ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington men's basketball team received contributions from throughout its lineup again on Tuesday night as the Mavericks (2-1) cruised to a 100-59 win over Hardin-Simmons inside the College Park Center.
 
Displaying its depth early in the season, UTA had its seventh, and eighth, different players in just three games this year eclipse double-figure points as the Mavs reached the century mark for the second-straight game.
 
Brandon Walker and Marion Humphrey each delivered game bests of 17 points to lead a quintet of double-figure scorers for the Mavs as true freshman Walker delivered a career best early his collegiate tenure on 7-12 shooting while also collecting eight rebounds.
 
Shemar Wilson secured his first double-double as a second-year member of UTA with 12 points and 16 rebounds – the first Maverick to have 15+ rebounds in a game in nearly two years. He paced a dynamic UTA attack on the glass as the Mavs finished with a 59-31 rebounding edge. The +28 margin is the 10th greatest in single-game program history.
 
Dario Domingos nearly registered a double-double of his own as the sophomore collected nine caroms to go along with 12 points in 16 minutes off the bench. Brandyn Talbot, meanwhile, reached double-figure points in consecutive games for just the second time in his career as the sophomore tallied exactly 10.
 
UTA only led by five with a handful of minutes remaining in the 1st half, but exploded before intermission and finished the night shooting 49 percent (41-83) from the floor and holding the Cowboys to 37 percent (24-65).
 

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• UTA's 59 rebounds are the most in any game for the Mavs in at least 13 years, dating back to the 2009-10 season.
• Additionally, UTA's 83 field goal attempts mark just the second time in that same timeframe that the Mavs have put up at least 80 shots (87 against Howard Payne on Dec. 22, 2020).
• Pedro Castro narrowly missed becoming the ninth different Mav to reach double-figure points in a game this year as he netted nine and also secured five rebounds.
• Taj Anderson registered seven points and a game-best three steals, while Aaron Cash posted a balanced stat line of five points, seven rebounds and a game-high-tying four assists.
• Damonze Woods scored his first collegiate points as the true freshman finished with four in five minutes.
• UTA outscored HSU in the paint, 52-18, in second-chance points, 23-7, and off the bench, 50-19.
• UTA utilized the third different starting lineup in as many games to start the year: Marion Humphrey, Taj Anderson, Aaron Cash, Pedro Castro, Shemar Wilson.
• Kyron Gibson (6.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG) did not play (rest, foot).

QUOTABLE
"Hardin-Simmons is an organized, disciplined team and they took advantage of some things – especially early on – that we can learn from and improve. But we did exactly what we needed to do. We dominated on the glass, we played with pace and we defended well for the most part. We won every whiteboard category, and when you can do that against a quality – albeit a lower-division team – it's a great win."
– UTA Head Coach Greg Young


GAME FLOW
With HSU holding an 8-7 lead just 2½ minutes into the night, UTA rattled off seven-straight points in just 35 seconds to take a 14-8 lead that the Mavs never surrendered.
 
The Cowboys did keep things close in the 1st half and only trailed by five, 33-28, with a little over five minutes to play in the opening stanza. However, UTA closed the period on a 17-4 run, including an 8-0 surge in the final 1:45 to take a 50-32 lead into the halftime break.
 
The UTA lead extended to 20 for the first time at the 13:30 mark of the 2nd half following a Talbot and-1 finish to give the Mavs a 64-42 advantage. That cushion swelled to 30, 86-56, after a Wilson second-chance bucket down low and reached its peak at 41 shortly before the final buzzer sounded.
 
THIS AND THAT

• The contest counted as an official game for UTA, but served as an exhibition tilt for Division-III Hardin-Simmons.
• With the win, UTA is now above .500 after three games for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.
• Hardin-Simmons was a Division-I member until 1990, and the Abilene-based school and UTA have a long history as this was the 41st all-time meeting (UTA now leads, 23-18).

NEXT UP
UTA will play its third-straight home game when the Mavs face a stern test in the Nevada Wolf Pack at the College Park Center on Friday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m.
 
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).