ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington men's basketball (7-11, 0-4 WAC) came up just short, 85-83 in overtime against first-place Utah Valley on Thursday night at the College Park Center in Arlington. Mavs guard Jaden Wells scored 25 points, 22 of which came in the second half and overtime, while forward/center Lance Ware finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season.
 
"I want to tip my hat to Utah Valley," head coach KT Turner said in his postgame press conference. "They're playing really good basketball right now. They came in and I feel like they won a tough game, so first I want to tip my hat to them, but I'm proud of my guys with how we responded to last week. It's still not good enough, we still have got to clean some stuff up, but I was proud of the fight. We had a couple of turnovers late in the game that really hurt us, a couple missed box outs and that's what we've been talking about, especially the last four. But we've just got to go back and keep cleaning stuff up until we figure this out and get it right."
 
UTA opened through Ware, who scored four quick points to get the Mavericks going. Despite a tough shooting opening half (34.5% from the field), the Mavs kept it close with the Wolverines.
 
Guard Darius Burford had six first half points, a corner three that tied things at 17 on an assist by guard Brody Robinson and an acrobatic finish through contact to set up a three-point play to tie things at 22 inside the final four minutes of the half. Burford finished with 13 points, four assists and three rebounds.
 
The visiting Wolverines shot 57.1% from the field in the first half, and took a slim 30-26 advantage into the break.
 
In a game of runs, UTA used a 12-1 run fueled by eight Wells points to take a six-point advantage at 40-34. Utah Valley responded with a 13-3 run of its own leading by as many as nine. But it was UTA who utilized a 15-2 run, capped by a thunderous two-hand slam by Ware that put the Mavericks up 63-58 with 4:27 to go in regulation.
 
An alley-oop from Burford to forward Raysean Seamster with 2:48 left in the second half put UTA on top 68-64. It was a four-point lead for the Mavs with just under 17 seconds to go that evaporated, courtesy of four clutch Dominick Nelson free throws, which sent the game to overtime. Nelson finished with 25, five assists and four boards for the visiting Wolverines.
 
In the extra period, Utah Valley led by as many as four in a back-and-forth affair until Seamster, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds, scored on a putback with just 5.0 seconds to play to tie things at 83 apiece. But it was Utah Valley's Jackson Holcombe who broke the hearts of those in blue with a layup with just three tenths of a second left. A Wells heave at the buzzer went off the rim and the Wolverines escaped with an 85-83 win.
 
The Mavs remain at home at the College Park Center when they host Seattle (7-10, 2-1 WAC) on Thursday, Jan. 23. That game tips off at 7 p.m. CT 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. Seattle knocked off Utah Tech 82-62 at home Thursday night.


   
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