ARLINGTON – Picked to finish 2nd-to-last in the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Poll, the UT Arlington men's basketball team (16-15, 12-6 SBC) quieted all doubters with a 2nd-place finish in the league after a resounding wire-to-wire 81-73 win over Texas State (23-8, 12-6 SBC) Saturday afternoon inside the College Park Center.
 
The Mavericks storm into the Sun Belt Tournament next week winners of four straight and clinch a pivotal top-2 seed. The Mavs will have the #2 seed and receive a bye all the way to the semifinals on Saturday – avoiding Tuesday's opening-round campus games, Thursday's second round at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans and Friday's quarterfinal round.
 
Georgia State won the regular-season title outright with a 13-5 record to secure the #1 seed, while UTA, Georgia Southern and Texas State all finished 2nd with 12-6 marks. UTA went 3-1 against the Eagles and Bobcats, GS went 2-2 and TXST went 1-3 to post the #2, #3 and #4 seeds, respectively.
 
UTA continued its torrid shooting on Saturday against the league's top-ranked defense as for the third-straight game – the only three times all year – the Mavs shot better than 50 percent from the floor (26-50; 52 percent), led by a game-high 24 points from Brian Warren and 15 more from Edric Dennis. The Mavs led for 39:35, opened up an advantage as large as 16 in the 2nd half and were never seriously threatened as they spoiled a potential regular-season championship for Texas State.
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS OGDEN
"I'm so proud of our guys for finishing strong, and for leaving no doubt today. We talked all year about wanting to be playing our best basketball in February and March, and we're certainly doing that at the right time of the year heading into the conference tournament. We haven't achieved our ultimate goal yet, but I'm proud of the resiliency our guys showed to battle through our non-conference schedule and then all during league play. All the credit goes to them."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Warren eclipsed 20 points for the seventh time this year, scoring 17 of his in the 2nd half while finishing 8-16 from the floor, 4-7 from 3-point range and 4-5 from the free-throw line. Dennis added five rebounds and a team-high five assists while he was aggressive from the outset and finished 6-8 from the charity stripe.
 
David Azore flirted with a double-double as he totaled eight points and seven rebounds, while Andres Ibarguen tallied eight, Radshad Davis netted seven and TiAndre Jackson-Young recorded six.
 
Nijal Pearson and Mason Harrell led Texas State with 13 points each, while Jaylen Shead tallied 12 and corralled seven rebounds for the Bobcats, who shot 43 percent (22-51) from the floor, but just 18 percent (4-22) from beyond the arc against UTA's top-20 nationally-ranked 3-point defense.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
UTA created a lead as large as 12 in the 1st half before settling for a 43-37 halftime lead after a Dennis buzzer-beating 3-pointer. The Mavs connected at a gaudy 58-percent clip from the floor (14-24) in the 1st half against the stingiest defense in the Sun Belt as Texas State came in allowing just 66.6 points per game in conference action.
 
On the other side, the Bobcats shot 48 percent against UTA's 2nd-ranked defense. The Mavs – who shoot 76 percent from the free-throw line in league action – connected on just 12 of 20 (60 percent) attempts in the opening stanza, leaving points they typically convert off the scoreboard.
 
Warren came out of the locker room hot and scored UTA's first six points of the 2nd half as the Mavs' defense limited the Bobcats to just one made field goal over the opening eight minutes of the stanza. All told, UTA commenced the 2nd half on a 12-2 run to open up a 16-point lead, 55-39, and the Mavs led by double figures the rest of the way except for the final minute.
 
THIS AND THAT
UTA was 4-11 at one point on the season, and 0-2 in conference play, but now finishes the regular season above .500 … prior to the game, UTA honored graduating players Patrick Binzer, Scott Muirhead and Andres Ibarguen, along with manager Jordan Reeves … UTA shot 70 percent (21-30) from the free-throw line … the Mavs committed just 10 turnovers … Warren added three steals and four assists … Azore contributed three assists as well.
 
NEXT UP
UTA will head to New Orleans to begin its quest for a Sun Belt Tournament Championship at Lakefront Arena.
 
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).