhorns outscored the Mavs 18-4 in that area in the final 20 minutes.
"They did a good job of getting the ball into the paint, especially in the second half," Cross said. "When we were able to stop the penetration they were able to make shots."
Kevin Butler led UTA with 12 points while Jorge Redmon added 11. Butler also had a team-high six rebounds.
UTA came into the game in the top 10 in the nation in rebounding and held their own against Texas dropping the rebounding margin by just three (39-36).
Free throws also played a roll in the game as the Mavericks put Texas into the bonus early in the second half and the Longhorns converted 14-of-21 free throws in the second half and finished the game making 18-of-27. Meanwhile the Mavericks were 13-of-17 from the line marking their third consecutive game shooting at least 76% from the line.
Sheldon McClellan came off the bench to score a career-high 23 points to lead five Texas players in double figures.
Myck Kabongo and Julian Lewis each added 13 for Texas as the Longhorns had five players in double figures. J'Covan Brown had 11 while Alexis Wangmene added 10. Kabongo also added seven assists. The Mavericks now have the next 11 days off for finals and the end of the semester before playing next at Tulsa on Dec. 17.
