STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Trailing by 13 points with six minutes remaining, the UT Arlington men's basketball team tied the contest with under a minute to play, but a 3-pointer by Tarleton State handed the Mavericks a 78-76 loss Thursday night inside Wisdom Gym in the resumption of Western Athletic Conference play for both teams.
 
UTA trailed 70-57 before mounting a 10-0 run in two minutes as DaJuan Gordon (five) and Phillip Russell (three) accounted for eight of those 10 points. However, Russell landed awkwardly after making his 3-pointer at the 4:43 mark, and UTA's leading scorer in the four games he's been eligible to play did not return.
 
Forty-three seconds later, Gordon – who reached 600 career rebounds earlier in the half – suffered a leg injury after converting a reverse layup to pull the Mavs within the aforementioned three points, and he also did not return as UTA was without two of its top-3 season scorers for the final 4+ minutes.
 
Unfazed, true freshman Makaih Williams stepped up and delivered a career-high 24 points. After Tarleton re-built a five-point lead, 72-67, Williams scored five of UTA's next seven points as part of a 7-2 response by the Mavs, and on a contested finish at the rim with 48 seconds left tied the game at 74-all.
 
But on Tarleton's ensuing possession, Lue Williams knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 24 seconds remaining. After a pair of Akili Vining free throws pulled UTA back within one, Tarleton made 1-of-2 from the free throw line to establish a 78-76 margin.
 
Without a timeout, UTA inbounded from under its own basket to Williams with fewer than five seconds to try and get a shot off to tie or win the game. After slipping receiving the ball, Williams pushed across the timeline, but had the ball stripped as he tried to get a shot up from beyond the 3-point line.
 
Tarleton – which came into the game shooting only 27% from 3-point range and averaging just 4.7 makes per contest this year – finished at 57% on 12-21 against the Mavs. The Texans hadn't made more than eight 3s against a Division-I opponent all season, but they surpassed that total not even four minutes into the 2nd half en route to a season-high dozen, regardless of competition level. Lue Williams, who made the aforementioned four triples, entering the day with only 11 makes from beyond the arc all season.
 

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• The loss drops UTA to 6-8 overall and 1-2 in the WAC, while the win improves Tarleton State to 10-4 and 3-0, respectively.
• Williams became the fifth different UTA player to notch 20+ points in a game this season, and he also added a team-high six rebounds and team-most three steals.
• Gordon had 16 points and four rebounds before exiting, while Russell had scored 11 points and issued three assists in advance of his departure.
• Vining rounded out the quartet of UTA double-figure scorers with 10 points in addition to distributing a team-high four assists.
• In a matchup of the WAC's leaders in double-doubles, blocks and offensive rebounding this season, UTA's Shemar Wilson and Tarleton's KiAndre Gaddy were both held in check with Wilson finishing with eight points and a rebound and Gaddy with five points and five rebounds before fouling out.
• After missing the previous three games recovering from a concussion suffered on Dec. 16, Brandyn Talbot (7 ppg) returned and pulled down three rebounds for the Mavs in 12 minutes.
• Tarleton leads the WAC in fewest points allowed (63.2), but UTA's 76 were the most the Texans have allowed at home this year and the 3rd most by any foe (86 at Bradley, 80 at Virginia).
• This was only the second time this season UTA has lost when scoring at least 70 points (82-80 at New Mexico).
• UTA shot 47% (24-51) from the floor and 38% (9-24) from 3-point range, while the Texans finished at 47% (27-57) from the field as well.
• Emmanuel Innocenti (19) and Devon Barnes (18) paced a quartet of Tarleton double-figure scorers along with 16 from Williams and 15 from Jakorie Smith.
• UTA used the same starting lineup for the fourth-consecutive game: Russell, Williams, Gordon, Dwayne Koroma and Wilson.

QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH KT TURNER
On Facing A Deficit: "We've got to get better starting games; it's really hard to beat a team on the road when you get down 13."
 
On Makaih's 24 Points: "On any given night we've probably got eight guys who can score 20+ points, and tonight it was Makaih's turn. He's one of those guys who just lives in the gym, and he can definitely pop up and give you 20."
 
On Tarleton's Shooting: "They don't usually shoot the ball great, but they shot it at almost 50% tonight. I tip my hat to them, but we definitely need to tighten up our defense on the perimeter."
 

GAME FLOW
Neither team led by more than five points in the 1st half until back-to-back 3-pointers by Tarleton inside of three minutes remaining in the stanza opened up either side's largest lead of the night to that juncture at 38-30.
 
UTA responded with a 7-0 push to pull within one at 38-37, but the Texans closed the period on a 4-0 stretch to take a 42-37 lead into the break.
 
The Mavs shot 48% (12-25) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, but allowed Tarleton to connect at 50% (15-30) as the contest was tied on four occasions and featured four lead changes in the first frame.
 
The Mavs got within one, 44-43, early in the 2nd half after a Vining 3, and it was only a two-point differential, 50-48, five minutes into the half following a Russell triple. However, a 12-2 run by Tarleton opened up the biggest cushion of the contest for the Texans to that point at 12, 62-50, inside of 12 minutes.
 
From there, UTA wasn't able to get any closer than nine before the Texans extended to the 13-point margin previously mentioned and the Mavs mounted their comeback effort.
 
THIS AND THAT

• Gordon has only been held scoreless two times this year – this past Monday at #21 Texas and Nov. 25 against Texas State. In the game after Texas State, he delivered a team-high 16 points versus Abilene Christian; he had the same total on Thursday against Tarleton – UTA's first game since Texas.

NEXT UP
UTA remains on the road when it heads to Stephen F. Austin (9-5, 2-1 WAC) for 2 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, Jan. 6. The Lumberjacks – picked 2nd in the WAC Preseason Poll – have won four-straight games following an 85-78 win at UT Rio Grande Valley on Thursday afternoon.
   
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).