Final Stats

By Art Garcia | @ArtGarcia92

EL PASO, Texas - UT Arlington added another to an impressive collection of nonconference wins by upending the UTEP Miners 76-62 Saturday night at the Don Haskins Center.

The Mavericks improved to 7-2 after their second consecutive victory. It's the best start for UTA since going 8-1 to open the 2007-08 season.

The Mavs had four score in double figures, led by 18 points from Kevin Hervey. Erick Neal scored 14 and dished out five assists. Jalen Jones scored 14 and Kaelon Wilson had 13 points off the bench.

UTA took control in the second half by forcing the issue offensively and controlling the boards. The Mavs out-rebounding UTEP 23-15 after halftime and went to the line 18 times after shooting just two free throws in the first half.

UTEP (6-2) came into the game receiving votes in both the Associate Press and USA Today Coaches Poll. The Miners were 19th in the latest NCAA RPI rankings.

The Mavericks opened the game with a 7-2 lead, five points coming from Hervey. The Miners would come back and take their first lead at 15-14.

UTA would regain its footing and went into halftime up 36-31. Hervey had 10 points at the break, with Drew Charles scoring nine on three 3-pointers. The Mavs shot 45.2 percent in the half and UTEP was at 41.4 percent.

The Mavericks' other road win this season have come at Ohio State, Memphis and Rice. UTA is 4-2 away from College Park Center.

Turning Point
The Mavericks were down 24-21 in the first half before ripping off a 13-1 run. Charles hit two 3-pointers during the surge, as UTA regained control. The Mavs wouldn't trail for the reminder of the game.

Key Stats
The Miners were held to 42.9-percent shooting, including just 21.7 percent (5-23) on 3-pointers. UTA won despite getting outscored 32-26 in the paint and 40-17 in bench points. The Mavs had 18 assists on 26 baskets.

Notable
The Mavericks went 3-1 against Conference USA during nonconference. UTA beat UTEP, Rice and North Texas, with the lone loss at Louisiana Tech. ... UTA is 1-1 all-time against UTEP, with the previous game being in 1967. ... Hervey had seven rebounds, ending his double-double streak at five games.

Up Next
The Mavericks return home to College Park Center against Bradley on Tuesday (7 p.m.). Tickets are available at UTATickets.com.

Quotable
Scott Cross opening comment:
"I'm proud of what our guys did. They stuck together. They did so many things well. I thought UTEP came out and did a great job on the boards. Rebounding was our weakness. It seems like Coach Floyd really had them rebounding well. We had [three] offensive rebounds in the first half, but our guys kept battling and they hit some key shots. We knocked down our free throws down the stretch and our defense tightened up."

Kaelon Wilson on key to the game:
"We were moving the ball, staying focus and poised because there were times when they made runs. We were able to stay with it."