SAN MARCOS, Texas – UT Arlington men's basketball (7-7) finished its non-conference schedule with a bang, knocking off Texas State (8-5), 80-72 on the road in San Marcos on Sunday evening. The Mavs had three players in double figures, led by forward Diante Smith's 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting (2-of-3 from 3-point range).
 
Forward/center Lance Ware put together his third straight double-double with 19 points (8-of-10 from the field) and 12 rebounds, while forward Raysean Seamster chipped in with 13 points and seven boards.
 
"I told the guys [at halftime] to keep fighting and keep competing," head coach KT Turner said following the win. "Things are going to turn our way, but we've got to keep defending and rebounding. That was the main message, I said it was going to be all about our defense. We weren't going to get it all back at once, we had to hit singles and not home runs."
 
UTA opened with four quick points from forward Raysean Seamster, and then withstood 10 unanswered by the Bobcats, as Ware scored four straight to cut the lead to two. Smith then went on a bit of an offensive tear, scoring 13 of his XX points in the opening half, shooting 4-of-5 from the floor in the first frame. His step-back triple midway through the half gave UTA a 19-18 lead.
 
Texas State then went on another 10-0 run to build a 28-19 advantage, and the Bobcats carried a seven-point lead into the break at 39-32.
 
The Mavericks scored six of the first eight points of the half and cut the lead to two on a highlight reel slam by Ware, who finished off the lob from guard Brody Robinson. Texas State again pushed the lead to seven, but UTA was bolstered by a mini 6-0 run to trim the lead to 47-46 thanks to four from guard Darius Burford and a putback finish from Smith.
 
The Mavs eventually got over the hump, as Ware and Smith continued to do their damage in the paint. A dunk off an offensive board by Ware followed by a pair of finishes by Smith gave the Mavs a 62-60 advantage inside of eight minutes.
 
UTA did not look back after that and built a lead as large as 10, at 75-65. Seamster had back-to-back putbacks after Ware made a nice spin move to the baseline that he finished with a two-handed dunk.
 
The Mavericks sealed the win after Robinson sunk four consecutive free throws to stretch the lead back to nine, and eventually won it 80-72.
 
"When we can win games when we're not shooting the ball well, that's when we're a good team," Turner continued. "And they showed that today and I'm really proud of them for that."
 
UTA now enters Western Athletic Conference league play beginning Saturday, Jan. 4, when the Mavs travel to in-state foe Tarleton State. That game tips off at 7 p.m. in Stephenville and will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and on the radio on the Varsity App, 102.5 FM and KTNO 620 AM with the Voice of the Mavs, Josh Sours.


   
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).