SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The UT Arlington men's basketball team held Cal Poly scoreless for the final six minutes of regulation, forced overtime on a Brian Warren layup with 3 seconds remaining and iced the contest from the free-throw line to give the Mavericks (4-8) their first road win of the year with a 75-70 victory over the Mustangs (3-8) Friday night at Mott Athletics Center.
 
TiAndre Jackson-Young scored a game-high-tying 18 points to lead UTA – his third-straight double-figure point outing after having none through the first nine contests of the year. After being held scoreless in the 1st half, Warren delivered all 11 of his points in the 2nd half and overtime to finish as the only other double-figure scorer for the Mavericks.
 
With the Mavs trailing, 61-59, Warren went coast-to-coast off the front end of a missed Cal Poly 1-and-1, and converted at the rim with his dominant left hand. An ensuring defensive stand by UTA forced a long 3-point look from the Mustangs which came up short, sending the Mavs to their first non-conference overtime contest since December of 2015 at Texas.
 
Unlike that tilt with the Longhorns, the Mavericks would come out on the winning side Friday against Cal Poly. After the Mustangs hit a 3-pointer to forge ahead, 70-69 with 40 seconds remaining, Warren again responded with a drive, foul against him and two conversions from the charity stripe to put UTA up, 71-70.
 
A huge block at the other end by Andres Ibarguen on a potential go-ahead shot led to Cal Poly needing to foul DJ Bryant with 13 seconds showing. The veteran leader calmly drilled both attempts to put UTA ahead by three.
 
Following a Cal Poly timeout, the Mustangs went to their 3-point specialist, Mark Crowe, to try and force a second overtime, but Edric Dennis forced Crowe into a contested attempt which came up short – just the second missed 3 of the evening (6-8 from 3-point range). Radshad Davis collected the miss, and put the final touches on a seven-game-losing-streak snapping triumph with a pair of free throws.
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS OGDEN
"I'm really proud of the way our guys fought. It started at the defensive end – holding them without a point over the final six minutes allowed us to get back in the game. For Kip (Warren) to shake off the 1st half he had and make some clutch shots down the stretch shows a lot about him. TiAndre set the tone for us offensively, but everyone had a hand in this win. It's a great way to build some momentum heading into a short break."
 
SETTING THE STAGE
Despite its leading scorer Warren being held without a point in the opening half, not being rewarded a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity (more information later) and Cal Poly hitting a three-quarters-court heave just before the buzzer, UTA only entered halftime down six, 39-33.
 
The Mavericks were also without the services of Ibarguen for all but four minutes in the first stanza with two fouls; in those quartet of minutes, the 6-5, 230-pound forward scored four points and grabbed three rebounds. He eventually finished the night with seven points and a game-best 10 rebounds – three more caroms than anyone else on the floor.
 
Crowe hit a 3-pointer to open the 2nd-half scoring and give Cal Poly a nine-point lead – which was tied for its largest advantage of the game. The Mustangs also possessed a nine-point edge, 61-52, following a Marcellus Garrick jumper at the 6:07 mark. However, from that point, UTA clamped down defensively and gradually got its deficit down to two.
 
That 61-59 score line remained intact from the 3:50 mark all the way until the Warren layup with exactly 3 seconds showing, but it was enough for the Mavericks to force an extra five minutes and win their first road non-conference overtime game since Dec. 17, 2005, at San Diego.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Edric Dennis (9), Bryant (8), David Azore (8), Davis (7), Patrick Mwamba (4) and Pedro Castro (3) rounded out the UTA scoring … UTA out-rebounded Cal Poly, 44-36 … the Mavericks recorded a season-high 12 steals after posting a then-season-high 10 at #8 Gonzaga on Tuesday … Bryant led the theft charge as he was a menace all night, recording a career-high six steals – two shy of tying the all-time single-game program record … the Mavs won for the second time this year when shooting below 40 percent from the floor (39.7) … Crowe and Donovan Fields – who scored the first nine points of the night for Cal Poly – led the Mustangs with 18 points each … UTA went 23-34 (67.6 percent) from the free-throw line compared with 8-12 (66.7 percent) for Cal Poly … the score was tied nine times, the lead changed eight times and neither team led by double figures.
 
THIS AND THAT
UTA snapped its first seven-game losing streak since 2002 … the Mavericks entered the game ranked 9th in the nation in 3-point percentage defense at 26.7 and held Cal Poly close to that average (31.3; 10-32) … this was the backend of a home-and-home series, which started a year ago to the day of this year's matchup: Dec. 21, 2017, at the College Park Center … the Mavs won that game too, 77-56 … the Mavs used their 9th different starting lineup in 12 games this year … with 8:27 remaining in the 1st half, Cal Poly committed its 7th foul; however, UTA was not awarded a 1-and-1 free-throw attempt because the scorer's table did not inform the officials … it could have played a significant result in the outcome of the game as UTA trailed by two points before Warren's heroics in the closing seconds of regulation.
 
NEXT UP
UTA will break for Christmas before returning to action at in-state foe Texas at 7 p.m. on Dec. 28.