LYNCHBURG, Virginia – UT Arlington men's basketball started slow and never quite seemed to get out of its shooting slump, falling 79-56 on Saturday afternoon at Liberty, despite a second straight double-double from forward/center
Lance Ware, who finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
"We started the game fine for the first four minutes and then we just broke down," head coach
KT Turner said following the game. "We didn't have a lot of fight or a lot of energy, and I'm just disappointed how we came out and played. There were a couple guys individually who came out and played and kept fighting. That's what this program is about."
The Mavs shot just 23.7% from the field in the opening half and despite an 11-1 run that cut the Liberty advantage to 19-18, UTA would get no closer. The Flames immediately went on a 15-0 run and didn't look back.
UTA cut things as close as 13 when
Raysean Seamster's offensive board and putback made it 44-31. Seamster finished with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with three steals.
"I just want us to compete," Turner continued. "To compete and execute and we've got to go out and make plays, but we didn't do that today."
The Mavericks close the calendar year with their final non-conference game of the season on Sunday, Dec. 29, at Texas State in San Marcos. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and on the radio on the Varsity App, 102.5 FM and KTNO 620 AM.
-- #BuckEm –
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