ATLANTA – Facing the preseason Sun Belt Conference favorites and defending tournament champions on the road, the UT Arlington men's basketball team (9-12, 5-3 SBC) erased a 16-point deficit, but ultimately came up short, 77-71, against Georgia State (15-6, 6-2 SBC) Saturday afternoon inside the GSU Sports Arena.
 
Edric Dennis recorded his second career double-double with 16 points, a game-high 10 rebounds and game- and season-best six assists, but it wasn't enough as the Mavericks had their five-game winning streak snapped in a Sun Belt 2nd-place matchup.
 
Down by 16 in the 1st half, UTA fought all the way back to tie the contest late in the stanza before taking its first lead of the day early in the 2nd half. The Mavs' lead grew to as much as four early in the closing half, and the contest was tied with 10 minutes remaining, but from there GSU held leads between two and eight points the rest of the way to snap a two-game skid and move into sole possession of 2nd place.
 
Brian Warren scored a team-high 19 points for UTA – 17 of which came in the 2nd half – while Radshad Davis just missed what would have been his first double-double of the season with 12 points and nine rebounds. Andres Ibarguen rounded out the quartet of double-figure scorers for the Mavericks with 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
For the eighth time in eight Sun Belt games, UTA held a top-10 scorer in the league below his season average; on Saturday is was reigning Player of the Year D'Marcus Simonds scoring just one point in 22 minutes – a shortened appearance for the projected NBA Draft pick as he played just three 2nd-half minutes and was 0-9 from the floor. Only two other times in the junior's collegiate career has he been held to one or zero points – his second collegiate game at Auburn as a freshman (0), and later that same season against ULM (1).
 
However, stepping up in Simonds' absence was Jeff Thomas, who poured in a game-high 27 points on the strength of a 5-6 performance from 3-point range. After UTA held the Panthers to just 36.7 percent (11-30) from the floor in the 1st half, GSU connected at a 53.6-percent clip (15-28) in the 2nd half. It marked the first time all conference season that an SBC team has scored more points than its league average against the Mavericks.
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS OGDEN
"We got off to an awful start, but eventually settled into the game and our defensive stops allowed our offense to get going. But after a strong stretch at both ends in the middle of the game, we didn't finish strong like we did on Thursday at Georgia Southern. I'm proud of the fight we showed, but we got a little careless with the ball and our decision-making, and couldn't overcome those mistakes."
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Georgia State controlled the opening 12 minutes of the day and built the aforementioned 16-point lead, 26-10, with under 8 minutes left in the opening stanza. It was a 14-point GSU advantage, 28-14, with less than 5 minutes remaining before UTA embarked on a 12-0 run over three minutes, and the Mavs finally erased the entire deficit on a TiAndre Jackson-Young 3-pointer in front of the GSU bench with 50 seconds showing.
 
The Panthers responded with a 3-pointer on their ensuing possession to take a 32-29 lead into intermission, but the Mavs had plenty to build on entering the deciding 2nd half.
 
UTA commenced that second stanza on a 6-0 run, and following a Warren triple extended to their largest lead of the game, 40-36. The Mavs remained in front, or tied, until a Kane Williams dunk put GSU in front, 49-47, with under 11 minutes remaining. On the next UTA possession, Pedro Castro knocked down an elbow jumper to re-tie the contest, but a Devin Mitchell 3-pointer response but the Panthers back in front for the duration of the afternoon.
 
The Mavs made one last push, as after a pair of Dennis free throws trimmed the GSU lead to just five, 73-68, with 40 seconds left, UTA forced a Panther turnover and had a chance to make it a two-point game. However, the last of the Mavs' 14 turnovers for the day thwarted that chance, and UTA wasn't able to get closer than four, 75-71, in the final seconds.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
UTA out-rebounded GSU, 48-30, including an incredible 21-7 edge on the offensive glass which led to a 20-10 advantage in second-chance points … GSU held a 17-8 edge in points off turnovers as the Mavs committed twice as many giveaways as the Panthers … UTA shot 38.9 percent (28-72) from the floor, while GSU connected at a 44.8-percent rate (26-58) … David Azore added seven points and four rebounds for UTA, while Jackson-Young finished with five points and seven rebounds … Williams netted 16 points for GSU, while Jordan Tyson contributed 11 and Mitchell concluded his game with 10.
 
THIS AND THAT
Saturday marked the first time all year that UTA has lost when scoring at least 68 points; the Mavs were previously 8-0 … the contest concluded a challenging opening Sun Belt stretch for UTA as four of its first eight games have been against the predicted top-2 teams (Georgia Southern, 2nd) … Georgia State received all 12 1st-place votes to be installed as the preseason Sun Belt favorites, with Simonds being selected as the Preseason Player of the Year … the Panthers made their second NCAA trip in four years last season, and return four starters from that club which finished 24-11 overall.
 
SUN BELT STANDINGS
Despite the setback, UTA remains among the league leaders as the Mavericks will be in either 3rd place alone or tied with Georgia Southern for 3rd place at the time Saturday's SBC action concludes. Georgia Southern (4-3) hosts league leader Texas State (6-1) later on Saturday.
 
NEXT UP
UTA heads to San Marcos to take on Texas State – which is receiving votes in the national polls – on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 4 p.m. The Bobcats are 17-3 overall entering their tilt with the Eagles 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).