Final Stats
Feb. 15, 2012
Nacogdoches, Texas - In what's already been a special season, the Mavericks added to their collection of memories with a mind-boggling comeback in one of the league's toughest gyms.
UT Arlington rallied from a 15-point deficit to keep the nation's second-longest winning streak alive with Wednesday night's 51-47 victory over Stephen F. Austin at Johnson Coliseum.
The Mavericks won their 16th in a row in matchup between the top two teams in the Southland Conference West Division. UTA (20-5) improved to a 12-0 in league play and clinched at least a share of the West title. The Lumberjacks dropped to 14-11 and 8-4, and lost for the first time this season when leading at the half.
It's only the fourth 20-win season in UTA program history. The Mavericks last won 20 by going 21-12 in 2007-08 and reaching the NCAA Tournament as the SLC Tournament champion.
LaMarcus Reed paced UTA with 16 points, but this victory was locked up on the defensive end. SFA scored only 15 points in the second half, shooting just 19 percent.
"We challenged out guys in the locker room," UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. "It's a credit to these guys. Talk about character. I've seen teams that when they get hammered like we did in the first half just fold."
The Mavericks were able to wear down the Lumberjacks physically with an aggressive full-court press, forcing SFA into tough shots. UTA was able to capitalize at the other end, outscoring the Lumberjacks by 17 (32-15) in the second half.
Kevin Butler gave UTA its first lead at 43-42 since 13-12 with a layup with six minutes left. The Mavericks never trailed again.
Bo Ingram scored 13 for UTA. Jordan Reves added nine rebounds and six blocks, with all the rejections coming in the second half.
"It was just great team effort all the way around," Cross said. "You could just see the intensity pick up and their intensity drop a little bit. This is a special game right here. It gives us at least a share of the West Division title."
The Mavericks can finish no worse than tied for first in the West, with a four-game lead with four game left in the regular season. UTA can lock down the SLC regular-season crown with a victory Wednesday at McNeese State.
There wasn't much positive in the first half for the Mavericks, who went into the locker room down 32-19. The previous low for points in the first half was 27 on two occasions.
UTA was shooting only 24 percent at the break. Combine that eight turnovers, most coming early in the half, and getting outrebounded 22-14 and it was easy to figure out what the Mavericks were facing their biggest halftime deficit of the season.
The Mavericks take a break from SLC play with Saturday's trip to Weber State as part of the Sears BracketBusters series. The nonconference matchup between conference-leading squads is on ESPN3.
