JACKSONVILLE, Florida – UT Arlington men's basketball got back into the win column on Wednesday, knocking off Austin Peay (4-3) 68-58 in the Mavs' opening game of the Jacksonville Classic.
 
Three Mavs were in double figures and UTA was led by guard Brody Robinson's 16 points, while Lance Ware added 14 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and a pair of assists and forward Raysean Seamster chipped in with 12 points and five boards.
 
"The effort was there tonight," head coach KT Turner said following the win. "It's still not exactly where we want it to be, but we're there in pieces of the game and we need to put a full game together with our effort and energy. We want to be real talkative on defense and that's the biggest challenge for our staff right now – getting that talking, playing hard and the energy for a full 40 minutes."
 
The Mavs opened the game shooting 8-of-13 and 4-of-5 from 3-point range. The first half was a game of runs, as Austin Peay went on an 11-0 run late in the period to take a 32-22 lead, but the Mavericks responded well with an 8-0 run to close the half and cut the deficit to 32-30 at the break.
 
"We have to get off to good starts," Turner continued. "Or, we'll dig ourselves holes. I told the guys that they're going to make runs, they're a good team, but that's where our toughness has to kick in and get stops. We talked about that last night and talked about it this morning and we did a good job of being tough when we needed to be."
 
In a game that saw 12 lead changes, UTA utilized a 12-0 run early in the second half to turn a 45-38 deficit into a 50-45 lead. Part of that was a Robinson triple, followed immediately by a Ware block on the defensive end that led to a Robinson transition layup.
 
UTA significantly improved at the free throw line from the day prior, going 23-of-27, including a 6-for-6 effort from Robinson and an 8-for-10 night by Ware.
 
UTA takes on Rhode Island (6-0) on Thursday at 1 p.m. in the Mavs' final game of the Jacksonville Classic. Rhode Island opened their tournament with a 81-75 win against Detroit Mercy on Wednesday. The game will be broadcast live on BallerTV, as well as on the radio on the Varsity App, locally on 102.5 FM and KTNO 620 AM with the Voice of the Mavericks, Josh Sours.
 
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