ARLINGTON – Behind a season-high 32-point outburst from Edric Dennis, the UT Arlington men's basketball team (8-11, 4-2 Sun Belt Conference) never trailed en route to an 82-73 win over Little Rock (7-12, 2-4 SBC) Saturday afternoon at the College Park Center, extending the Mavericks' winning streak to four.
 
UTA never trailed, raced to its first double-digit halftime lead of the year and knocked down a season-high 34 free throws as the Mavericks remained in a tie for 3rd place in the Sun Belt, but sit just one game out of 1st – which is now occupied by Georgia State and Texas State at 5-1.
 
Dennis scored 18 in the 1st half and finished the game 15-17 from the free-throw line – tied for the 9th-most makes by a player in single-game program history. Brian Warren was the lone other double-figure scorer for the Mavs with 12.
 
Entering the game with 13 total points in 16 games this year, true freshman Ayoub Nouhi scored nine points in 17 minutes in a starting role for UTA, and also corralled a career-high five rebounds to aid in the Mavs' 35-29 rebound edge.
 
UTA led for 37:56 of the game, and the contest was only tied on two occasions: 0-0 and 8-8.
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS OGDEN
On Winning At Home:
"Well, it's important because you've got to protect home. If you want to be a part of the fight in March, then you have to protect your home court. These two were important to get."
 
On The Offense's Efficiency
"Shots were falling. We got some layups. The last two games, we've gotten layups, which helps. We finished acouple of open-court plays. When you get easy baskets, your field-goal percentage goes up and then it takes the pressure off your jump shots. So that's the biggest thing."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Andres Ibarguen converted a layup 45 seconds in to give UTA a 2-0 lead, and the Mavericks never trailed the rest of the afternoon. That start triggered a 6-0 beginning for the Mavs following freshman Ayoub Nouhi's first career 3-pointer, and the Mavs grew that advantage to as much as 12, 49-37, before settling for a 49-38 lead at halftime – their largest of the season.
 
UTA shot a blistering 54 percent (14-26) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, connected at a 63-percent rate (5-8) from the 3-point line and went 89 percent (16-18) from the free-throw line to create its double-figure intermission lead.
 
Dennis knocked down his first 3-point attempt to expand the UTA lead to 14, 52-38, and the Trojans couldn't get any closer than seven the rest of the contest as the Mavs cruised to their fourth-straight win after starting 0-2 in the league.
 
Little Rock's Rayjon Tucker came into the game ranking 3rd in the Sun Belt with 20 points per game, but like they've done all conference season the Mavs locked in on one of the league's best offensive weapons. Saturday marked the sixth time already this SBC schedule that UTA had faced one of the league's top-10 scorers, and now all six times the Mavs have held each of those players below their season average as Tucker tallied 15.
 
The Mavericks' 49 1st-half points was their highest-scoring 1st-half against a Division-I opponent this season … Nouhi nailed both of his first-half 3-point attempts … UTA's 34 free-throw makes are tied for 11th-most in program history … the Mavericks held the Trojans below their conference-leading 49.7 percent field goal percentage (44.4 percent; 24-54) … Ibarguen scored five points and grabbed five rebounds … Pedro Castro passed out a team-high four assists … UTA shot 87.2 percent from the free-throw line (34-39) and went 47.7 percent from the floor (21-44).
 
THIS AND THAT
After sitting out in Thursday's win against Arkansas State with an ankle injury, David Azore played 22 minutes against Little Rock and grabbed a team-high six rebounds … UTA fell short of holding its third straight SBC opponent under 60 points, which would've been a first in program history.
 
NEXT UP
UTA returns to the road when the Mavs travel to take on Georgia Southern (Jan. 24, 6 PM) and Georgia State (Jan. 26, 12 PM).
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
In an effort to enhance public safety and the fan experience, for all UTA men's and women's home games this season the College Park Center will implement a clear-bag policy. All purses, containers, backpacks or anything larger than a small clutch bag are prohibited, and items must be placed in a clear tote bag not to exceed 12" x 6" x 12". For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UTAMavs.com/BasketballGameday.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
To secure tickets for upcoming games and find out about additional gameday procedures, log on to UTATickets.com. Additionally, for updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTA_MBB) and Instagram (@UTA_Hoops).