ARLINGTON – In a battle of teams tied for 2nd place in the Sun Belt Conference, it was the UT men's basketball team (11-12, 7-3 Sun Belt Conference) using a stout defensive effort and an efficient performance on the offensive end to lead the Mavericks into a 1st-place tie with an impressive 74-54 win Thursday night over Coastal Carolina (12-9, 6-4 SBC) inside the College Park Center.
 
With the victory, UTA – winners of seven of its last eight and arguably the hottest team in the league – snapped Coastal's five-game winning streak and joined Georgia State and Texas State atop the Sun Belt standings just past the midway point of the regular season.
 
Andres Ibarguen orchestrated his second double-double of the year with 12 points and 15 rebounds, while Edric Dennis added 14 points, TiAndre Jackson-Young netted 13 and Ayoub Nouhi tied his career- and season-high with nine points.
 
UTA – which was predicted to finish 11th (2nd-to-last) in the SBC Preseason Poll – put the contest away early with a game-changing 22-2 run in the 1st half, turning a 10-4 deficit into a 26-12 advantage with just over four minutes remaining. Coastal would momentarily get its deficit back down to single digits at nine, 30-21, late in the half, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Radshad Davis put the Mavs in front by a dozen at the break.
 
UTA raced out of the halftime locker room by scoring the first five points to forge ahead by 17, 31-28, and extended the cushion to 21 a few minutes later, 45-24, following a Nouhi baseline drive and finish. The Mavs never allowed the Chanticleers to get any closer than 17 the rest of the night as UTA sent another statement across the SBC.
 
The Mavericks held CCU to a paltry 22.6 percent (14-62) from the floor as the Chants received 22 of their points from the free-throw line (22-32, 68.8 percent). Included in that extremely low field-goal percentage was UTA – which entered the contest ranked 14th in the nation in 3-point percentage defense at 29.7 – limiting Coastal to just 4-21 (19 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
On the other side, UTA connected at a 42-percent rate (26-62), and that included finishing the game 0-8 from the floor. The Mavs connected at an 80-percent clip (16-20) from the free-throw line to post their largest win of the season versus a Division-I opponent (previous: 10 at Appalachian State).
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS OGDEN
"First I'd like to thank the crowd, especially the students. I thought that was really neat for our guys to have that type of turnout and that energy in that end of the arena. That support really does make a difference.
 
In terms of the game, I thought Andres got us off to a great start with his intensity and rebounding and defending. We moved the ball well, but the biggest thing was we really guarded and locked in to the scouting report.
 
But we've got to come in tomorrow, learn from this game and continue to get better. And then doing what we have to do in a quick turnaround to guard and attack Appalachian State. We'll attack it like any game."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The 21 points UTA held Coastal to in the 1st half were the second-fewest the Mavs – who lead the SBC in scoring defense in league games – have allowed in any stanza this year (Arkansas State, 18). UTA held CCU to just 27.6 percent (8-29) from the floor in the 1st half, including only a 22.2-percent clip from 3-point range (2-9).
 
Conversely, UTA received eight points each from Dennis and Ibarguen in the opening 20 minutes and connected at a 43.3-percent rate (13-30) from the floor to build that double-figure halftime lead despite committing eight turnovers which CCU converted into 13 points.
 
The matchup pitted the reigning Sun Belt Co-Players of the Week in UTA's Brian Warren and CCU's Zac Cuthbertson, with Warren tallying nine points, six rebounds and six assists and Cuthbertson netting just five points.
 
UTA's stout defense once again locked down on one of the league's best scorers as for the 10th time in 10 conference games the Mavericks held a top-10 scorer in the SBC below his season average. On Thursday it was Cutherbertson, who came in averaging 19 per game.
 
Making up for that disparity was DeVante Jones netting 15 points and Ebrima Dibba tallying 12 and recording six rebounds.
 
THIS AND THAT
Dennis is now just 19 points shy of 1,000 for his career … Ibarguen also grabbed a game-high eight offensive rebounds … his 15 rebounds were also the most by any UTA player this season … nine different Mavericks scored in the win … Ogden's "March Mustache" was a hit with fans, who wore replica mustaches at Thursday's game.
 
NEXT UP
The Mavericks return to their home floor for a game against Appalachian State at 2 p.m. 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).