By Cassie Logan | UTAMavs.com

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Monday night couldn't have set a more perfect stage for the four UTA men's basketball seniors graduating this season. It was a game heightened with predisposed emotion and possibility, turned into reality when the clock hit zero.

UTA (23-6, 13-3 SBC) toppled Troy 82-67 at College Park Center on Senior Night, allowing the Mavericks to secure a share of the SBC regular season title. The championship is a first for the program since claiming the Southland in 2012.

Postgame, when the nets were cut down and fans refused to leave the floor, Jorge Bilbao enveloped Kevin Hervey in a hug that ended in tears. For the four-year seniors, it was journey that started with a losing season and ended with a championship.

Bilbao was a freshman, Drew Charles was a sophomore in 2013-14 when UTA split its first season in the Sun Belt (10-10) and turned in a 15-17 campaign. The Mavs' increased their win total each year after, now just one away from a program-high.

Both bought into UTA coach Scott Cross' "tough guy", "championships are won today" mentality from the start, and ever since have put in the work necessary to make nights like Monday possible.

Bilbao has started every game dating back to the beginning of 2015-16. He's been a presence in the paint for the Mavericks standing at 6-9 and now averaging career rebounding numbers. Fans love him because he plays with his heart on his sleeve. When he's fired up, you can see it on his face. When he's mad, his voice booms from the upper deck. His toughness resonates throughout the entire program and is one reason UTA has such a bulldog reputation.

Charles has been there right next to Bilbao as a secure, dependable start the past two seasons. His senior slate came a year later than expected as after redshirting his sophomore year, but his dedication and will to be successful earned him his stripes. His 3-point shooting has wreaked havoc on Sun Belt opponents and his calm intensity helps him lead by example.

The foundation Bilbao and Charles have built is what allowed transfers like Jalen Jones and Faith Pope to buy in and add fuel to the fire last season. When Hervey went down with a knee injury, Jones, a transfer from McLennan Community College stepped up and ranked first among UTA's regular starters in points a game in 34 starts.

Pope, a Tyler Junior College transplant, is known for the energy and, as his Twitter handle implies, sauce he adds on the court. Though his stat line may not reflect big production, he's impactful in his approach, diving for loose balls on the defensive end and using his wide wingspan to steal a few.

Each of these four seniors represents UTA basketball, more so an embodiment of Cross and his bulldog system. The Mavericks are now guaranteed the top seed in the SBC Championship, receiving a first-round bye, as well as an automatic NIT berth.

The stage was set for a night of entertainment in Arlington and for the seniors, it was the perfect way to close the curtain.