ARLINGTON – A standout performance on both ends of the floor in overtime propelled the UT Arlington men's basketball team to a 71-63 win over Stephen F. Austin on Saturday inside the College Park Center.
 
In a game the Mavericks never trailed and led for more than 43 minutes, an extra five minutes was needed after Makaih Williams had his potential game-winning contested layup at the end of regulation miss to send UTA to its first OT contest of the season.
 
In the extra period, true freshman Williams hit a challenging 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired on the opening possession, fueling a 10-0 start to OT for UTA as the Mavs out-scored SFA over the final five minutes, 10-2. The hosts limited the visitors to just 1-6 from the floor in OT while shooting 3-5 themselves to avenge a loss in Nacogdoches last month.
 
Williams recorded a team-high 17 points and four rebounds as he continued to state his emphatic case for WAC Freshman of the Year by reaching double-figure points for the ninth-straight game and 11th time in 12 contests since the turn of the calendar to 2024.
 
But it was redshirt freshman Chauncey Gibson who gave the Mavs a huge lift in his first collegiate game after the two-time transfer – and mid-season addition – learned on Friday that the NCAA had approved a waiver to grant him immediate eligibility.
 
The former Clemson and Tulsa product took full advantage in his first collegiate game, scoring 12 points, issuing three assists and grabbing two rebounds.
 
Riding a streak of five-straight double-doubles, DaJuan Gordon had that come to an end on Saturday but still tallied 12 points to go along with five rebounds and a career-high five steals.
 
Aaron Cash also registered 12 points while corralling seven boards, and Shemar Wilson continued his torrid play on the glass with 11 rebounds and seven points as part of a game-best plus/minus of +21.
 
In a foul-filled affair with 47 combined whistles, two of the top-3 highest-scoring offenses in the WAC were held in check as both UTA and SFA shot 38% from the floor (UTA: 24-63; SFA: 21-55) and committed a total of 42 turnovers (UTA: 22; SFA: 20).
 
The defensive performance for UTA marked a season low in points allowed to a Division-I opponent for a second-straight game (California Baptist: 64). The Mavs have now held five-consecutive opponents under 70 points.
 

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• The win moves UTA to 12-12 overall and 7-6 in the WAC, while the loss drops SFA to 14-10 and 7-6, respectively.
• All 12 of UTA's wins this season have now come when the Mavs score at least 70 points.
• Matt Hayman led SFA with a game-high 18 points, while Latrell Jossell added 14.
• UTA utilized its 11th-different starting lineup of the year, which is tied for the 12th most in the nation: Williams, Sterling Gaston-Chapman, Gordon, Cash and Wilson. Additionally, that is now the ninth-different lineup UTA has won a game with, which is tied for the 2nd most in the country (Long Beach State: 10).
• For Gaston-Chapman it was his first start with the UTA, and Wilson remains the only Mav to start all 24 games.

QUOTABLE
"I'm excited about how we started the game and how we played for the most part, but we made some mistakes in the 2nd half. We had a lot of guys step up, and I'm pleased with how we fought and dug in overtime. We could have folded and we didn't. We have some things to improve, but overall I'm pleased."
– UTA Head Coach KT Turner
 

GAME FLOW
Williams scored eight of UTA's first 10 points, helping spearhead the Mavs to a 10-2 start and forcing an SFA timeout just more than three minutes into the contest.
 
Williams picked up his second foul a minute later, sending him to the bench, but Gibson entered shortly after to give the Mavs a boost. The former 3-star recruit converted the first two attempts of his career with a layup and a 3-pointer and later added a jumper as he an instrumental role in pushing the UTA lead to 19-7 as the Lumberjacks used a second timeout jut 10 minutes into the day.
 
SFA would slowly chip away at that deficit and eventually get it all the way down to a single point, 26-25, before Fabio Basili's first 3-pointer since the last time these two teams met on Jan. 6 helped keep the Mavs in front at the break, 29-27.
 
The two teams combined for 24 1st-half turnovers, leading to a 13-5 edge in points off giveaways for the Lumberjacks in the opening period, keeping them in the game despite shooting just 32% from the floor.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers from unexpected sources for the Mavs early in the 2nd half played a key role in an 8-0 UTA surge to go back in front by nine, 39-30, three minutes into the stanza. Those triples came from Gaston-Chapman (second of the year) and Wilson (fifth of the year), and a layup by Gordon followed to cap the stretch which created separation in a one-point contest.
 
UTA would eventually forge back in front by double figures, and held a 61-56 lead with 3+ minutes remaining. However, the Mavs didn't score the rest of regulation, sending the contest to overtime knotted at 61-61.
 
THIS AND THAT

• As part of City of Arlington Day, Arlington residents received free tickets to the game, UTA players wore Dream City shooting shirts, coaches and staff wore Dream City quarter zips and there was a postgame autograph signing with Maverick players.
• The attendance of 2,393 was the 3rd highest of the season at the CPC.
• Gibson began his collegiate career at Clemson, where he redshirted as a freshman in 2022-23. After transferring to Tulsa this past offseason, he joined UTA in January. Mid-year transfers are not immediately eligible in college basketball, but the waiver approval paved the way as the 6-5 guard had not played in any games since graduating from Dallas Kimball High School in 2022.
• UTA is now 9-2 at home this year and 10-3 overall when leading at the half.
• The only game in the last 11 that Williams has not reached double-figure points was a nine-point effort at SFA on Jan. 6.
• Only two times all season prior to this current streak of holding five-straight opponents under 70 points had UTA limited D-I foes under 70: 69 both by Alcorn State and Utah Valley.

NEXT UP
UTA will remain at home when it welcomes Tarleton State to the CPC next Thursday, Feb. 15, for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The Texans currently reside in 2nd place in the WAC with a 9-3 record and an overall mark of 15-7 entering a contest at Seattle U later on Saturday.
 
In the first matchup this year, UTA used a 10-0 run to tie the contest with under a minute remaining, but a 3-pointer by the Texans with 24 seconds remaining proved to be the difference in a 78-76 Maverick loss on Jan. 4 in Stephenville.
   
PURCHASE TICKETS
Secure your seat(s) all season long to see the re-energized UTA men's basketball program in action at the College Park Center. Purchase single game or season 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).