ARLINGTON – A slow start turned into a fast and electric finish for the UT Arlington men's basketball team on Thursday night as the Mavericks erased a 15-point hole thanks in part to a 53-point 2nd half en route to a 90-85 win over Southern Utah inside the College Park Center.
 
UTA turned a 15-point deficit late in the 1st half into a three-point lead early in the 2nd half as the Mavs used an extended 27-9 run over seven minutes bridging both halves to flip a 30-15 negative scoreline into a 42-39 cushion following a DaJuan Gordon 3-pointer just 48 seconds into the stanza.
 
From that point forward the Mavs never trailed, opening up a lead as big as nine, but had to hold on thanks to a late SUU rally. UTA did exactly that, and in the process remained in the final WAC Tournament 1st-round bye position of 4th place with four regular-season games remaining.
 
In the 1st half it was Phillip Russell leading the charge with 15 points as he helped UTA trim the aforementioned 15-point margin all the way down to just two at the half. In the 2nd half, it was Gordon helping get the Mavs over the hump with 18 points.
 
All told, Gordon finished with a team-high 23 points – one shy of matching his career high – and also missed his WAC-leading 11th double-double by a single rebound as he corralled nine. Russell, meanwhile, delivered his most points (19) since tallying 22 at Southern Utah earlier this month; the junior guard also issued a season-high eight assists against only two turnovers.
 
Aaron Cash reached double-figure points in consecutive games for the first time this season as the grad student netted 15 while pulling down six rebounds, passing out three assists and registering three steals.
 
Shemar Wilson missed his eighth double-double of the campaign by a single bucket as the senior forward notched eight points to go along with a game-most 10 rebounds.
 
UTA scored just 21 points through the first 16 minutes of the game, but exploded for 69 points over the final 24 minutes – 53 of which came in the closing 20 minutes as the Mavs shot 59% (17-29) from the floor on their way to the most points in any half this season. The 90 points are the 2nd most in a game this season versus a Division-I opponent (91 against UT Rio Grande Valley last month).
 

BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• The win improves UTA to 14-13 overall and 9-7 in the WAC, while the loss is the fifth in a row for Southern Utah and drops the Thunderbirds to 9-18 and 4-12, respectively.
• Makaih Williams (7), Brandyn Talbot (6), Dwayne Koroma (6), Akili Vining (3) and Sterling Gaston-Chapman (3) rounded out the UTA scorers.
• Talbot also tied a season high with five assists and no turnovers; he had five-assist performances in both of the first two games of the year.
• The Mavs finished with 22 assists and only 11 turnovers; the 11 giveaways are tied for a season low.
• UTA shot 50% (32-64) from the field for the game, while SUU shot 52% (30-58).
• All but two of SUU's points came from its starters as the Mavs out-scored the Thunderbirds off the bench, 34-2.
• UTA also had a 36-30 edge on the glass.
• Dominique Ford (24), Zion Young (20), Parsa Fallah (19) and Braden Housley (17) accounted for that starting-lineup scoring for SUU.
• UTA utilized the same starting lineup for the fourth-straight game: Williams, Gaston-Chapman, Gordon, Cash and Wilson.
• For Gaston-Chapman it marks his fourth-consecutive start, and Wilson remains the only Mav to start all 27 games.

QUOTABLE
"I wasn't pleased at all with how we started the game; we had no energy and weren't guarding. We brought the energy in the 2nd half, but just couldn't pull away. We know every game is going to be a fight, but I'm happy with how we stayed together and fought through their run."
– UTA Head Coach KT Turner
 

GAME FLOW
The lethargic start by the Mavs on both ends allowed the Thunderbirds to open the night with a 9-0 start just three minutes into the contest. It grew to double figures before the 13-minute mark, 20-9, and reached its largest at 15, 30-15, with seven minutes remaining in the half.
 
UTA still trailed by a baker's dozen, 32-19, with 5:30 remaining, but that's when the Mavs flipped a switch, and it was Russell initiating the surge. The junior guard spearheaded an extended 16-7 close over the final four minutes of the half as he was responsible for 13 of those – 10 of which he scored himself and three which he assisted on a Talbot triple. Talbot had the other six points as the Mavs fought all the way back to only trail by two at intermission, 39-37.
 
That deficit was quickly erased entirely in the first 50 seconds of the 2nd half when Gordon threw down a vicious one-handed slam and followed it up with a wide-open 3-pointer a few seconds later to put the Mavs in front, 42-39.
 
The margin got to eight for the first time at the 12-minute mark when Williams knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a 60-52 contest, and it climbed to nine, 68-59, at the midway point of the frame following a Gordon 3.
 
SUU battled back on multiple occasions to get as close as one point, and only trailed by two, 78-76, with a little over three minutes remaining. However, the Mavs used a 7-0 run – capped by an eventual dagger baseline 3-pointer from Cash – to open up a nine-point edge, 85-76, with 90 seconds left.
 
However, the Thunderbirds didn't go quietly, responding with a 7-0 stretch of their own to get back within two, 85-83, before the Mavs iced the contest from the free throw line.
 
THIS AND THAT

• This is the first time all season UTA has been multiple games over .500 in WAC play; that did not occur at any point last season, which was the team's first back in the WAC since its only other campaign in 2012-13.
• The Mavs have now won five of their last seven games, and the two losses in that timeframe came by a combined three points.
• The 14 wins are UTA's most since going 14-18 in 2019-20, and all 14 of the victories this season have come by scoring 70+ points.
• UTA is now 10-3 at home this season, marking its first double-figure win campaign at the CPC since going 13-1 in 2017-18.

NEXT UP
UTA remains at home and welcomes Utah Tech to the CPC for a 2 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, Feb. 24. The Trailblazers have not played since last Saturday and will come to Arlington with a 10-16 overall record and a 6-9 mark in the league. The Mavs won the first game between the two sides in St. George three weeks ago, 87-66.
 
Additionally, a canned food drive will take place, with fans receiving one (1) free ticket for bringing two (2) non-perishable canned/boxed food items to the game.
   
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).