ARLINGTON – A brilliant 1st-half defensive performance combined with a pair of standout individual performances helped fuel the UT Arlington men's basketball team to an 83-69 win Thursday night over reigning WAC Regular Season Champion Utah Valley inside the College Park Center.
 
UTA didn't allow Utah Valley to score a point until the 12:40 mark of the 1st half, held the Wolverines to just 20 in the opening 20 minutes and surrendered a season-low-tying 69 points to a Division-I opponent while limiting UVU to only 31% from the floor (17-55).
 
After missing UTA's last game this past Saturday due to a knee contusion, DaJuan Gordon (9.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg) returned on Thursday in an emphatic way, leading the Mavs with a game-high 22 points on 6-8 from the floor and 9-10 at the free throw line. The grad transfer added six rebounds and a game-most three steals.
 
Shemar Wilson registered his fifth double-double of the year – and first since Nov. 29 – with 11 points and a game-most 12 rebounds. That double-double tied him for the most this season in the WAC, and he also notched his league-leading eighth contest with 10+ boards.
 
Making the performance even more impressive for the Mavs was that UTA was without its leading scorer (15 ppg) and distributor (4.4 apg) in Phillip Russell for a second-straight game with an ankle sprain.
 
Despite their starting point guard, UTA held the Wolverines to single-digit points more than 13 minutes into the evening, and they finished with only the aforementioned 20 1st-half points en route to a 19-point lead for the Mavs at 39-20 – the fewest points UTA has allowed in an opening frame all year to D-I competition.
 
That 19-point margin wasn't just the largest lead at the break against a D-I opponent this year for UTA, but it also represented the Mavs' biggest advantage at any juncture of any D-I contest all season. That margin grew to as much as 26 in the 2nd half as UTA rose to the occasion in what felt like a need-to-win situation in early January.
 
Adding to the offensive efforts for UTA were true freshman Makaih Williams and grad transfer Akili Vining. Williams stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, a career-high-tying eight assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals in 26 minutes. Vining matched Williams with 13 points while also issuing five assists in a starting role.
 

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• The win snapped a five-game losing streak for UTA to improve the Mavs to 7-9 overall and 2-3 in the WAC, while the loss dropped UVU to 8-8 and 3-2, respectively.
• Brandyn Talbot tallied nine points, had three assists and grabbed five rebounds. All nine points came on a trio of 3-pointers – his first triples since Dec. 6, a stretch of four games as he missed three contests during that time period with a concussion.
• Dwayne Koroma scored seven points to represent his most since a 10-point outing at Grand Canyon on Dec. 2.
• Talbot missed a free throw in the final minute, breaking a streak of 19-straight makes dating back to Nov. 12, 2022.
• Koroma hit a baseline 3-pointer in the 2nd half for his first triple of the year and just his second in two seasons at the D-I level.
• UTA's 83 points were its 2nd most this year against a D-I opponent (Abilene Christian: 86). The Mavs shot 49% (26-53) from the floor to also mark its 2nd-best effort this year (57% versus ACU).
• The 22 points for Gordon was his second 20-point showing of the year and were two shy of matching his career high of 24 set in the season opener opposite Oral Roberts.
• There were a combined 49 fouls called – 28 on UTA and 21 on UVU.
• Trevin Dorius posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead UVU.
• UTA used its eighth-different starting lineup of the season: Vining, Williams, Gordon, Aaron Cash (four points) and Wilson. Wilson is the only Mav to start all 16 games this year.

QUOTABLE
"We played hard and we guarded tonight – that's all we've talked about since we got back from Stephen F. Austin on Saturday night. We've been focusing on that in practice, and it carried over to the game. We have to continue to do that, but I was very pleased with the guys – we shared the ball and played hard."
– UTA Head Coach KT Turner
 

GAME FLOW
UTA stormed out of the opening tip, jumping to a 7-0 lead in just 2:20 and prompting a Utah Valley timeout. The Mavs held the Wolverines without a point until the 12:40 mark to make it a 9-2 contest, and UTA eventually created a double-figure lead, 13-2, at the midway point of the stanza.
 
The Mavs built an 18-4 margin before eventually extending to the aforementioned 19-point edge at intermission on the strength of 46% shooting (12-26) from the floor and a near-perfect 12-13 (92%) from the free throw line. Conversely, the Mavs limited the Wolverines to only 22% (6-27) from the field and UVU shot just 54% (6-11) from the charity stripe.
 
UVU trimmed its deficit to 12, 43-31, a few minutes into the 2nd half, but the Mavs methodically kept the Wolverines at bay and on the strength of an 8-0 run capped by Williams rising up in transition and knocking down a 3, built a 22-point differential, 57-35, with 13 minutes left.
 
Playing with its first 20-point lead of the year versus a D-I foe, the Mavs extended it to as much as 26, 64-38, near the midway point of the 2nd half. It remained a 24-point margin with seven minutes left before UVU mounted a 12-0 run to make it a 68-56 contest, but a crucial 3-pointer at the 3:30 mark just before the shot clock expired by Vining put the game out of reach.
 
THIS AND THAT

• Russell remains day-to-day with his injury.
• Williams has reached double-figure points in three of the last four games, with the one exception being a nine-point outing at SFA on Saturday.
• This was UTA's first home game since Dec. 6 – a stretch of 36 days in-between games, which is the second-longest gap by any team in the nation this year (Delaware: 38).
• UTA is now 6-1 at home this season compared with an 0-8 mark on the road (1-0 neutral site).
• UVU won a school-record 28 games and reached the semifinals of the NIT last year.
• The Wolverines were UTA's ninth D-I opponent this season (out of 14) that played in the postseason in 2023.
• The Mavs now lead the all-time series with UVU, 3-2.

NEXT UP
After six-straight games away from home, UTA will have its second contest of a three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 2 p.m. when Seattle U visits the CPC. The Redhawks are 10-6 overall and 3-2 in the WAC after suffering an 81-80 loss at the overtime buzzer to UT Rio Grande Valley earlier on Thursday night.  
PURCHASE TICKETS
Secure your seat to see the re-energized UTA men's basketball program in action at the College Park Center. Purchase tickets at UTATickets.com, call 817-272-9595 or email boxoffice@uta.edu.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, follow the men's basketball program on X (formerly Twitter) (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).