BATON ROUGE, La. – In a single-digit game throughout, the UT Arlington men's basketball team had a late lead at LSU Friday evening, but a closing surge by the Tigers prevented the Mavericks from pulling off a marquee win as UTA fell just short, 63-59, inside an extremely hot Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
 
A 9-0 run over a three-minute stretch late in the 2nd half gave UTA a 52-48 lead inside of six minutes remaining, and the Mavs had a 54-52 advantage with less than four minutes to play. But, LSU responded with a 10-0 run to open up a 62-54 edge in the closing minute before a late push by UTA resulted in the four-point final margin.
 
Marion Humphrey led UTA with 15 points – 11 of which came after halftime – and also issued a team-best four assists, while true freshman Brandon Walker came off the bench to tally 10 for the Mavs in addition to corralling five rebounds.
 
UTA out-worked LSU on the glass in the 2nd half to the tune of a 21-13 rebounding advantage which keyed a 16-4 edge in second-chance points. The Mavs also dominated in the low blocks in the closing stanza, possessing a 22-8 cushion in paint points as UTA fought back from a deficit that was as large as nine in the 2nd half.
 
BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• With the loss, UTA drops to 4-5 while LSU improves to 7-1.
• Aaron Cash had eight points and five rebounds for UTA, Shemar Wilson finished with seven points and six boards, Chendall Weaver and Kyron Gibson both tallied six points and Dario Domingos registered four points but secured a team-best seven rebounds in just 15 minutes of action.
• Taj Anderson (6.5 points per game) did not play due to personal reasons.
• The Mavs shot 46 percent (15-33) from the floor in the 2nd half while holding LSU to 44 percent (10-23).
• LSU turned the ball over 13 times compared with just nine for UTA, but the Tigers did finish with a 40-36 rebounding edge thanks to a 27-15 lead in the 1st half.
• The Mavs were +3 on the offensive glass (14-11) and also posted a +14 edge in paint points (34-20).
• UTA utilized the same starting lineup as its last game on Monday: Humphrey, Gibson, Weaver, Cash and Wilson.

QUOTABLE
"I'm extremely proud of our effort tonight, but credit goes to LSU for pulling one out. I knew we would have to play really, really hard – and we did – in a tough environment. We lost some guys due to cramping, but there's no excuses; we just need to learn how to finish. We couldn't finish the game tonight with either an execution play on offense or a defensive stop. But I'm proud of our fight and we're continuing to get better."
– UTA Head Coach Greg Young


GAME FLOW
LSU built a lead as large as eight on three different occasions in the 1st half, the last of which came at the six-minute mark, 21-13. UTA cut into that advantage with a quick 5-0 spurt to pull within three, 21-18, and had multiple offensive possessions to tie the contest in the ensuing few minutes.
 
However, the Mavs weren't able to pull even as the Tigers responded with a 6-0 run to forge ahead by their largest margin of the opening half, 27-18, with just over a minute remaining. But, UTA countered with four-straight points from Gibson before a closing bucket by LSU made it a 29-22 contest at the half.
 
UTA only committed two turnovers in the 1st half while forcing LSU into eight, but the Mavs couldn't capitalize much as they shot just 29 percent (9-31) from the floor. UTA also held the Tigers under 40 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes (39 percent, 11-28).
 
The Mavs came out storming from the locker room, and following a couple emphatic transition dunks by Weaver and Cash made it a one-point game, 34-33, and forced LSU to call time with 16:25 to play.
 
Out of that break, the hosts orchestrated a 6-0 stretch and eventually went back in front by nine, 44-35, with 13 minutes showing. Unfazed, the Mavs displayed their toughness and once again got it down to a one-possession score, 44-41, following their own 6-0 run.
 
UTA finally got over the hump a few minutes later as the Mavs used the aforementioned 9-0 run to turn a 48-43 deficit into a 52-48 lead, but from there LSU mounted its late push.
 
THIS AND THAT

• A maintenance issue affecting a large portion of the LSU campus resulted in the air conditioning in the arena to not work properly. Several UTA players – including starters Humphrey and Gibson – missed time in the 2nd half due to cramping, and play was delayed numerous times to ensure condensation was wiped off the floor.
• This was the first-ever meeting between UTA and LSU.
• This was the first 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).
• UTA was in search of just its second all-time win over a current Southeastern Conference member (now 1-17).
• The Mavs were also seeking their first victory over a Power 5 opponent since taking down Texas in November of 2016.

NEXT UP
UTA will return home for a rivalry game against local foe North Texas on Tuesday, Dec. 6. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the College Park Center.
 
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).