ARLINGTON – For the third time in as many Western Athletic Conference games to open the league slate, the UT Arlington men's basketball team gave itself a chance to win, but the Mavericks dropped another tight contest, this time by a 72-64 margin to streaking Utah Valley Thursday night inside the College Park Center.
 
With the game tied at 46-all near the midway point of the 2nd half following a 13-0 UTA run, Utah Valley methodically re-built a lead that it had most of the contest, forging ahead by as much as seven on several occasions in the closing minutes and letting the Mavs get no closer than three.
 
That three-point differential came after a Shemar Wilson and-1 finish at the 2:08 mark. On the ensuing UVU possession, Trey Woodbury buried a 3-pointer from the top of the arc and the Wolverines – who have now won nine games in a row – never led by less than five the rest of the way.
 
Wilson notched his second-straight double-double and third in the last four games with a team-high-tying 13 points and game-best 14 rebounds. It's the fifth double-double of the sophomore's campaign and sixth time this year he's reached double-figure rebounds.
 
Kyron Gibson matched Wilson's scoring output as the guard scribed double-figure points for the fifth time in six games with 13. Taj Anderson scored 10 to get into double digits for the first time since Nov. 12 when he opened the year with consecutive performances of 14 and 19.
 
True freshman Chendall Weaver tallied all 10 of his points in the 2nd half to round out the quartet of double-figure scorers for the Mavs, who had four players with 10+ points for the first time since Dec. 6 against Texas State. Weaver added seven rebounds – his eighth time this year with 5+ boards in a game.
 
The Wolverines – ranked #25 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll this week – connected at 47 percent (25-53) from the floor while holding the Mavs to 37 percent (25-67) as UTA had 14 more attempts thanks to a dominant 18-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
 
On paper, the contest set up as a clash on the glass as UTA ranked 2nd in the country in offensive rebounding at 14.4 per game while Utah Valley checked in 7th nationally in defensive rebounds per outing (29.5). The Mavs more than lived up to their billing with a season-high performance against a Division-I opponent, and the Wolverines did the same thing as they held a 32-23 edge on the defensive boards.
 
The biggest difference, though, came at the free throw line as UTA struggled to just a 44-percent clip (8-18) – by far its lowest rate when attempting at least 15 free throws this season.


BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• With the loss, UTA drops to 5-11 overall and 0-3 in the WAC, while UVU improves to 12-4 and 3-0.
• Marion Humphrey just missed giving UTA five double-figure scorers as he totaled nine.
• Wilson, who ranked 16th in the nation in offensive rebounding, will only go higher as he secured eight offensive boards – the sixth time this year he's grabbed 7+.
• UVU's Aziz Bandaogo ranked 16th in the country in defensive rebounding at 7 per contest, and he corralled nine on Thursday as part of a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double.
• The only time Gibson hasn't reached double-figure points in the last six games he tallied nine at California.
• UTA finished with a 20-7 advantage in second-chance points.
• UVU came into the game ranked 2nd in the nation in blocks per game (6.5) and finished the night with seven, led by three from Bandaogo.
• Normal UVU starter Justin Harmon came off the bench and led all scorers with 21 while also adding nine rebounds. Woodbury totaled 14 points in a starting role for the Wolverines.
• Utah Valley's winning streak is currently the 7th longest in the nation.
• UTA utilized the same starting lineup as it did to conclude non-conference play: Humphrey, Gibson, Weaver, Aaron Cash and Wilson.

QUOTABLE
"Congratulations to Utah Valley – they're tough to play against. But for us, it's the same song – different verse. We play hard. We play with effort. We play with a will to win. But we just don't do the little things it takes to win."
– UTA Head Coach Greg Young

 
GAME FLOW
Utah Valley raced out to a 13-point lead courtesy of a 21-8 edge not even nine minutes into the contest. But, UTA settled in and clipped off a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to pull within four, 21-17, before the Wolverines rebutted with a 6-0 stretch to re-establish their double-figure advantage, 27-17.
 
However, the Mavs locked back in at the defensive end and it helped fuel the offensive attack as UTA closed the stanza on an extended 11-6 stretch to only trail by five at intermission, 33-28, despite allowing UVU to shoot 48 percent (15-31) from the floor.
 
A 6-0 spurt in less than 30 minutes a handful of minutes into the 2nd half extended Utah Valley's lead back to its largest of the night at 13, 44-31.
 
Unfazed, UTA counter-punched with a brilliant 13-0 stretch in just over two minutes to pull even at 44-all with 12 minutes to play, capped by an Anderson 3-pointer which got him into double figures.
 
The game remained tied at 46-46 a few minutes later. But from there, the Wolverines methodically crawled back in front by as much as seven on multiple occasions, the last of which came with three minutes remaining, 62-55, before the Mavs were able to get to within one possession in the closing two minutes and UVU fended off the comeback attempt.
 
THIS AND THAT

• This is UTA's first 0-3 start to a conference season since 1994-95 when it was a Southland Conference member. That year, the third league loss also occurred on Jan. 5.
• This was the third all-time meeting between UTA and UVU (UTA now leads, 2-1), but first as conference foes. It also came 13 years to the day since the last meeting.
• At #77, Utah Valley was the 4th-highest ranked NET opponent UTA has played so far this year (Oklahoma State: #33, Nevada: #49, North Texas: #53). The Wolverines have defeated three top-100 NET ranked teams already this season: #27 Sam Houston, #72 Oregon and #93 BYU.
• The WAC is currently ranked as the 12th-best conference (out of 32) in the nation.

NEXT UP
UTA will conclude its three-game WAC homestand when it welcomes Seattle U to the CPC for a 2 p.m. tipoff on Saturday for its Hispanic Heritage Appreciation Game. There will be UTA-branded Los Mavs Hispanic Heritage apparel available for purchase, along with performances from El Mariachi Bohemio Band and Ballet Hispanic of the Arts Dancers.
 
The Redhawks claimed a 66-64 road win at UT Rio Grande Valley on Thursday night to move to 11-4 overall and 2-0 in the WAC.
 
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).