Final Stats

By Art Garcia | @ArtGarcia92

ATLANTA, Georgia - UT Arlington responded with the kind of performance Saturday afternoon that could jumpstart the rest of the season.

The Mavericks snapped a four-game losing streak - the program's longest in two years - with a dominating 90-69 victory over Georgia State at GSU Sports Arena. UTA played with toughness and poise in beating the two-time conference champions.

The Mavs not only improved to 15-7 overall and 6-5 in Sun Belt play, they received a much-needed shot of confidence to start the second half of conference action. UTA also inched ahead of the Panthers (13-8, 6-6) in the league standings.

The Mavericks were a picture of balance on the offensive end, with all five starters scoring in double figures. Jorge Bilbao notched his fourth double-double this season with game highs in points (18) and rebounds (11).

Erick Neal scored 17 and knocked down 5-8 3-pointers. Drew Charles had 16 points and knocked down four 3s, Kaelon Wilson scored 15 and Jalen Jones added 10. Charles and Wilson each grabbed eight boards. Jones had five rebounds.

The Mavericks took control of the game in the first half and led throughout the second. The Panthers did make a push late by cutting the deficit to 12 (74-62) with less than six minutes left. Charles answered with a 3-pointer and the Mavs would eventually get the lead up to 21 in the final minute.

The Mavericks were the aggressors in the first half, pounding the ball inside and hitting the boards. UTA enjoyed a 14-6 edge scoring in the paint and a 23-11 advantage rebounding. The Mavs went into the locker room up 47-38.

Wilson and Bilbao embodied that aggressiveness. Wilson scored 10 points in the half and earned eight free throw attempts by attacking the basket. Bilbao was also busy inside with 10 points and six boards.

Neal and Jones each scored eight at the break, with Charles adding six points on two 3-pointers. The Mavs shot 22 free throws in the half (made 16) to GSU's 10 foul shots.

Isiah Williams led Georgia State with 14 points.

Turning Point
The Mavs took control of the first half with a 14-0 run to take a 27-14 lead. Wilson had two three-point plays during the surge, with Faith Pope and Charles each knocking down a 3-pointer.

Key Stats
The Mavs piled up 16 offensive rebounds, leading to a 21-6 advantage in second-chance points. ... UTA won the rebound battle 45-27. ... UTA was 28-35 at the line, with GSU going 21-32.

Notable
Neal, Charles, Wilson, Jones and Bilbao started together for the second consecutive game. ... UTA hadn't won since Jan. 21 over Arkansas State. ... Charles had his highest-scoring game since netting 16 points against Georgia Southern on Jan. 2. ... UTA swept the two-game season series against GSU. … The Mavs have won 11 games by double digits this season.

Up Next
The Mavericks finish their stretch of five consecutive road games Tuesday night at Texas State. It's the first meeting of the season between the in-state rivals.

Quotable
UTA coach Scott Cross opening statement:
"Our guys played really hard. I thought Erick did a tremendous job running this basketball team. I thought [Nathan Hawkins] did a really good job backing him up. They kept us under control. Our guys didn't panic. Drew hit some big shots in the clutch, Erick hit a couple big shots in the clutch and Jorge battled like he always does. It was a great all-around team effort and I'm really proud of the guys. They've been through a lot of adversity. It's not easy losing a guy who's a potential NBA guy. Our guys finally found a way to get a victory. Hopefully this will give us a little confidence and we'll be better going forward."

Cross on starting Wilson for the second consecutive game:
"He's a super-efficient guy. I told you from the beginning he's a starter coming off the bench. He gave us great depth and a scorer coming off the bench, but we needed him now in a starting role and he's definitely stepped up and been unbelievable for us. He's a great defender, great driver, he hits he free throws and is a great 3-point shooter. He's a guy that does a little bit of everything for us."

Cross on Bilbao:
"He's the toughest guy that I think I've ever coached. I love him death. I'm sad that we have only a little more than a year left with him. He's one of those guys that I'll get really emotional when he graduates because he plays as hard as possible every single game. I'm thankful that he's in the trenches on my side."

Jorge Bilbao on his double-double:
"It was a great team effort. It feels great to win one. We've been struggling and have been facing adversity when [Kevin Hervey] went down. We came together as a team and have been talking a lot about what we had to do. It was a collective effort. We have to pull together in the same direction."