ARLINGTON – David Azore hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer which ultimately turned into a four-point play Friday night as the UT Arlington men's basketball team picked up a crucial 73-71 victory over Arkansas State inside the College Park Center.
With 12 seconds left, Azore – in just his second game back from an injury since Jan. 1 – hit a pair of free throws to put UTA in front, 69-68. A-State responded with a traditional three-point play from Marquis Eaton with 5.9 seconds remaining to go back ahead, 71-69.
UTA head coach
Chris Ogden took a timeout with the Mavericks needing to go the length of the court and designed a play which left the ball-handling decision in palms of
Jordan Phillips. Phillips pushed the ball into the front court, and just before the top of the 3-point line as defenders were converging on him he pushed a pass to the wing in front of the UTA bench.
There, Azore delivered a pump fake on a closing A-State defender, allowed him to fly past and then rose up and knocked down the 3-pointer while getting fouled. The ball went through the net with no time remaining on the clock; however, the officials convened and put 1.1 seconds back on the clock to signify when the foul occurred.
Azore headed to the line with the Mavs possessing a 72-71 lead, and the redshirt junior intentionally tried to miss the attempt as A-State had no timeouts remaining. Instead, he rattled the charity attempt home, allowing the Red Wolves to set up a potential game-tying or game-winning shot.
But, a long inbound pass by the Red Wolves was knocked down by the Mavs and fell harmlessly out of bounds as time actually expired this time to snap a three-game losing stretch for UTA.
Azore – a Preseason Sun Belt Second Team selection who has now played just two full league games this year – finished with a season-high 22 points to go along with four assists, three rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes.
Shahada Wells continued his extremely stellar and consistent play with 20 points for the Mavs; the junior guard also issued a season-high-tying seven assists and registered four steals.
Sam Griffin tallied 11 points off the bench for UTA to round out its trio of double-figure scorers.
UPDATED SUN BELT WEST DIVISION STANDINGS
1) Texas State: 11-3 (.786) | vs. ULM
2) Louisiana: 10-6 (.625) | @ LR
3) UT Arlington: 8-8 (.500) | vs. ASU
4) Arkansas State: 7-7 (.500) | @ UTA
5) Little Rock: 6-11 (.353) | vs. LA
6) ULM: 5-12 (.294) | @TXST
UTA currently holds the 3rd seed in the Sun Belt Tournament by virtue of having a 2-1 head-to-head record against A-State. A win on Saturday over the Red Wolves will clinch that 3rd seed in next week's tourney.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- UTA improves to 12-12 overall, while A-State falls to 10-11.
- The Mavs committed a season-low-tying five turnovers (Oklahoma State in the season opener).
- Patrick Mwamba rejected a career-high five shots, four of which came in the 1st half. Those five blocks are tied for the 13th-most in single-game program history.
- Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu had six points, four rebounds and two blocks.
- Lazaro Rojas returned for the first time since Jan. 2 due to a leg injury. The grad transfer played six minutes.
- A-State's Norchad Omier – who came into the game with the 4th-most double-doubles in the nation (12) – added a 13th with 15 points and a game-best 14 rebounds.
- Eaton finished with a team-best 20 points for the Red Wolves to go along with seven assists.
- A-State shot 52 percent from the floor (30-58), compared with 40 percent for UTA (25-62).
- UTA held a 13-4 edge in points off turnovers as the Red Wolves committed 18 giveaways, 11 of which were the result of a Maverick steal.
PLAY-BY-PLAY SUMMARY
UTA dug itself an early 11-2 hole before crawling back within one possession multiple times, but the Red Wolves forged back in front by seven, 22-15, at the 8-minute mark courtesy of a 7-1 run.
The Mavs continued to fight back and eventually tied the contest at 27-27 at the 2:30 mark before finally taking their first lead of the night, 31-30, with a minute to play in the stanza on a driving layup by Wells.
Both teams would settle for a 31-31 halftime scoreline – the first time UTA has been tied at intermission all season.
UTA opened up what would end up being its largest lead of the night at 41-37 with 15 minutes to play following a Wells' 3-pointer. However, A-State had a response, and a few minutes later following a 9-0 run jumped back in front by eight, 54-46, with 10 minutes to play.
But, the back-and-forth trend continued as the Mavs counter-punched that A-State 9-0 run with one of their own to re-claim a 55-54 lead inside of eight minutes.
A-State went back in front by as much as four on multiple occasions, including a 64-60 advantage with two minutes showing, before the Mavs mounted a comeback and set the stage for Azore's heroics.
THIS AND THAT
- This is the second time in 2021 UTA has defeated A-State in the closing seconds; the first came when Wells went coast-to-coast off a missed free throw in Jonesboro on Jan. 30 to convert a layup as time expired for a 65-64 win.
- This was the first time all season UTA had its full complement of 16 players available.
- Grayson Carter knocked down his first 3-pointer since he hit two on Jan. 23 against Little Rock. That also was the last time he had scored before his three points on Friday.
- Wells has reached double-figure points in 22 of 23 games played this season, with the lone exception coming when he logged limited minutes at Tulsa due to a foot injury.
NEXT UP
Saturday's game between these same two teams is slated for a 4 p.m. tipoff. It will also represent Senior Day as the Mavs honor
Davis Steelman, Rojas and a manager pregame. Additionally, Saturday will be a Whiteout, with all fans in attendance receiving a commemorative white T-shirt.
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).
