FORT WORTH – Kyron Gibson delivered season highs in points and assists, but it wasn't enough as UT Arlington fell in another tough, physical battle to Texas State, 71-65, Saturday night at Dickies Arena as part of the Simmons Bank Showdown.
 
Gibson led UTA with 19 points and four assists, while Shemar Wilson closed in on a season high as well with 15 points and eight rebounds as the forwarf secured double-figure points in back-to-back outings for the first time this year.
 
True freshmen Chendall Weaver and Brandon Walker finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, to represent career highs for both against a Division-I opponent.
 
A back-and-forth affair early on resulted in five lead changes and a pair of ties in the opening 10+ minutes, but on a Dylan Dawson 3-pointer at the 9:08 mark Texas State took a 17-15 lead and never relinquished it the rest of the game.
 
UTA got its deficit – which was as large as 11 at one point – down to as little as four at the midway point of the 2nd half, but from there the Bobcats were able to keep the Mavs at a distance, but never led by more than the aforementioned 11.
 
For UTA, it marks the third-straight setback by six points or less to an opponent that played in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT last year as the Mavs dropped a narrow 63-59 contest at LSU on Dec. 2 and a slim 60-57 game versus North Texas on Tuesday.
 
BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• With the loss, UTA drops to 4-7 while Texas State improves to 6-4.
• Marion Humphrey secured a season-best eight rebounds to go along with three points, a pair of steals and two assists.
• This is the first time UTA has had four double-figure scorers in a game against a D-I opponent this year.
• The Mavs shot 49 percent (25-51) from the floor compared with 45 percent (24-53) for the Bobcats, but committed 16 turnovers which led to 14 Texas State points.
• Nighael Ceaser led the Bobcats with a double-double effort of 23 points and 11 rebounds.
• Gibson's previous assist high this year was three, which he had done on five occasions.
• UTA entered the game as the nation's 3rd-best offensive rebounding team, but it was the Bobcats who finished with a 12-9 edge on the offensive glass. However, UTA did hold a 30-28 advantage overall.
• Aaron Cash finished with five points to conclude the UTA scoring.
• Taj Anderson came in at the 12:54 mark of the 1st half and played nine minutes for his first action since Nov. 28 (personal reasons).
• UTA utilized the same starting lineup for the fourth-straight game: Humphrey, Gibson, Weaver, Cash and Wilson.

QUOTABLE
"I thought Texas State's toughness was the biggest difference tonight. We're inconsistent right now with our toughness; we're trying to build it. But I thought they whipped us on the tough plays and the ability to execute. But I believe in what we're doing, and we're going to learn from this one and continue to get better as we play another really challenging non-conference schedule."
– UTA Head Coach Greg Young
 

GAME FLOW
Neither team led by more than five in the opening 17 minutes, and UTA only trailed by two, 24-22, with three minutes to play in the 1st half before the Bobcats closed the stanza on a big run.
 
After Walker's layup to make it a two-point margin, Texas State clipped off a 9-0 run in 90 seconds to forge in front by 11, 33-22, before settling for a 33-24 halftime lead.
 
UTA shot 43 percent (9-21) from the floor in the 1st half, but 10 turnovers for a team only averaging 12.9 per game for the year doomed UTA as the Bobcats converted those into 12 points in a nine-point contest at the break.
 
The Mavs came out of the locker room hot and trimmed their deficit to five on a handful of occasions before Gibson made it a four-point differential, 46-42, on a 3-pointer at the midway juncture. However, Texas State responded and re-established a double-figure lead, 52-42, following a 6-0 run over the next three minutes.
 
Gibson stopped that surge with a pull-up jumper at the elbow to make it 52-44 at the 7:14 mark and UTA immediately called time. On the ensuing Texas State possession, the Bobcats banked in a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down, and despite trying to fight back the Mavs could get no closer than five down the stretch.
 
THIS AND THAT

• This was the 79th all-time meeting between the two teams (UTA leads, 41-38), tying Texas State with McNeese for the most-played opponent in UTA history.
• Those 79 meetings have now come in 34-straight seasons, dating back to the inaugural meeting during the 1984-85 campaign. However, this was the first time – with the exception of conference tournaments – that the two sides played in a location other than Arlington or San Marcos.
• This was the third of four-straight opponents for UTA that played in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT last year: LSU (NCAA), North Texas (NIT), Texas State (NIT) and San Francisco (NCAA) on Dec. 19.

NEXT UP
UTA – which is already in the midst of final exams – will break for a week as those are completed before returning to the hardwood on the West Coast to conclude its non-conference slate at San Francisco (Dec. 19) and Cal (Dec. 21).  FOLLOW ALONG
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