LAS VEGAS – A voracious comeback by the UT Arlington men's basketball team fell just short as the 12th-seeded Mavericks didn't have enough firepower to keep pace with 5th-seeded Grand Canyon in an 82-77 opening-round loss in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Tuesday inside Michelob ULTRA Arena.
 
Trailing by 13 points, 71-58, with just over three minutes left, UTA mounted a furious effort and trimmed its deficit to just four, 73-69, in a little over a minute. However, from there GCU and UTA traded buckets and the Lopes were exceptional from the free throw line in icing the contest from the charity stripe.
 
Kyron Gibson led the Mavs in scoring for the 13th time this year with 17 points while also passing out a game-high-tying four assists. Marion Humphrey tallied 15 points, four assists and three rebounds; the 15 points were tied for the 3rd most for him in a game this year.
 
Brandyn Talbot was responsible for all five of UTA's 3-pointers for the game (5-21, 24 percent) as the Canadian went 5-8 from beyond the arc for 15 points to tie a career high in both makes and points. The guard also issued four assists and pulled down three rebounds.
 
Playing without its 2nd-leading scorer (10.9) and leading rebounder (7.8) in Shemar Wilson for the eighth-straight game due to a hip issue, UTA kept itself in the contest the majority of the afternoon, but 30 trips to the free throw line in the 2nd half by GCU led to 23 makes for the Lopes. In total, GCU went 26-36 (72 percent), with the 26 conversions being the most a UTA opponent has totaled in a game this season.
 
That offset a strong shooting performance by the Mavs as they connected at 50 percent (31-62) from the floor – only the sixth time since 2010 that UTA has lost when shooting 50+ percent from the field.
 

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• With the loss, UTA concludes the season with an 11-21 overall record, while GCU improves to 21-11. The 21 losses for the Mavs are the most since going 7-22 in 1993-94.
• WAC Freshman of the Year Chendall Weaver closed in on a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds while also securing four assists.
• Aaron Cash also notched nine points and collected seven rebounds.
• Dario Domingos totaled six points, Brandon Walker had four and Pedro Castro finished with two to round out the UTA scorers.
• For Castro, he finished just 12 points shy of 1,000 for his career across all collegiate levels (D-I and JUCO).
• UTA's 77 points were its 2nd most in a game this year against a Division-I opponent.
• UTA's first 16 points of the game came from seven different scorers.
• UTA utilized its 15th different starting lineup this season, including its eighth in the last 12 games with Humphrey, Gibson, Weaver, Cash and Domingos.
• WAC First Team selection Ray Harrison led all scorers with 30 points – tied for the most points UTA has allowed an opposing player to register all season.

QUOTABLE
"I'm so proud of our guys and the fight they put forth today. They responded to the challenge, but we didn't get to our goal. Our goal was to win four games, but Grand Canyon was the better team today. I'm just so thankful for the opportunity to coach these young men the last month, and I'm appreciative of everything they've done."
– UTA Interim Head Coach Royce Johnson
 
GAME FLOW
GCU started 7-9 from the floor and raced out to a 17-6 lead following a 9-0 run just more than six minutes into the contest. A quick timeout by Snoop Johnson resulted in a strong 8-0 response by the Mavs to make it a one-possession game, 17-14.
 
It remained a three-point contest a few minutes later, 19-16, after a Walker layup at the halfway point of the stanza, but GCU eventually re-established a pair of 10-point advantages, the last of which came at the four-minute mark, 30-20. However, UTA fought its way back and only trailed by six at the break, 35-29, despite shooting 43 percent (12-28) from the floor and allowing GCU to connect at a 50-percent clip (14-28).
 
UTA pulled back within three, 36-33, and had the ball early in the 2nd half, but the Lopes got a turnover and spearheaded a quick run which was countered by the Mavs. Following Talbot's third triple of the afternoon, UTA remained down just four, 42-38, five minutes into the stanza.
 
But as they did most the game, the Lopes kept the Mavs an arm's length away and eventually created their biggest advantage of the game to that juncture, 54-42, at the midway point. From there, the edge expanded to as much as 14 before the margin sat at 13 in the closing minutes when the Mavs began their surge.
 
THIS AND THAT

• Wilson is tied for 4th in the WAC with five of UTA's six double-doubles this season, and he ranks 8th nationally by averaging 3.6 offensive rebounds per game.
• In its only other appearance in the WAC Tournament in 2013, UTA reached the championship game as a #4 seed.
• Grand Canyon was installed as the preseason WAC favorites this year.
• In the first matchup between UTA and GCU on Jan. 12, the Lopes claimed an 80-48 victory despite trailing at the half, 30-28.
• The WAC is currently ranked as the 11th-best conference (out of 32) in the nation.

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).