ABILENE, Texas – UT Arlington men's basketball (9-11, 2-4 WAC) won a thriller in overtime, 79-76, at Abilene Christian (9-12, 1-5 WAC) on Saturday afternoon to pick up its second straight conference win.
 
"First of all, I feel like our guys had a really good two weeks of practice and film and focusing and trying to get better," head coach KT Turner said following the win. "It started right before the Utah Valley game and I'm just proud of these guys and happy for them. We fought and broke through and had a good week this week and got two wins. Abilene Christian played a really tough game – they're going to play tough every time you play them. We had to match that and we did tonight."
 
UTA was led by Lance Ware's third straight double-double with 18 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high five blocks. Point guard Brody Robinson had 12 points and a career-best 10 assists, while forward Raysean Seamster had 16 points, six rebounds and two clutch overtime free throws. Jaden Wells also added 16 for the Mavs in the win.
 
The Mavs dug out of an early hole in the first half, trailing by as many as nine in the first frame, thanks to a strong half by guard Wells, who hit 4-of-6 from the field and had 11. Seamster did some damage inside, scoring seven in the first half, including a tough finish through contact that gave UTA a 31-28 advantage. UTA outscored ACU 22-12 in the paint in the opening half.
 
Ware had eight points, six boards and two blocks in the first half, and a pair of transition slams, one from a Robinson dish that tied things at 27-27 and another in the final minute on a long pass from Darius Burford to put the Mavs up 35-31 heading into the break.
 
ACU utilized an 8-0 tun to take a three-point lead at 51-48 at the 10-minute mark of the second half. Guard Brandyn Talbot then buried a big three-pointer off of a Ware assist to tie things back up. He struck again with a timely corner triple to put the Mavs up 59-57.
 
Burford then knocked down another three from the opposite corner to put the Mavs up 62-59. UTA extended its lead in the final 19 seconds to three points on a pair of key Wells free throws, but ACU's Hunter Jack Madden buried a three-pointer with 6.4 seconds to go to tie it at 70. Robinson's floater in the lane at the buzzer went in and out, and the game went to overtime.
 
Robinson's 10^th assist was a thing of beauty, lobbing to Ware for the alley-oop early in the frame to tie things at 72. On the defensive end with the game tied at 74, Ware had back-to-back blocks. Robinson then connected on a step-back three to give UTA a three-point lead.
 
With 12.0 seconds left, it was Seamster's turn to knock down a pair of clutch free throws, which he did to eventually seal it for the Mavs.
 
"I'm especially happy for Raysean hitting those free throws," Turner continued. "It's something he's struggled with in the past, but he's in every day before and after practice he's working on free throws. He comes at night and shoots free throws, working on his shot and it's paying off."
 
The Mavs return home to host Southern Utah (9-10, 1-4 WAC) on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. CT at the College Park Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and will be on the radio on the Varsity App, 102.5 FM and KTNO 620 AM with the Voice of the Mavs, Josh Sours. UTA looks to avenge a 73-68 loss in Cedar City, Utah back on Jan. 11.
   
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