ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington men's basketball (3-1) led by as many as 22 and were dominant at times, defeating Missouri State (2-2) in front of 2,934 fans at the College Park Center for UTA's Homecoming game. Senior forward Raysean Seamster led the way for the Mavs with 17 points and four assists, while senior guard Marcell McCreary added 14 on 5-of-8 shooting (3-of-5 from distance) for UTA in the win.
"I'm really pleased how these guys came out and defended Missouri State today," head coach KT Turner said following the game. "That's all we talked about all week, how we were going to guard them and I feel like we did a really good job. Them only going 1-for-14 from the three-point-line is huge. 16-for-50, I mean these guys I felt like really guarded. Offensively I feel like we took really good shots, they executed. I'm pleased right now. We've got a lot of work to do, but we're headed in the right direction and they did just a really good job of following the gameplan also – we had a great gameplan for them and they came through and followed it."
The Mavs withstood a slow start, as the visitors opened the game on a 9-2 run. They stayed the course, however, and did so thanks to their strong team defense. UTA held Missouri State scoreless for nearly four minutes in a stretch where the Mavericks cut the lead to 10-7 on a Marcell McCreary hoop and harm, and then a Seamster bucket inside cut the lead to just a pair.
Freshman point guard Jordan Lowery, sophomore guard Bahsil Laster and Seamster all converted three-point-plays in succession gave the Mavericks their first lead of the night at 18-15. UTA extended that to an 11-0 run and a 23-15 lead, capped off by a finish following a Euro step from Seamster, who had 13 first half points.
The Mavs held the Bears to just 33.3% (8-of-24) shooting in the opening half, including 1-of-7 to close and the Mavs shot 9-of-11 themselves to finish the first stanza with a 34-25 advantage. The Mavericks came off of a 30-assist night against Arlington Baptist on Monday and shared it well again, assisting on 10 of 13 field goals in the first half, led by sophomore guard Cash Chavis with six.
McCreary hit back-to-back threes at the start of the second half, building the UTA lead to 15. The lead ballooned to 20 after Chavis finished in transition with a thunderous jam. The Arkansas transfer finished with 11 points, eight assists, which matched his career high set on Monday against Arlington Baptist, and four rebounds.
The UTA lead reached its high-water mark when Chavis found Seamster for an alley-oop, lifting the Mavs' advantage to 59-37. The Mavericks defense held Missouri State to 49 total points on just 32.0% shooting and 1-of-14 from three. UTA also outrebounded its opponent for the fourth consecutive game to start the season, grabbing 42 boards to the Bears' 35. Sophomore forward/center Cameron Jackson had a career day on the glass, pulling down 15 rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive end.
The Mavs, who are now 3-0 at home, are set to hit the road and travel to Indiana to take on Evansville on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Fans can watch live on ESPN+, and listen live on the Varsity Network App with the Voice of the Mavs, Josh Sours.
-- #BuckEm –
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