ESTERO, Fla. – A cold-shooting 2nd-half performance from the UT Arlington men's basketball team doomed the Mavericks (2-3) in a 59-38 loss to Drexel (3-1) Monday in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase from Hertz Arena.
 
With the loss, the Mavs will play either Florida Gulf Coast or Northern Kentucky on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. CST (1:30 local).
 
UTA – which trailed by as much as 13 in the 1st half – pulled within two, 33-31, after a Taj Anderson jumper at the 16:43 mark of the 2nd half. After that, the Mavs made a pair of free throws, a 3-pointer and a putback tip-in the rest of the night as the offense stalled out.
 
Kyron Gibson became the ninth different UTA player to register double-figure points in a game this year as he led the Mavs with 11 off the bench.
 
BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• The 38 points are the 4th fewest in a game all-time, and the 25.4 percent (15-59) from the floor is also the 4th lowest in program history.
• Gibson's previous season high was nine at Oklahoma State in the opener on Nov. 7.
• Anderson added eight points, Brandon Walker had five points and eight rebounds and Pedro Castro grabbed seven rebounds.
• Drexel didn't attempt its first free throw until the 7:18 mark of the 2nd half
• UTA utilized the same starting lineup as it did in its last game on Friday, marking the first time the Mavs have had the same starting five this season: Marion Humphrey, Taj Anderson, Kyron Gibson, Aaron Cash and Shemar Wilson.

GAME FLOW
Drexel opened up an early 10-point lead, 17-7, at the 12-minute mark thanks to an 8-0 run over two minutes, and the Dragons extended that to 13, 23-10, at the midway point.
 
That's when the Mavs started to lock in and execute at both ends, and UTA responded with a 10-0 surge to make it 23-20 before eventually getting the deficit all the way down to one, 25-24, with just under 3 minutes to play following a Wilson lay-in off a feed from Gibson.
 
That would be as close as the Mavs would get in the opening half as Drexel was able to stave off the UTA comeback momentarily and took a 29-25 lead into intermission. The Dragons shot 48 percent (12-25) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, but the Mavs were able to cut into the margin thanks to converting 10 Drexel turnovers into 14 points (+12 differential).
 
UTA pulled within two, 33-31, a few minutes into the 2nd half before a long stretch of being held without a field goal as the Mavs went from the 16:43 mark until the 8:28 juncture without a make as Drexel extended to a 43-33 lead.
 
The make at the 8:28 mark was a Gibson 3-pointer to pull the Mavs within seven, 43-36, but Drexel used an offensive and defensive surge over the ensuing 5+ minutes to close out the win.
 
THIS AND THAT

• This was the first-ever meeting between Drexel and UTA.

FOLLOW ALONG
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