ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington men's basketball (9-11, 2-4 WAC) are set to host Southern Utah (9-11, 1-5 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.
 
The Mavs are coming off of two consecutive league wins last week, having dispatched Seattle U 65-56 last Thursday, and outlasted Abilene Christian 79-76 in overtime on Saturday in Abilene.
 
Forward/center Lance Ware was instrumental in a big week for UT Arlington, helping lead the Mavs to two league wins. The New Jersey native averaged 15.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg and 4.0 bpg in the wins over Seattle U (at home) and a road win at Abilene Christian to help the Mavs get back on track. 
 
Ware posted 12 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocks in a 65-56 home win over Seattle U on Thursday night, the Mavs first WAC win of the season. 
 
Ware followed that effort up with 18 points, 14 rebounds, a career-high five blocks, two assists and two steals in an overtime road victory at Abilene Christian. It marked his third consecutive double-double and sixth thus far this season. 
 
Point guard Brody Robinson has averaged 12.2 ppg over his last six, and 9.5 assists per game across his last two games, including a career-high 10 assists at ACU in the win. Robinson, who is shooting a team-best 41.1% from distance this season also buried a step-back three-pointer in overtime to give the Mavs a three-point advantage that they wouldn't relinquish.
 
UTA's next opponent, Southern Utah, is off to a 9-11 start, and is 1-5 in WAC play, following a pair of home losses to Grand Canyon (74-59) and Cal Baptist (76-60).
 
The Thunderbirds are led by second-year head coach Rob Jeter, who joined Southern Utah after three seasons as the head coach at Western Illinois. In addition to his time with the Leathernecks, Jeter was also a head coach at UW-Milwaukee (2005-16), where he was the program's winningest coach. Jeter was also an assistant at Minnesota and UNLV.
 
Southern Utah is led by forward Jamir Simpson, who is averaging a team-high 16.5 ppg and 4.9 rpg. Guards Dominique Ford (14.8 ppg) and Tavi Jackson (9.8 ppg) are also key fixtures for the Thunderbirds. Ford scored 26 points on Jan. 11, while Simpson chipped in with 20, and 3-of-5 shooting from distance.
 
Thursday's meeting between UTA and Southern Utah will be the fifth all-time, with the teams splitting the first four.
   
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