Feb. 26, 2011

Final Stats

Natchitoches, La. - For the second time in two weeks, the UT Arlington men's basketball team suffered a loss after holding a big lead as Saturday's game turned into a case of deja vu.

Two weeks ago, the Mavericks had Texas State down by 14 points at halftime and ended on the wrong end of the decision. Saturday, UTA led by 12 points at the half and by 10 with 3:08 to play before falling once again - this time in overtime - 78-71 at Northwestern State.

The Mavericks led by double figures for a vast majority of the second half before NSU made their comeback to send the game to extra time.

"We have to figure out a way to get it done down the stretch in these games," UTA head coach Scott Cross said. "We have to someone step up and help carry our team like they had guys do for them today."

Will Pratt started it with a three-point play to cut the lead to seven before Shamir Davis stole the ensuing inbounds pass and made a layup and the UTA lead was only five.

Shaquille White-Miller made two-free throws to increase the lead back to seven with 1:49 to play before Pratt made a layup.

White-Miller took the ball to the basket on the next possession only to have it blocked and a few seconds later, Devon Baker made a three-pointer to draw the Demons to within two.

UTA could not get the ball inbounds after the basket and in a chase for the lose ball, Cameron Catlett fouled Baker and, with 46 seconds left to play, he made two free throws to tie the game.

The Mavericks had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation when Bo Ingram missed a shot from the baseline with less than two seconds to play.

"They were the aggressor at the end of the game and in overtime," Cross said. "They got to more loose balls and got to the line more than we did and that was the difference in the game."

Northwestern State scored the first points in overtime and the extra time magic the Mavericks showed last week was not with them as the Demons never trailed in the extra period.

NSU jumped out to a four-point lead early before Darius Richardson hit a three-pointer to trim the lead to one but that was as close as UTA could get in overtime.

Baker finished the game with game-high 20 points while Pratt finished with 14 and Davis added 11. The loss overshadowed a career game from Jordan Reves who posted career bests of 19 points and 13 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass.

Reves also fouled out of the game and when he picked up his fifth foul with 3:08 to play was when Northwestern State started to make their final push.

"When he fouled out that hurt us," Cross said. "He was grabbing a lot of rebounds and had the best game of his career. When he went out it was tougher to rebound as we had to go with a smaller lineup."

Richardson, who was basically playing for the first time in 3 ½ weeks, scored 16 points as he made four three-pointers. Bo Ingram added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavs.

"It was nice to see Darius back to his old self today," Cross said. "When he has been healthy he has been a weapon for us.

Northwestern State held a big advantage at the foul line as they made 26-of-42 while UTA was only 10-of-18. The Mavericks were whistled for 31 fouls while NSU had only 19. The Demons made 6-of-8 from the line in overtime and went to the line 28 times after halftime.

UTA's defense was solid for a majority of the game as Northwestern State was shooting below 30% before they started their run. The Demons finished at 32.8% but made 3-of-5 in the extra period.

"We played outstanding defense for a majority of the game but just didn't at the end of the game," Cross said.

NSU outrebounded the Mavericks 55-52 and held the Mavs to 35.5% from the field as UTA and made just 2-of-9 field goals in the extra period.

A close game early quickly turned into the Mavericks favor. UTA fell behind 15-14 with 9:13 to play in the first half and then finished the first 20 minutes on a 24-11 run which included a 13-0 stretch to hold a 12-point halftime lead.

The loss dropped the Mavs to 7-7 in conference play and they are still in position to make a trip to the conference tournament in a week and a half. They play at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday night. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. and can be heard on KVCE 1160 AM.

"Our focus now has to be on winning our two games next week," Cross said. "The rest of it will take care of itself if we can do that. Our backs are against the wall now and we have to find a way to get it done and finish the regular season on a strong note."