RUSTON, La. – The UT Arlington men's basketball team (1-2) placed five players in double-figure scoring as the balanced Mavericks' attack led them to an 80-71 win over Northwestern State (0-2) Saturday as part of the Louisiana Tech Classic presented by Hampton Inn of Ruston.
 
Patrick Mwamba and Fredelin De La Cruz both posted their first double-doubles with UTA as Mwamba tallied a career-high-tying 13 points to go along with a career-and-game best 12 rebounds. De La Cruz tallied 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
 
Shahada Wells continued his brilliant start to his Maverick tenure with a game-high-tying 15 points in addition to three assists and three steals. David Azore joined his junior classmate in reaching double-figure points in the first three games of the season with 12, while also contributing seven rebounds and three assists.
 
Nicolas Elame came one point shy of equaling his career high as he netted 11 and secured five rebounds as part of a game-best plus/minus of +19.
 
Playing its third game in four days to open the unprecedented 2020-21 season, UTA led for all but 76 seconds as the Mavericks held a double-figure lead throughout much of the contest and had their advantage threatened on only a couple of occasions.
 
In stark contrast to the opening halves of its first two games of the season in which UTA averaged 32 percent from the floor and 27.5 points, the Mavs connected at a 50-percent clip on Saturday (18-36) en route to 45 1st-half points. Additionally, in those first two games against Oklahoma State and LA Tech, the Mavs had nine different players combined score in the 1st half; they had 10 on Saturday alone in the first 20 minutes.
 
UTA kept that offensive pace up in the 2nd half despite not as good of a field-goal percentage (33 percent; 12-36). The Mavs more than made up for that by registering another 12-steal performance – already their second of the season – which led to them doubling up the Demons in points off turnovers, 22-11.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY SUMMARY
A 6-0 run midway through the 1st half – capped and accentuated by a Wells' steal and one-handed dunk – gave the Mavs an early double-figure lead at 21-9 heading to the under-12 media timeout. At that point, UTA – which was -14 in bench points Friday night against LA Tech – had a 10-0 edge in that category against the Demons.
 
UTA extended the lead to 15 on multiple occasions over the next several minutes, but holding a 28-13 advantage at the 8-minute mark the Mavs allowed a quick 11-0 spurt by NSU to pull the Demons within four, 28-24.
 
Unfazed, the Mavs rebutted with a 10-0 march of their own to re-claim a 14-point edge, 38-24, late in the period before settling for a 45-36 halftime lead.
 
UTA wasted no time in forging back ahead by double figures as Mwamba knocked down a corner triple on the Mavs' first possession of the 2nd half, and UTA eventually extended to its largest lead of the afternoon at 58-42 at the 14-minute mark following a pair of Azore free throws.
 
With UTA maintaining a 15-point cushion, 62-47, the Demons rattled off 11-unanswered points to pull back within four with 8 minutes left – their closest margin since it was 28-24 with 7 minutes remaining in the 1st half.
 
However, a big put-back layup by Elame followed by a possession in which De La Cruz pulled down three-straight offensive boards to finally produce a free throw gave the Mavs a seven-point edge – which was pushed back to 10 when Mwamba hit a crucial 3-pointer to make it a 68-58 contest with 6 minutes showing.
 
That lead again grew back to as much as 12 before NSU had another push to get back within seven, 75-68, with less than 3 minutes remaining. However, following a UTA timeout at the 2:56 mark, Elame knocked down a jumper to put the Mavs back in front by nine, and from there they led by no fewer than seven the rest of the way.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Mwamba's previous career high for rebounds was nine at Missouri on Dec. 4, 2018. His only other 13-point outing came in his first career game against UT Tyler on Nov. 6, 2018.
• UTA's 12 steals brings the Mavs' average to 10.3 over the first three games of the year.
• Sam Griffin just missed his second-straight double-figure scoring game with nine points.
• De La Cruz, a 6-foot-7 forward, also had three steals and two blocks.
• UTA finished at 42 percent from the floor (30-72), compared with NSU's 39 percent (27-70).
• Jairus Roberson and Trenton Massner both scored 15 points to lead the Demons, while Jamaure Gregg tallied 11 to finish as the other double-figure scorer.
• UTA out-rebounded NSU, 48-44.

THIS AND THAT

• UTA avoided what would have been its first 0-3 start to a season since 2001-02.
• UTA now owns a 30-22 all-time record against Northwestern State in a series which dates back to 1972. This was the first meeting between the two sides since February of 2012 when they were both members of the Southland Conference.
• Northwestern State opened its season with a loss at #14 Texas Tech on Wednesday night.
• Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech will face each other on Sunday afternoon to conclude the Louisiana Tech Classic.

NEXT UP
UTA will return to campus for a few days before heading back on the road to travel to Fayetteville to face Arkansas on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m., for a contest which will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
 
The Razorbacks are 1-0 on the year after blowing past Mississippi Valley State, 142-62, on Wednesday; Arkansas welcomes North Texas to Bud Walton Arena later on Saturday.
 
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).