STATESBORO, Ga. – The UT Arlington men's basketball team (9-11, 5-2 Sun Belt Conference) made a statement Thursday night against Georgia Southern (12-8, 4-3 SBC) as the Mavericks erased a 13-point 2nd-half deficit to knock off the Eagles, 72-67, inside Hanner Fieldhouse to move into 2nd place in the league and remain just one game out of 1st.
 
David Azore came off the bench to score a game-high 15 points, including a critical 8-8 from the free-throw line, while Brian Warren added 14 points and Radshad Davis netted 11 and corralled seven rebounds in just 14 foul-plagued minutes.
 
After shooting just 29 percent (9-31) from the floor in the 1st half, UTA exploded to connect at a 55.2-percent rate (16-29) in the 2nd half, helping key the comeback effort. Helping aid in that march was UTA – which came in ranked 21st nationally in 3-point percentage defense (29.4) – holding one of the nation's most prolific offenses to just 23.8 percent (5-21) from beyond the arc and only 44.6 percent (29-65) from the floor.
 
The Eagles entered the contest ranked 7th in the nation in field-goal percentage at 50.3, and checked in 10th in the country at 85.4 points per game. For the seventh time in seven SBC games this year, UTA held its league opponent below its conference scoring average.
 
UTA's fifth-straight win looked in doubt against the preseason 2nd-place Eagles as Georgia Southern built a 48-35 lead just three minutes into the 2nd half before the Mavericks started to chip away. That deficit was completely erased when Warren hit a 3-pointer in front of the UTA bench with just under 10 minutes remaining to tie the contest at 56-56.
 
After Georgia Southern went back in front off a Tookie Brown 3-pointer, Pedro Castro hit a pivotal 3 of his own to re-tie the contest, 59-59, before Davis converted consecutive layups – the first off a steal – to put the Mavs up four, 63-59, and UTA never trailed again.
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS OGDEN
"That was a hell of a team win. Once we settled into the game, we just started competing. Everybody played their game and made plays. Individually we stepped up and made plays the last 12 minutes. That's the bottom line. Our guys did it, and they should be very proud of themselves."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
UTA is now 8-0 when scoring at least 68 points this year, and the Mavs once again locked in defensively on one of the Sun Belt's most explosive offensive weapons in Brown, who came in averaging 17 per game (10th in the league), but finished with 11. In each of UTA's first seven SBC games, the Mavs have faced a player who ranks in the top 10 in the conference in scoring, and all seven times they have held that player below his season average.
 
The Mavs finished the game 41.7 percent (25-60) from the field … Andres Ibarguen scored eight points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds … Edric Dennis finished with nine points and six rebounds … Warren also passed out a game-best five assists … Brown finished as one of five Eagles' players in double-figure points with 11; the other four had 10 each … Isaiah Crawley recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds … UTA had just 10 turnovers.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Both teams traded buckets early in the contest before an Azore free throw at the 13:41 mark put UTA in front, 9-8. However, Georgia Southern responded to its first deficit of the half with a 6-0 spurt – part of a larger 12-3 run and extended 21-8 surge to take its largest lead of the opening 20 minutes, 29-17, with 6 minutes remaining.
 
But the Mavericks had a retort for that push by the hosts, and immediately had a 5-0 run behind a Jabari Narcis dunk and Warren 3-pointer before closing the stanza on an extended 14-8 run to only trail by six, 37-31, at halftime.
 
Georgia Southern did the majority of its damage in the paint in the 1st half as nearly half of the Eagles' 37 points (18) came from the below the free-throw line, while UTA got nearly half of its 31 points (15) off a quintet of 3-pointers, capped by TiAndre Jackson-Young's first triple of the night just before the halftime buzzer.
 
However, after being out-scored in the paint in the 1st half, 18-4, UTA out-scored Georgia Southern in the 2nd half, 24-18. That helped key the comeback effort, including a 14-4 edge in 2nd-chance points.
 
After the Eagles pulled within one, 67-66, with 3 minutes remaining, Jackson-Young converted a putback layup to go back up three with under 2 minutes left – and that would be the final field goal either team would make. Still up by that 69-66 margin with 20 seconds showing, Ogden elected to foul Brown in the backcourt, and he made one of two free-throw attempts. Azore then iced the contest with a pair of makes to put the Mavs up four before Dennis added one more for good measure.
 
SUN BELT UPDATE
At 5-2, UTA has matched its best seven-game start in the Sun Belt since joining the league in 2013-14. The 2015-16 and 2016-17 teams also commenced conference action 5-2 and finished 13-7 and 14-4, respectively, with the 2017 squad winning the SBC Regular Season Championship.
 
The Mavs – who were predicted to finish 2nd-to-last in the preseason Sun Belt polls – are now tied with Georgia State in 2nd place, just one game behind leader Texas State at 6-1. The Bobcats ran away from the Panthers in a 1st-place matchup earlier on Thursday, 81-68.
 
THIS AND THAT
Georgia Southern was picked to finish 2nd in the SBC preseason poll, and Saturday's opponent, Georgia State, was installed as the preseason favorites … half of UTA's first eight conference games will be against the predicted top-2 teams in the Sun Belt … through UTA's first 20 games, Ogden has utilized 13 different starting lineups – believed to be the most such starting 5 combinations in the nation to this point … the victory avenged a 77-64 setback to Georgia Southern on Jan. 5 at the College Park Center and evened the all-time series at 5-5 … each of the 10 meetings have alternated wins and losses.
 
SUITES AND SNEAKERS
As part of the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative, UTA coaches – along with all other SBC teams this weekend – donned Princess Lacey's laces in their sneakers in memory of eight-year-old basketball fan Lacey Holsworth, and the fight against pediatric cancer. Suits and Sneakers Week is a nationwide event that unites coaches across the country to raise funds and awareness about the fight against cancer and promotes the American Cancer Society as a source of inspiration and hope for those facing cancer.
 
NEXT UP
UTA faces Georgia State at 12 p.m. (CST) on Saturday.
 
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).