NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Keyed by a 17-0 run and 60-percent shooting in the 2nd half, the UT Arlington men's basketball team shook off an early double-figure deficit and again overcame adversity to claim an impressive 75-70 road victory at Stephen F. Austin Saturday inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Playing without its 2nd-leading scorer (10.9) and leading rebounder (7.8) in
Shemar Wilson for the third-straight time due to a hip issue – and under the guidance of interim head coach
Royce Johnson for just the second game – UTA gutted out its program-record third NET Quad 2 win of the season.
WAC Freshman of the Year candidate
Chendall Weaver padded his résumé even more against the league's 2nd-place team entering the day as the guard delivered a game-high 17 points, team-high-tying eight rebounds and game-best five assists to pace a quartet of double-figure scorers for the Mavericks.
Trailing 41-34 a few minutes into the 2nd half, UTA orchestrated the aforementioned 17-0 run over seven minutes to take a 53-43 lead at the midway point. SFA rebounded with its own push, and eventually re-tied the contest at 57-all with just over five minutes remaining.
The game remained knotted at 67-67 with less than 60 seconds to play when
Kyron Gibson pulled up and hit a mid-range jumper to put the Mavs in front. Following a defense stop, Johnson called a timeout and dialed up a sideline out-of-bounds set to perfection as
Pedro Castro found Weaver in the frontcourt for a tough layup where he also appeared to be fouled.
That made it a 71-67 scoreline, and UTA didn't let the Lumberjacks get closer than three from there as Weaver made two more free throws before
Marion Humphrey iced the game with a pair of his own from the charity stripe.
Castro delivered a season-high 14 points – including a pair of crucial 3-pointers in the final 4:30 as part of his season-best four for the game – and the graduate student also secured five rebounds, issued two assists and notched a team- and season-high three steals.
True freshman
Brandon Walker registered his second-straight double-digit scoring outing with 10 points in addition to eight rebounds, and Humphrey also scored 10 points for the first time since Jan. 21.
UTA tied a season high with 11 made 3-pointers as the Mavs shot 50 percent (11-22) from beyond the arc – their best percentage when making double-digits 3s in a game this year. That helped fuel a 52-percent clip from the field (26-50), which was the 2nd-best on the campaign behind only a 54-percent effort versus Sam Houston on Feb. 4. Additionally, UTA's 75 points were the 2nd-most this season against a Division-I opponent (85 vs. UTRGV on Jan. 19).
BOX SCORE NUGGETS
- With the win, UTA improves to 10-17 overall and 5-9 in the WAC, while SFA drops to 17-10 and 9-5.
- UTA's leading scorer for the year, Gibson, finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
- Brandyn Talbot registered eight points and handed out four assists – his second most in a game this season.
- Gibson and Talbot both finished with a game-best plus/minus ratio of +9.
- UTA held SFA to just 37 percent (24-65) shooting, including only 33 percent (11-33) in the 2nd half, and 30 percent (6-20) for the game from 3-point range for a team that entered the matchup ranked 6th in the country at nearly 40 percent for the year.
- This was just UTA's second win this season when trailing at the half.
- UTA utilized its 13th different starting lineup of the season and sixth in the last seven games: Gibson, Weaver, Castro, Montez Young Jr. and Walker.
QUOTABLE
"What a great win against a really good team that's right there at the top of the league. Our guys were prepared and trusted what we were selling. We had a number of guys step up big, and I'm so proud of the effort we displayed."
– UTA Interim Head Coach Royce Johnson
GAME FLOW
UTA took an 8-7 lead on a Weaver fastbreak layup just inside the 14-minute mark, and SFA head coach Kyle Keller immediately took a timeout. Out of that break, the Lumberjacks responded with a 13-0 run to build their largest lead of the game, 20-8, at the midway point of the half.
Unfazed, and playing with pace, with Mavs responded with quick 8-0 surge in 70 seconds, continued to chip away and tied the contest at 30-all on a Weaver triple at the 3:30 mark before taking the lead on a
Dario Domingos left-handed dunk off a feed from Talbot – who made two 3s of his own during the stretch – to make it 32-31 with 2:45 to play.
Over the final few minutes of the half, foul trouble continued to mount for the Mavs as both Gibson and Talbot were called for their third of the contest, and SFA capitalized, taking a 39-34 advantage into halftime. UTA committed 12 1st-half turnovers which led to 14 points, while the Lumberjacks gave the ball away only three times.
SFA scored the first bucket of the 2nd half at the 17:45 juncture, and Keller again quickly took a timeout. This time, however, it was the visitors who were the beneficiaries as UTA went on that aforementioned 17-0 run to take a 53-43 cushion with 10:30 left before both teams went blow-for-blow down the stretch.
THIS AND THAT
- This was the second game of Johnson's tenure – and his first-career win – as he replaced Greg Young last Friday.
- Wilson is tied for 2nd in the WAC with five double-doubles this season, and he ranks 11th nationally by averaging 3.6 offensive rebounds per game.
- UTA also secured NET Quad 2 wins this year at San Francisco and versus Sam Houston.
- UTA now leads the all-time series between the former Southland Conference rivals, 32-30. SFA was UTA's second-ever opponent in its inaugural 1959-60 season, and was the first team to ever beat the Mavs (71-59 on Dec. 3, 1959).
- This was the second meeting of the year between UTA and SFA, with the Lumberjacks claiming a narrow 66-62 win in Arlington on New Year's Eve. UTA held a 60-59 lead with 1:30 remaining before a frenetic back-and-forth final minute eventually ended with SFA converting a layup at the buzzer to provide the final margin.
- The WAC is currently ranked by KenPom as the 12th-best conference (out of 32) in the nation.
NEXT UP
UTA will wrap up the home portion of its 2022-23 schedule next week when the Mavs welcome Southern Utah on Thursday, Feb. 23, for a 7 p.m. tipoff before Grad Day on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. versus Utah Tech.
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).
