Jan. 23, 2016

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

By Art Garcia | @ArtGarcia92

ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington nearly pulled off an unbelievable comeback in Saturday night's first-place showdown with Little Rock. The Mavericks, down as many as 28 points, were trailing by just four points in the final two minutes before one of the largest crowds in College Park Center history.

UTA couldn't complete the rally, as the Trojans held on for a 68-62 victory in the first meeting of the season between the two teams with the best records in the Sun Belt.

The Mavericks dropped to 14-4 overall and 5-2 in conference after their first loss at home this season. The Trojans (17-2, 7-1) strengthened their hold on the league's top spot.

Playing for the first time since learning leading scorer and rebounder Kevin Hervey was lost for the season, UTA fell behind big early and was never able to fully recover. Little Rock opened the game with 18-0 lead and went into halftime up 42-14.

UTA opened the second half with a 7-0 burst and trimmed the deficit to 17 with 10 minutes left. The Trojans would extend the lead again before the Mavericks made a furious rally in the last few minutes.

A three-point play from Faith Pope pull the Mavs within nine (60-51) with 2:23 left. Kennedy Eubanks nailed two free throws with 1:53 remaining to make it 60-53. Erick Neal drilled a long 3-pointer 10 seconds later for a four-point game.

The Mavs didn't get any closer than four for the remainder of the game and Little Rock closed out its second consecutive win.

Kennedy Eubanks had 14 points, leading the Mavs in scoring for the second consecutive game. Neal and Drew Charles each scored 12. Neal dished out eight assists.

Josh Hagins led the Little Rock attack with 20 points.

Turning Point
The Mavericks were down 15-0 four minutes into the game, forcing a timeout out of UTA coach Scott Cross. Little Rock made 6 of its first 10 shots, including 3-5 from beyond the arc. The stoppage didn't slow the Trojans down.

Key Stats
The Trojans shot 53.6 percent (15-28) from the floor in the first half, including 50 percent (8-16) on 3-point attempts. ... UTA had more turnovers (8) than field goals (6) in the first half. ... The Mavs outscored Little Rock 48-26 percent in the second half.

Notable
The Mavs are 8-1 at CPC this season. UTA had a nine-game home winning streak going back to last season snapped. ... UTA's 14 points in the first half were the third lowest in program history. ... UTA is 4-2 all-time against Little Rock, including 3-2 as Sun Belt foes. ... Attendance was 5,033, CPC's second largest crowd of the season and fifth highest for a game in the arena's four-year history.

Up Next
The Mavericks open a two-game road trip Thursday at ULM before facing Louisiana on Saturday.

Quotable
Head coach Scott Cross opening statement:
"It was disappointing in the first half. I didn't think our guys competed the way I want them to. We had such a great crowd and it seemed like we laid down a little bit and that was disappointing. I thought Little Rock outhustled us. Obviously they were hitting shots and we weren't and that can definitely increase your effort when you're hitting shots and decrease a team's effort. But we've got to be tougher and more resilient than that. I was proud of the guys for fighting back and at least going us a chance to win this basketball game down the stretch. We just didn't do the little things right and didn't move the ball the way we normally do. I think that led to bad shots. It's a learning lesson."

Cross on not having Kevin Hervey:
"As you can see it was a battle to score baskets. Out there in the first half we really struggled. That's where a guy like Hervey can really help and open things up. He's such a great passer and then he can also get a shot off pretty effortlessly. It hurt us without a guy, but we'll figure it out. This team will get better each game that we play without him."