MOBILE, Ala. – The UT Arlington men's basketball team (14-15, 10-6 Sun Belt Conference) knocked down a season-high 15 3-pointers – tied for the 3rd-most in program history – en route to a dominant 75-57 win Thursday night over South Alabama (13-15, 6-9 SBC) inside the Mitchell Center.
 
The Mavericks shot a season-high 56 percent (28-50) from the floor as part of a season-best 58 percent (15-26) from 3-point range to easily cruise to their 10th league win and guarantee a top-6 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament in New Orleans in two weeks.
 
Brian Warren scored a game-high-tying 18 points, Edric Dennis snapped a four-game single-digit scoring streak with 15 and Jabari Narcis netted a season-best 11 points – including a perfect 3-3 from 3-point range for the 6-foot-9 forward – who had made seven triples all year entering the contest.
 
The Mavs used an 11-0 run early in the 1st half to turn a 13-10 deficit into a 21-13 lead, and UTA never allowed USA to get closer than five points the rest of the night.
 
With the win, UTA remains in sole possession of 4th place in the SBC standings at 10-6, one game back of Georgia State and Georgia Southern which are both 11-5 and in 2nd place. Texas State maintains a one-game lead on 1st with a 12-4 record.
 
Louisiana and ULM are one game behind UTA in the loss column, tied for 5th with 8-7 records. Coastal Carolina dropped to 7-8 in the league and is the sole occupant of 7th place; the Mavs swept the Chanticleers in the regular season, hence why they would have the tiebreaker on CCU and the guaranteed top-6 seed regardless of what transpires over the final two games.
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS OGDEN
"We played with intensity, heart and energy, and that showed in the final outcome. We dove for loose balls, and our mindset was where it needed to be right from the opening tip. Ed got us off to a good start offensively, and we all fed off that and knocked down open shots and also some contested ones."
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Mavs used the aforementioned 11-0 surge as part of a larger 16-2 run to open up a 26-15 lead, which they extended to a 14-point edge, 33-19, by the under-4 media timeout. The 11-0 spurt began with an Andres Ibarguen putback layup before Dennis clipped off his own personal 6-0 run and Warren capped it with a triple.
 
Dennis broke out of his scoring slump quickly, leading the way offensively for UTA with 12 points in the opening half as the Mavs shot exactly 50 percent from the field (13-26) and 3 (7-14) on their way to a 36-25 halftime lead.
 
The Jaguars got their deficit down to five, 47-42, with a little over 12 minutes to play, but TiAndre Jackson-Young's first points of the night spearheaded his own personal 8-2 run. The junior knocked down a pull-up jumper at the free-throw line and then buried consecutive 3-pointers for all eight of his points in a 90-second span.
 
That pushed the UTA cushion back to 11, 55-44 – and, except for when it was 55-46 – the Mavs led by double figures the rest of the way.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
UTA – which leads the SBC in league games in field-goal percentage defense – limited USA to just 37 percent (21-57) from the floor and 32 percent (7-22) from 3-point range. David Azore finished with six points, three rebounds and a game-high four assists, while Radshad Davis tallied seven points and corralled four rebounds as part of a 33-27 rebounding edge for UTA.
 
Josh Ajayi led the hosts with a double-double performance of 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Trhae Mitchell added 17. UTA came into the game with the conference's second-best scoring defense in league games, allowing just 69.7 points per game, and for the 12th time in 16 SBC games held their opponent below their conference scoring average; USA entered the night averaging 74.1 per game, but were held to a league season-low 57.
 
THIS AND THAT
The all-time program record for 3-pointers made is 17, which came in 2015 against Bradley; the Mavs knocked down 16 versus Texas State in 1991 … 15 makes has now been done eight times in the 60-year history of the program … UTA clinched its eighth-straight season of a .500 or better conference record (2011-12: Southland; 2012-13: Western Athletic; 2013-Present: Sun Belt) … the victory was the fifth in a row by the Mavericks in the series … every single USA played had a negative +/- ratio … Pedro Castro scored five points, grabbed five rebounds and issued two assists … both teams featured coaches who are in their first year at the school … UTA is now 5-3 on the road in the SBC this year.
 
SUN BELT INFO
After being predicted to finish 2nd-to-last (11th place) in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll, UTA controls its own destiny for no worse than a top-4 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament. If the season ended today, the Mavs' #4 seed in the conference tournament would give them a double-bye into the quarterfinals. UTA can still finish with anywhere between a #1 and a #6 seed.
 
The top-2 seeds receive byes all the way to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals; the 3-4 seeds get byes to the quarterfinals, and the 5-6 seeds automatically advance to the second round. Seeds 7-10 will play in opening-round games hosted on the campuses of the #7 and #8 seeds, with the winners of those contests advancing to New Orleans. The bottom-2 teams do not qualify for the tournament.
 
NEXT UP
UTA heads to Troy to face the Trojans (4-11) on Saturday at 2 p.m. Troy dropped a 58-44 decision to Texas State on Thursday night at home, and has lost four in a row.
 
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).