ARLINGTON – Behind TiAndre Jackson-Young's game-high 19 points and a career-high 17-point Maverick debut from Jordan Phillips, the UT Arlington men's basketball team (1-0) never trailed en route to an 84-50 season-opening win over UT Dallas on Tuesday night inside the College Park Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UTA took a 37-21 halftime lead before shooting 56.3 percent (18-32) from the field in the 2nd half to cruise to their sixth-straight victory to open a season.
 
The Mavericks commenced the 2nd half with three of their first four baskets coming off fast-break dunks, feeding energy into a full student section which set the stage for a final 20 minutes in which the hosts held the Comets – who entered ranked #11 in the Division-III National Poll – to just 36.4 percent (12-33) from the floor.
 
Seven different Mavericks made a 3-pointer on the night as UTA shot 40.5 percent from long distance, tying for the 3rd-most 3-pointers made in single-game program history by going 15-37 from behind the arc.
 
Jackson-Young's 19 points were a career high in a Maverick uniform as the senior forward shot 7-10 from the field, including 5-8 from long distance to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
 
A transfer from Arkansas this past January, Phillips was granted a waiver for immediately eligibility and the sophomore took advantage on Tuesday by shooting 5-8 from the field while going 6-9 from the free-throw line. He also pulled down a team-high-tying five rebounds as part of a 45-39 rebounding edge for the Mavs.
 
Phillips wasn't the only Mav newcomer to have a hot hand on the night as freshman Sam Griffin used 4-7 shooting from behind the arc to finish as the third UTA member in double-figure scoring with 12 points to go along with three assists.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Head coach Chris Ogden went to his bench early and often as UTA scored 49 bench points with 10 different Mavericks registering a bucket on the night (13 total players); Jackson-Young and Griffin both came off the bench.
 
The Mavs turned the ball over only 10 times and out-assisted the Comets 25-8. While UTD committed just 13 turnovers of its own, UTA took advantage of those miscues every time down the floor with a dominant edge in points off turnovers of 25-3.
 
Jabari Narcis, Brian Warren, Radshad Davis, Patrick Mwamba and Coleman Sparling all each also grabbed five rebounds to match Phillips. A Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team selection, Warren tallied three points but showcased other elements of his game on Tuesday as the senior dished out a game-high seven assists – one shy of UTD's team total.
 
UTA held UTD to just 25 percent (8-32) shooting in the 1st half as part of a 30.8-percent clip (20-65) for the game. Meanwhile, the Mavs connected at a 49.2-percent rate (31-63) for the contest.
 
THEY SAID IT
"Our returners did a really good job of setting the tone for our new guys from the beginning. That allowed us to get some momentum and we were able to stretch the lead heading into halftime (8-2 run over the final 2:20). In the 2nd half we were able to get some rhythm and confidence on the offensive end, and that's something we've been working on all summer and fall." – Head Coach Chris Ogden
 
THIS AND THAT

• Since 2005-06 UTA has now gone 13-1 in its last 14 openers.
• UTA extends its all-time record against UT Dallas to 5-1.
• The game was an exhibition contest for UT Dallas, but all statistics and the final result are official for UTA.
• UTA went just 7-14 from the free throw line, and the Mavs held a 27-5 edge in fastbreak points.

NEXT UP
UTA returns to the CPC on Saturday for the Homecoming tilt with traditional mid-major force Tulsa at 7 p.m. The Lady Mavs get the split doubleheader started with a matchup against Chicago State at 2:30 p.m.
   
PURCHASE TICKETS
Season tickets start as low as $99, and tickets for all home games are available by visiting UTATickets.com, calling the UTA Box Office at (817) 272-9595 or by stopping by the College Park Center during regular business hours.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).