Final Stats

By Art Garcia | @ArtGarcia92

RUSTON, LA - UT Arlington men's basketball dropped to 1-1 with Tuesday night's 80-68 nonconference setback to Louisiana Tech at the Thomas Assembly Center.

The Mavericks lead by as many as 12 points early in the second half before the Bulldogs (2-0) stormed back. UTA trails the series with LA Tech 25-8, having lost the last three meetings.

The Mavericks were up 48-36 after point guard Erick Neal's layup. Neal scored UTA's first six points of the second half to set his career highs with 23 points. The sophomore tied his career best with seven assists.

The Bulldogs had four players score in double figures, led by Erik McCree's 20 points. LA Tech outscored UTA 48-24 in the second half.

The Mavericks went into halftime up 42-32. After the Bulldogs rallied to tie the game at 30-30, UTA finished the first half with a 12-2 run. UTA guard Kaelon Wilson (13 points) drilled two 3-pointers and added a three-point play during the spurt.

Turning Point
The Bulldogs went on a 15-2 run to take their first lead of the second half game at 51-50. LA Tech wouldn't trail again.

Key Stats
UTA shot only 20 percent (7-35) in the second half. The Bulldogs hit 51.6 percent (16-31) after the break.

Notable
UTA forward Faith Pope and Wilson left the game in the second half and colliding with each other. ... UTA and Louisiana Tech hadn't met since the 2012-13 season when both were members of the Western Athletic Conference. LA Tech is now in Conference USA. ... LA Tech is a nation-best 51-1 at home since February of 2012. ... Neal lost his shoe during play for the second time in two games.

Up Next
The Mavericks continue their three-game road stretch with games at Ohio State (Friday) and Memphis (Nov. 23).

Quotable
Overall thoughts
"It was very disappointing. Our second-half defense was terrible. We started off by taking some bad shots in the second half and we didn't guard them at all. You've got to play great defense on the road." - Coach Scott Cross