Nov. 25, 2015

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

By Art Garcia | @ArtGarcia92

ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington men's basketball ran its winning streak to three by cruising by Grambling State 73-40 Wednesday night at College Park Center.

The Mavericks didn't have a letdown after road wins at Ohio State and Memphis, improving to 4-1 for the first time since 2010-11 and 2-0 at home. The Tigers are 1-5.

Sophomore forward Kevin Hervey led the Mavs in scoring for the third consecutive game with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The Arlington Bowie graduate added a game-high and season-high 13 rebounds.

Junior forward Jalen Jones scored 13 for his second straight game in double figures and third this season. Sophomore guard Kaelon Wilson added 12 points off the bench on 4-6 shooting from the floor. Junior guard Drew Charles scored 11 and grabbed six boards. Freshman forward Nick Pallas had season-high nine rebounds.

The Mavs have struggled with their shot all season and this was no exception, as UTA connected on just 36.8 percent (25-68) from the floor. But the defense was up to the task again by limiting the Tigers to 26.5-percent shooting (13-49) and forcing 25 turnovers.

The Mavericks opened the game with a 13-4 spurt and remained in control for the first half. Hervey had 13 points and eight boards at the break. Wilson had eight points on 3-4 shooting, including a breakaway steal and a lob dunk from point guard Erick Neal.

Jones was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and nailed all three free throws to give UTA a 33-16 lead at halftime.

UT Arlington continued to apply the pressure in the second half, stretching the lead out to as many as 38 points. Cross was able to get season-best 12 players into the game.

Key Stats
UTA outscored the Tigers 23-4 off turnovers, including 15-0 in the first half.

Notable
The 40 points allowed tied for the lowest opponent total in a win in school history. The Mavs set the record in a 66-40 victory over Sam Houston State on Jan. 11, 2012. ... The Mavericks wore their home white uniforms for the first time this season. ... UTA has allowed only 37 points in the last two first halves - season-low 16 to Grambling and 21 to Memphis. ... Hervey has two consecutive double-doubles. ... Grambling leads the all-time series 3-2.

Up next
UTA hits the road against to face Rice on Sunday (5 p.m.) in Houston. The D-FW radio broadcast is KKGM 1630 AM.

Quotable
Scott Cross on Kevin Hervey
"Kevin Hervey's playing so well, I mean 17 and 13. He's the one guy that was on for us offensively. Hopefully we can get some of our other wings shooting the ball the way I know they are capable of shooting. When that happens I think great things are going to happen."

Hervey on state of the team
"We're playing as good as we can. As long as we keep it up, we'll be a great team, not just a good team. It's amazing to get three wins in a row, two against high majors. And we get a day off tomorrow. That's going to feel great."

Jalen Jones on winning streak
"It's a great feeling coming off two straight wins. To able to come in and get a win that we're supposed to have and play great defense is very special."