JONESBORO, Ark. – Trailing by double figures with less than eight minutes remaining Saturday at Arkansas State (11-15, 5-8 Sun Belt Conference), the UT Arlington men's basketball team (12-14, 8-5 SBC) had the ball with a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but the Mavericks' comeback attempt fell just short as they dropped an 83-79 decision to the Red Wolves.
 
With 17 seconds remaining and UTA trailing by three, 79-76, the Mavs forced a 5-second inbound violation on A-State, and on the ensuing Maverick possession Brian Warren was fouled going to the hoop. However, he was only able to make 1-of-2 free-throw attempts, and it remained a two-point game – this time 81-79 – with three seconds left. But on the next A-State possession, Ty Cockfield was fouled and hit both attempts to create the final margin.
 
Warren led UTA with his fifth 20+ point game this year, finishing with 21 on the day to go along with five assists, three rebounds and three steals. David Azore helped mount the comeback attempt, scoring 14 of his career-high-tying 16 points in the 2nd half.
 
Azore completely took over the UTA offense in the closing 10 minutes. With the Mavs trailing 64-54 and under nine minutes remaining, the redshirt freshman scored 14 of UTA's next 18 points to pull the visitors within 74-72 with a little over three minutes left. However, a two-point margin would be as close as UTA would get down the stretch.
 
Coming into the game UTA led the SBC in league games by holding opponents to just 40.5 percent from the floor, but A-State connected at a 52-percent clip (27-52), including a 52-percent rate (11-21) from 3-point range. The Mavericks entered Saturday ranked 8th in the nation in 3-point percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 29 percent from beyond the arc.
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS OGDEN
"We didn't defend the way that we have been recently, and we got out-worked again which can't happen. We showed some resiliency to battle back in the 2nd half, but we dug ourselves too big of hole.
 
We lost a bit of our edge and intensity this weekend, and we need to get that back immediately. We've got to learn from these two losses and move ahead to re-focusing our efforts on Louisiana in a big game Thursday night."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The 83 points A-State scored were the second-most allowed all year by UTA, and were the most surrendered to an SBC foe (UTA was allowing just 66.8 points per game). Additionally, the 11 3-pointers the Red Wolves knocked down were the most against UTA this season.
 
Individually, Cockfield scored a game-high 27 points – the first time all conference season that the Mavs have allowed a top-10 scorer in the league to surpass his season average (21.8). Marquis Eaton was right behind Cockfield, tallying a career-high 26 points on the strength of 4-5 from beyond the arc.
 
Andres Ibarguen closed in on a double-double for UTA, netting nine points and grabbing a game-high-tying eight rebounds. Freshman Ayoub Nouhi came one point shy of matching his season- and career-high total of nine as he was a perfect 3-3 from the floor. That effort was equaled by Radshad Davis, who also narrowed in on a double-double with eight rebounds to go along with those eight points.
 
THIS AND THAT
It marked the first time this conference season that UTA has dropped consecutive road games, and the first time the Mavs have lost two-straight since the first two contests of the SBC season ... UTA finished 41 percent from the floor (26-63) … the Mavs out-rebounded A-State, 37-29 … UTA went 20-23 (87 percent) from the free-throw line … UTA is receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll this week for the second time this year.
 
SUN BELT STANDINGS
Despite getting swept on the road this weekend, UTA – which was picked to finish 11th in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll – is still tied for 3rd in the SBC standings with Georgia Southern. Texas State (10-3) holds a one-game lead for 1st over Georgia State (9-4). The top-2 seeds receive a bye to the tournament semifinals; seeds 3 and 4 get a bye to the quarterfinals.
 
NEXT UP
UTA returns home to the College Park Center to face Louisiana (Thursday, Feb. 21 @ 7 p.m.) and ULM (Saturday, Feb. 23 @ 2 p.m.).
 
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).