March 2, 2011
Corpus Christi, Tex. - The UT Arlington men's basketball team left their defense on the bus Wednesday night as they lost 95-83 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The loss put a damper on the Mavericks Southland Conference Tournament hopes as now they will need to defeat UTSA Saturday and get some help from other teams after Wednesday's results.
A fast-paced game from the start, the Mavericks fell behind 41-30 at the half and that was just eight points less than UTA allowed the Islanders in their first meeting of the season in January.
The 41 points was also the highest amount of points the Mavericks had allowed in the first half of a conference game in 2011. At the end of the night, the 95 points scored by the Islanders was also an opponents season-high.
"They were on fire from the start seemed like everything they were shooting went in," UTA head coach Scott Cross said. "Our defensive intensity was not where it needed to be but it was not the night for us."
The Mavericks showed some life in the second half as they were able to cut the lead to nine with just over 14 minutes to play but TAMU-CC then went on a 16-4 run to extend their lead to seal the victory.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi shot 57.4 percent from the field, which included a 64% mark in the second half. The Islanders also made 13-of-26 from three-point range. TAMU-CC took advantage of 20 UTA turnovers as they turned those into 23 points.
"They hit some tough shots tonight, no doubt about it," Cross said. "But our defense gave them a lot of easy looks and they took advantage of it."
The loss overshadowed a career-night from the Mavericks' LaMarcus Reed who finished with a career-high 27 points before fouling out. He made seven three-pointers, which tied for the third most in school history.
Reed was one of four Mavericks in double figures as Cameron Catlett had 13, Bo Ingram 11 and Jordan Reves had 10. Darius Richardson was the leading rebounder for the Mavericks as he had five to go along with nine points.
Reynolds led five TAMU-CC players in double figures as Garland Judkins and Demond Watt each had 14 and Antonio Topps added 12. Terence Jones had double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.
The Mavericks did improve their shooting in the second half but it was too late to mount any challenge to the TAMU-CC lead that continued to grow in the second half.
UTA shot 43% in the final 20 minutes but that only got them to 42% for the game, well off their season's percentage.
The Mavericks should know before Saturday's tipoff if they have a chance to go to the conference tournament.
"We are going to need some help on Saturday but the bottom line is that we need to beat UTSA," Cross said. "We should know before we play if we control our own destiny.
"I hope we have a big crowd and they can help us get a victory," he added. "It is always nice to play your last game at home and this year we will need everyone that we can get out there to help us."
Tipoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. at Texas Hall.
