12/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UT Arlington (7-2) vs. Bradley (1-8)
Tuesday | 7 p.m. CT | College Park Center
UTA Notes | Bradley Notes | KKGM 1630 AM | Live Stream ($) | Live Stats
By Art Garcia | @ArtGarcia92
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington men's basketball carries a two-game winning streak into two home games to close out the nonconference schedule. First up for the Mavericks is Bradley on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at College Park Center.
UTA has opened the season 7-2, its best record after nine games in eight years. The Mavericks have won their last two meetings against the Braves, including 86-75 to open last season in Peoria, Ill. Bradley leads the all-time series 3-2.
UT Arlington is coming off another impressive road victory, beating UTEP 76-62 on Saturday. The Mavs four players score in double figures, led by 18 points from Kevin Hervey. Erick Neal scored 14 and dished out 5 assists. Jalen Jones scored 14 and Kaelon Wilson had 13 points off the bench.
"It's been a magical ride so far," UTA coach Scott Cross said. "I think our guys against UTEP did a great job defensively - we were in the gaps, we cut down driving angles. And I thought it was one of our best games offensively moving the ball and playing unselfish. The passing was just beautiful when I went back and watched it on tape."
UTA's strong start has garnered national attention. The Mavericks have moved up to 17th in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 15 and debuted at No. 15 in the Mid-Major Power 15. UTA is also 32nd in the NCAA RPI rankings.
"We've been paying attention to the game plan," Jones said. "We've been jelling well together as a team, chemistry is building, and I feel overall we've been playing hard and with a lot of confidence."
The Mavericks are 3-0 at home, with their latest win at CPC coming Dec. 3 against North Texas. UTA is leading the Sun Belt in home average attendance at 3,857 fans per game.
UT Arlington is leading the country in total offensive rebounds (156) and is fourth in offensive rebounds per game (17.33). The Mavericks are also leading the Sun Belt in rebounding (45.3) and are second in rebounding margin (9.1).
Hervey is one of eight players in Division I averaging at least 17 points and 10 rebounds. Hervey is fourth in the Sun Belt in scoring (17.7) and second in rebounding (10.2).
Two other Mavericks are scoring in double figures - Neal (12.3) and Jones (10.2). Neal is third in the Sun Belt in assists per game (4.6) and UTA is the team leader (15.4).
The Braves are the youngest team in college basketball. Of Bradley's first 10 opponents, UT Arlington becomes the seventh that already has won at least six games this season. UTA is also the sixth opponent Bradley will have played away from home. Those six teams have a combined record of 37-12 (.755) record to date.
Single game, season tickets or All Sport Passes are available at UTATickets.com or by contacting the College Park Center Box Office at (817) 272-9595.
