ARLINGTON – Behind a 21-point performance from Brian Warren, the UT Arlington men's basketball team (12-15, 8-8 Sun Belt) never trailed and posted an impressive 76-65 win over Sun Belt Conference leader Little Rock (18-9, 12-4 Sun Belt) Saturday inside the College Park Center to complete a pivotal weekend sweep.
 
Sam Griffin continued his stellar freshman campaign with 17 points for UTA, while Jordan Phillips reached double-figure scoring for the third-straight time with 12. Jabari Narcis closed in on a double-double with eight points and a game-best nine rebounds as UTA posted an impressive 42-34 rebounding edge.
 
Warren scored 16 of his game-high point total in the 2nd half as the Mavericks went 18-20 (90 percent) from the free-throw line in the closing 20 minutes to stave off the Trojans. The win evened UTA's conference record, and more importantly kept the Mavs just two games out of 3rd place entering next weekend in which they will host 11-5 Georgia State and 10-6 Georgia Southern.
 
With the game tied at 63-63 and just over four minutes remaining, 6-foot-9 forward Jabari Narcis rose up from the wing and knocked down a 3-pointer which spearheaded an 11-0 game-solidifying run by the Mavs to put the hosts up 74-63 with just over 60 seconds remaining.
 
The Mavs led wire-to-wire against a Little Rock team that had won seven in a row coming into the weekend but dropped its second straight to come back to the pack in the Sun Belt regular-season race. The Trojans entered Thursday with a three-game lead in the standings, but that was trimmed to one after action on Saturday as UTA remains firmly in contention for high seeding entering next month's Sun Belt Tournament.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
All 12 of UTA's wins have now come when the Mavs have led at the half (33-28 Saturday), shot at least 40 percent (41.0, 25-61) and had a better 3-point percentage than its opponent (29.4, 5-17; 22.2, 4-18).
 
Entering the game, Little Rock led the Sun Belt in league games in field-goal percentage (49.3), but the Mavs held the Trojans to just 42.6 percent (23-54) on Saturday. UTA also locked down on the league's 3rd-leading scorer, Markquis Nowell, six below his season average with only 11. Nikola Maric led Little Rock with 13 points, while Ben Coupet Jr. netted 12.
 
Little Rock also entered action leading the Sun Belt in conference games by connecting at a 37.5-percent clip from 3-point range. UTA boasts the league's best 3-point defense, and that won out on Saturday as the Mavs locked down and limited the Trojans to just 4-18 (22.2 percent) from deep.
 
UTA pushed the tempo nearly every time it could, and it resulted in a crucial 29-11 advantage in fastbreak points. The Mavs forced Little Rock into 17 turnovers which resulted in a 20-13 edge in points off giveaways.
 
David Azore finished with eight points and seven rebounds. Radshad Davis scored six points, tied a career high with four steals and issued a season-high-tying four assists.
 
THEY SAID IT – HEAD COACH CHRIS OGDEN
"I thought we were locked in and ready for a big game, and it showed from the start. We battled on the boards and executed the gameplan, but really at the end of the day our players made plays. I'm proud of our guys; the pressure and moment wasn't too big for them. We're starting to play our best basketball when it matters most."
 
1ST-HALF RUNDOWN
UTA built early five-point leads on multiple occasions, and extended to a 15-9 edge before Little Rock responded to tie the contest at 15-all at the 10-minute mark.
 
However, the Mavs countered that push with a 9-0 run of their own over three minutes to create a 24-15 advantage. A 3-pointer from Griffin a few moments later following a Little Rock bucket propelled the Mavs to a 10-point lead, 27-17, with five minutes remaining in the half.
 
The Trojans carved into that deficit with an 8-0 run to get back within two, 27-25, but the Mavs responded and scored five points inside the closing minute to take a 33-28 lead into the halftime break.
 
UTA turned the Trojans over 12 times in the opening 20 minutes and held a 19-18 rebounding edge. The Mavs pushed the tempo when they could, resulting in a key 13-5 advantage in fastbreak points.
 
2ND-HALF RUNDOWN
UTA won the opening several minutes of the stanza and re-built an eight-point lead, 39-31, at the 13:30 mark before the Trojans responded with a 6-0 run to trim its deficit back to two, 39-37.
 
That prompted a timeout by Ogden, and UTA – in particularly Warren – responded immediately as the senior guard scored all six points in a 6-0 rebuttal by the Mavs to go back in front, 45-37.
 
However, Little Rock chipped away and eventually tied the contest for just the third time at 52-52 with seven minutes remaining.
 
On the ensuing UTA possession, Davis made a low-post move and finished a crucial and-1 play with the free throw to put the Mavs ahead again by three, 55-52. The two sides alternated buckets from there over the next several trips, and the contest remained tied at 63-63 with under five minutes remaining.
 
THIS AND THAT

• UTA posted a season-high 13 steals. The Mavs went 21-27 (77.8 percent from the free-throw line), tied for their second-most makes from the charity stripe this season.
• As previously mentioned, Little Rock never led, and the game was tied on five occasions. The Mavs led for a total of 36:55.
• After playing just five home games in the first 56 days of the Sun Belt regular season – the fewest of any Sun Belt team – UTA played its second contest of a five-game homestand which will be in a 16-day stretch – the most home games of any Sun Belt team.
• Despite their record, the Mavs came into Saturday as the 2nd-highest ranked Sun Belt team in the NET Rankings at #125 (Georgia State #120).

NEXT UP
UTA will continue that homestand next week with games against two of the top-3 teams in the league in Georgia State and Georgia Southern. The Mavs will take on the Panthers on Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. before facing the Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m.
 
PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets for all remaining home games are available by visiting UTATickets.com, calling the UTA Box Office at (817) 272-9595 or by stopping by the College Park Center during regular business hours.
 
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).