FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the second-straight game on the road against a power-conference opponent receiving votes in the national polls, the UT Arlington men's basketball team (3-3) was within striking distance late in the 2nd half, but a Arkansas surge in the closing 10 minutes propelled the Razorbacks (4-1) to a 78-60 win Friday night at Bud Walton Arena.
 
UTA was saddled in foul trouble all evening as the Mavericks were called for 34 fouls – tied for the 12th-most in single-game program history (which dates to 1959-60). That sent the Razorbacks to the line an incredible 46 times, and they converted 34 of those (73.9 percent) compared with the Mavs going 18-27 (66.7 percent) from the charity stripe to provide nearly the winning margin for the hosts.
 
The Mavs were led offensively by Edric Dennis for the second-consecutive outing with a team-best 19 points – the same total the junior had at Indiana on Tuesday – while also adding five rebounds in just 21 foul-plagued minutes. Junior Brian Warren was the lone other Mav to reach double-figure scoring as he delivered 15, a team-best three assists and a game-high-tying three steals in a game-high 36 minutes.
 
Dennis was called for a potentially game-changing offensive foul at the 15:54 mark of the 2nd half with UTA only down four, 41-37, and building momentum. That was his 4th foul, and with him on the bench the Razorbacks grew their advantage to as much as 12, 51-39. Shortly after that, with Arkansas up 52-41 the 11-minute mark, Dennis re-entered and immediately scored UTA's next four points. A Radshad Davis reverse layup eventually trimmed the Arkansas lead to just seven, 56-49, with a little over seven minutes remaining.
  However, that was as close as UTA would get the rest of the way as the Razorbacks closed the night on an extended 22-11 run.
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS OGDEN
"I thought the difference in the game came at the free-throw line. We fouled them too much and put them at the line, especially in the 1st half, where we had four guys with three fouls. And that was the difference in the game; they made a lot more free throws than we even attempted. But we'll regroup. I like our guys. I believe in them. We just have to learn to get better without fouling."
 
FIRST-HALF BREAKDOWN
UTA faced serious foul trouble in the opening 20 minutes as four of its top-5 scorers on the year were limited with three fouls each – Dennis, DJ Bryant, Davis and David Azore. That, combined with just 28.6-percent shooting from the field (8-28), resulted in a five-point halftime deficit, 31-26, which could have – for all intents and purposes – been much worse for the Mavs.
 
It could also have been much better for UTA as the Mavs limited the Razorbacks to only 32-percent shooting of their own (8-25) in the opening stanza. The biggest difference came from the fouls as Arkansas marched to the line 21 times and knocked down 14 of those (66.7 percent), while UTA attempted just 11 (made 6 for 54.5 percent).
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
UTA entered the game ranked in the top-20 in the nation early in the season in free-throw percentage (18th, 78.4) and defensive 3-point percentage (15th, 23.6). That perimeter defense again was steadfast as the Mavs held Arkansas to just 2-16 (12.5 percent) from beyond the arc, but the free-throw shooting was uncharacteristically poor for the Mavs.
 
Likely NBA Draft selection Daniel Gafford led Arkansas with 21 points and team-high-tying five rebounds. The 6-11 sophomore went 9-10 from the free-throw line (he entered the contest shooting 46 percent from the stripe on the year (13-28). Adrio Bailey (14), Jalen Harris (14) and Isaiah Joe (10) rounded out the quartet of double-figure scorers for the Razorbacks.
 
UTA registered season lows in points (60), field-goal percentage (32.7) and free-throw percentage (66.7), while also giving the ball away a season-high 19 times which led to 25 Arkansas points.
 
THIS AND THAT
After missing most of the previous three games, true freshman Patrick Mwamba returned to the UTA lineup as a substitute not even three minutes into the game … he scored three points and grabbed three rebounds in 17 minutes … the contest was UTA's fourth in eight days, and first of four non-conference opponents for the Mavericks which played in the NCAA Tournament last year; including Georgia State in Sun Belt play, five of the Mavericks next nine game (including Arkansas) played in March Madness in 2018 … this was the first of two SEC opponents for UTA as the Mavs will face Missouri on Dec. 4 … UTA is now 1-14 all-time against SEC foes, with the lone win coming at Texas A&M, 77-75, on Dec. 7, 1970 … Jabari Narcis made his first start with UTA and pulled down a game-high six rebounds … freshman Ayoub Nouhi entered the game with five total points in five games; he scored six and pulled down four boards against the Razorbacks ... the all-time single-game program record for fouls is 42 against Hardin-Simmons in 1971; D-I opponent record is 40 at Arkansas State in 1980.
 
HARDWOOD SHOWCASE
The matchup is final game for both UTA and Arkansas as part of the multiple-team event (MTE) Hardwood Showcase, which featured UTA, Arkansas, Indiana, Montana State, UC Davis and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Each team will play – or already has played – four others from the group of six this month.
 
NEXT UP
UTA will return home for a couple of days before heading back out on the road when the Mavericks travel to take on Tulsa next Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+.