LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A better defensive effort from the UT Arlington men's basketball team (4-6, 0-2) still wasn't enough to prevent Little Rock (6-3, 2-0) from claiming a second Sun Belt Conference win in as many days over the Mavericks as UTA dropped a 75-62 decision Saturday inside the Jack Stephens Center.
 
Only 24 hours after the two teams combined for 195 points as part of a 102-93 Little Rock win on Friday, both clubs flipped the script and upped the defensive intensity on Saturday, but a decisive 2nd-half run by the Trojans was too much for the Mavs to overcome.
 
Shahada Wells reached double-figure points for the eighth time in nine games this year for a shorthanded UTA squad with a team-best 22. After recording a career-high 25 points on Friday, Sam Griffin tallied 18 for the Mavericks, but those were the only double-figure scorers for the Mavs, who connected at just a 32-percent clip (21-66) from the floor.
 
Little Rock used a game-changing 13-0 run in the early stages of the 2nd half to turn a two-point lead into a 15-point edge which eventually grew to as much as 18 as the Trojans separated themselves from the Mavs, who were missing some key players.
 
UTA was without its 2nd-leading scorer, David Azore, due to an injury; additionally, during the game starting point guard Nicolas Elame and forward Lazaro Rojas both went down with injuries and did not return.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY SUMMARY
Wells set the tone for the Mavs from the outset, scoring 10 of their first 12 points as UTA methodically built a 16-9 lead at the midway point of the 1st half despite Little Rock sitting in the bonus at that juncture.
 
That seven-point edge was the result of a 7-0 run, but the hosts responded with a 7-0 stretch of their own to tie the contest, and the two sides traded buckets the rest of the way before the Trojans took a slim 26-25 lead into the halftime break.
 
The two teams alternated buckets to open the 2nd half as well, but with Little Rock possessing a 34-32 lead at the 15-minute mark, the Trojans rattled off the aforementioned 13-unanswered points over the next five minutes to take a 47-32 cushion at the midway point of the stanza. The lead eventually grew to as much as 18 on multiple occasions.
 
Little Rock also held an 18-point 2nd-half lead on Friday before UTA whittled that down to five in the closing minutes. The Mavs tried to duplicate that effort on Saturday, but couldn't get their deficit any smaller than 10 the rest of the way.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Jordan Phillips just missed reaching double figures with nine points for the Mavs.
• Wells tied a season high with seven rebounds, but UTA was out-rebounded, 44-23. Wells also recorded a game-high-tying three steals, along with Davis Steelman.
• UTA knocked down 12 3-pointers (12-33, 36 percent), its most versus a Division-I opponent this year.
• Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year Ruot Monyyong recorded a double-double with 18 points and a game-best 15 rebounds.
• Ben Coupet Jr. led the Trojans offensively for the second-straight day with 26 points on 6-8 from 3-point range.
• Marko Andric added 13 points, and Nikola Maric netted 12 to conclude the quartet of double-figure scorers for Little Rock. Andric added eight rebounds and a game-best six assists.
• Little Rock shot 56 percent (23-41) from the floor and 50 percent (7-14) from beyond the arc.
• The Trojans went 22-28 (79 percent) from the free-throw line; UTA went 8-16 (50 percent) after going 19-20 (95 percent) on Friday.
• Little Rock's leading scorer Markquis Nowell (17 per game) did not play for the second-straight day; the guard entered the contest ranked 9th nationally with four double-doubles on the season as he also averages 8.9 assists – 3rd in the country.
• UTA head coach Chris Ogden utilized his sixth-different starting lineup of the season: Griffin, Wells, Steelman, Patrick Mwamba and Fredelin De La Cruz.

THIS AND THAT

• UTA had its streak of scoring 90+ points in four-straight games snapped.
• This was the second game of a four-game stretch for UTA opening Sun Belt play on the road for the second-straight year – the only school in the conference that has been dealt that hand.
• This is now the fourth-straight season UTA has started Sun Belt play 0-2; however, in each of the previous three seasons the Mavs have rebounded to win 10+ league games each of those years.
• Little Rock went 15-5 in Sun Belt play last year and had the #1 seed in the conference tournament before it was canceled due to COVID-19.

NEXT UP
UTA heads back out on the road to face ULM next Friday and Saturday, Jan. 8-9, to take on the Warhawks with start times of 6 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. ULM is 2-0 in Sun Belt play after sweeping Arkansas State in Monroe this weekend.
 
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).