Nov. 21, 2013

Photo Gallery

Final Stats

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania - UT Arlington spent just about every second of Thursday night's visit to Robert Morris playing catch-up, and despite tying the game late, the Mavericks couldn't get over the hump in an 88-81 setback at Sewall Center.

UT Arlington (2-4) dropped to 0-3 on the road this season and 0-3 in the Keightley Classic, which ends Saturday night at Eastern Michigan. The Mavericks are also on a three-game losing streak.

Senior guard Reger Dowell scored 26 points - his sixth consecutive game of at least 20 - to lead five Mavericks in double figures. Senior forward Brandon Edwards scored 10 and grabbed 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double. Junior guard Jamel Outler (15 points), junior forward Vincent Dillard (11 points), junior guard Lonnie McClanahan (10 points) also reached double digits.

UT Arlington fell behind by 14 points to start the game and trailed by as many as 15 in the first half before making things interesting late. The game's only tie came with more than six minutes left, but that was as close at the Mavericks would ever get to leading.

"It was very frustrating the whole game," UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. "We made a lot of mental mistakes. The guys had to be ready to play, but it wasn't just the mental breakdowns. I thought Robert Morris got at the loose balls, they got the deflections, they got the big rebounds and they made the plays that win games."

The Mavericks missed a number of good looks early as RMU (3-2) bolted out to a 14-0 lead. Dillard ended the drought with a 3-pointer from the corner to spark a 15-8 run to get UTA back in the game. Dillard had six points during the spurt and Outler had five.

Dowell's 3-point play cut the lead to 28-22 with eight minutes left, but Robert Morris began to heat up from deep again. The Colonials pulled ahead 41-26 and went into the half on top 41-31.

RMU nailed 8-16 3-point shots in the first half, with six coming from Karvel Anderson. The Mavericks were 2-9 from deep in the half and shot 41.4 percent (12-29) overall from the floor through 20 minutes.

Dillard and McClanahan each had eight points at the break. Dillard, Edwards and freshman forward Jorge Bilbao grabbed four boards apiece. Anderson scored 18 for the Colonials in the first half and finished with 24.

The Mavericks starting the second half strong, and went on an 8-0 run with back-to-back 3s from Dowell and layup from Edwards to pull with 47-45. Another 3-pointer from Dowell again cut the RMU advantage to two at 57-55.

The Mavericks kept coming. Dowell drilled two more daggers from beyond the arc on succession possessions, tying the game at 67-all with 6:16 remaining. The Colonials responded by scoring six straight points and didn't relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.