ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington men's basketball team cruised to a 99-41 win over Howard Payne Monday night inside the College Park Center, registering several top-10 single-game program records along the way.
 
After a slow first 10 minutes, UTA exploded and connected at both ends en route to tying its 7th largest margin of victory in program history at 58. That was one of several top-10 performances by the Mavericks as they also tied the largest rebound margin at +36 (63-27), tied for the 5th fewest points allowed, equaled their 11th most rebounds and tied for the 5th most blocks (nine).
 
Shemar Wilson scored a season-high 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds – the third time already this year the sophomore has recorded at least 14 boards in a game – as he registered his second double-double of the year.
 
Making his first collegiate start, true freshman Chendall Weaver led all scorers for the second time this season with 17 points, and the Mansfield product also added seven rebounds, a game-best four assists and a pair of steals. He also finished with a game-best plus/minus of +47.
 
With the Oak Cliff Faith Family boys basketball team in attendance, alumnus Brandon Walker scored 12 points and notched eight rebounds off the bench for the Mavs.
 
Aaron Cash tallied 14 points in 20 minutes, and Pedro Castro made it five UTA players in double-figure points with 11 while also securing six rebounds. With Castro reaching double figures for the first time this season, UTA has now had 10 different players record at least 10 points in a game through just eight contests.
 
UTA only led, 14-12, with nine minutes to play in the 1st half, but turned it on after that, clipping off an extended 43-6 run bridging both halves to open up a 57-18 lead with 16 minutes remaining in the 2nd half. From there, the UTA advantage swelled to as much as 58, 93-35, before settling for the +58 final margin.
 

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• With the win, UTA moves to 4-4 on the year; Howard Payne remains at 2-3 as the contest served as an exhibition tilt for the Division-III Yellow Jackets.
• UTA shot a season-best 51 percent (40-78) from the floor while holding HPU to just 26 percent (17-65). The Mavs knocked down eight 3-pointers – tied for the 2nd most in a game this year – and limited the Yellow Jackets to 23 percent (5-22) from beyond the arc.
• Kyron Gibson scored nine points and passed out three assists, while Damonze Woods tallied a season-high eight points.
• Montez Young Jr. also set a season best with four points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench.
• Wilson's other 14+ rebound games this year came against Hardin-Simmons (16) and Nevada (14). He scored 12 points versus HSU for his first double-double this season.
• The UTA all-time records: largest margin of victory (69), fewest points allowed (36), rebounds (80) and blocks (12). The +36 margin on the glass has been done twice before – against Schreiner in 1992 and Huston-Tillotson in 1990.
• UTA used the same pair of 5-man rotations for the first 12 minutes of the game (three total shifts) before mixing those lineups up.
• UTA possessed a 60-16 edge in paint points, and allowed the HPU starters to score just two points as 39 of its points came from the bench.
• Dario Domingos did not play (rest).
• UTA's utilized its fifth different starting 5 this year: Marion Humphrey, Kyron Gibson, Chendall Weaver, Aaron Cash, Shemar Wilson. For Weaver, it was the true freshman's first collegiate start.

QUOTABLE
"We scheduled the game tonight coming off a tough Thanksgiving trip knowing that we would probably win, but also we could get back on track and rest some guys if we needed to, and we were able to do all of that. There's no easy ones left in the non-conference – that's for sure – as we're ready to go through a gauntlet for the last five games."
– UTA Head Coach Greg Young


GAME FLOW
UTA held HPU off the scoreboard for the first 5+ minutes, and opened things up in the second part of the half. Holding the two-point lead, 14-12, at the 9-minute mark, UTA exploded into the locker room as the Mavs closed the stanza on an extended 21-4 run – including a 15-0 stretch – to take a 38-16 advantage at intermission.
 
The Mavs held the Yellow Jackets to just 23 percent (7-31) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, and in the process shut them out from beyond the arc (0-11).
 
The strong end to the 1st half carried over to the 2nd half for the hosts as the Mavs commenced the final stanza on an 11-0 run as part of a bigger 19-2 push to forge ahead by nearly 30, 57-18, not even four minutes into the period and for intents and purposes seal the game.
 
THIS AND THAT

• UTA head coach Greg Young was a four-year men's basketball letterwinner at Howard Payne, graduating with a degree in physical education in 1986. He was the team captain as a senior, and received the distinguished Paul J. Cunningham Award for excellence and dedication that same year.
• This was the seventh all-time meeting between UTA and HPU (Mavs now lead, 6-1), and also the third-straight year the two sides have played. HPU was UTA's first-ever road opponent (its third-ever game overall) as the Mavs faced off with the Yellow Jackets in Brownwood, Texas, on Dec. 5, 1959 (71-69 HPU win).
• HPU was the second American Southwest Conference member UTA has played in its non-conference slate, with the other being Hardin-Simmons on Nov. 15 (100-59 Mav win).

NEXT UP
UTA will head to Baton Rouge and face another stern road test when the Mavs battle LSU on Friday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. The Tigers are off to a 6-1 start this year, with the lone loss coming by two points against Kansas State in the Cayman Islands last week.
 
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).