Feb. 7, 2011

Final Stats

Arlington, Tex. - - UTA-Central Arkansas Photo Gallery

Bradley Gay had a career-high 21 points to help lead a hot-shooting UT Arlington to a 93-70 victory over Central Arkansas Monday afternoon.

UT Arlington (11-10 overall, 5-3 SLC) shot 66.7% from the field in each half and finished the game making 34-of-51 field goals as the Mavericks won for fourth time in its last five games.

The 66.7% effort tied for the fourth-highest mark in a game in UT Arlington history and was the highest ever in a conference game for the Mavericks in a game that was played two days later than previously scheduled due to inclement weather.

"I'll take that (shooting percentage) any time," UTA head coach Scott Cross said. "We did a good job of getting good shots and it paid off today."

UTA led by five at the half but Central Arkansas (5-17, 1-8 Southland) outscored the Mavs 9-2 to start the second half to take a 47-45 lead.

UCA then led a few minutes later at 50-49 before UTA went on a 17-7 run to take control of the game over the next five minutes. From there, the Bears could get no closer than four points and UTA finished the game on a 19-5 run.

Gay finished the game with 11 points in the first half and 10 in the second as he easily eclipsed his previous high of 14 points.

"I don't know what really happened today," he said. "We have worked hard in practice and I got some good looks today and was able to get around the basket to score.

"We knew coming off a loss and then having to wait a couple of extra days to play this game, that we needed to be on our game," Gay, who made 7-of-10 from the field added.

Central Arkansas shot 52% in the first half but then the Mavericks defense held the Bears to just 34.5% in the final 20 minutes and they finished the game at 42.6%. UCA also hurt themselves by making just 16-of-35 free throws (45.7%).

"Our defense was a lot better in the second half," Cross said. "But our 1-3-1 zone in the second really helped us."

The Mavericks also scored 58 points in the paint, made 24-of-31 from the foul line and outrebounded the Bears 38-25.

"We have been struggling on the boards in recent games so it was nice to see us come out on top in rebounding," Cross said. "We did a great job rebounding in the second half."

"That is a big deal for us to get the ball in the paint," Cross said. "It gave us a chance to score some easy baskets."

Jordan Reves had 15 points for UTA while Bo Ingram added 12 and LaMarcus Reed and Brandon Edwards each had 10 as the Mavs had a season-high five players in double figures. Reed led the Mavericks with eight rebounds.

Imad Qahwash had 19 points while Mike Pouncy added 17 points for Central Arkansas.

There will not be much rest for the Mavericks as they have to turn around and play on Wednesday against Sam Houston State.

"You know I think at this time of the year the players would rather play games than practice," Cross said. "We have been practicing all year long. I think it is a good thing that we have a game coming up so quickly."

Tipoff for that game will be at 7 p.m. at Texas Hall. Tickets are available on utatickets.com or at the Texas Hall box office on game night.