ARLINGTON, Texas - Forward/Center Lance Ware notched a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds on Senior Day, but UT Arlington men's basketball fell to the Abilene Christian (15-14, 7-7 WAC) 70-59 at home Saturday.
"We're disappointed in how we played today," head coach KT Turner said following Saturday's game. "We got off to a really slow start. We started really playing hard in the second half, I thought we really fought, but we've got to play for two halves. We had 16 turnovers, you can't have that and we didn't shoot the ball very well, 5-for-25 from three. We've got to have more guys compete, point blank we've got to compete better and care about everything. We've got to get ready for Cal Baptist next week."
The Mavericks (13-16, 6-9 WAC) had two players score in double figures, led by Ware, who recorded his league-leading 11th double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting). Diante Smith tacked on 11 points and Raysean Seamster added seven points and two steals for UTA.
UTA fell into a quick hole at the outset, falling behind 14-3 in the opening minutes and despite pulling even multiple times in the second half, the Mavs were unable to overcome ACU on Saturday.
How It Happened
After falling behind 16-5, UT Arlington went on a 6-0 run with 9:00 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Smith, to narrow its deficit to 16-11. Abilene Christian answered back and added to its lead, leaving the Mavericks down 32-23 entering halftime.
Abilene Christian kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 37-23 advantage before UT Arlington went on a 10-0 run, finished off by Ware's layup, to shrink the deficit to 37-33 with 15:16 to go in the contest. Despite a few ties at 41, 54 and 56, Abilene Christian responded and outscored the Mavericks the rest of the way, winning the game 70-59.
Game Notes
» Lance Ware notched an impressive double-double for the Mavericks with 24 points and 11 rebounds, his WAC-leading 11th double-double, and second in as many games.
» The Mavericks held the Wildcats to only 39.7 percent shooting from the field.
» UTA turned the ball over 10 times in the opening half, resulting in 12 points for ACU.
» The Mavericks were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording six blocks as a team.
» UT Arlington was outrebounded 40-33
» Lance Ware led the Mavericks with a game-high 24 points.
» UT Arlington got a game-high 11 rebounds from Lance Ware.
» UT Arlington outscored ACU in the paint, 36-30.
» ACU registered 19 fast break points, while the Mavericks had none.
» UT Arlington recorded six blocks, led by Lance Ware's three.
» UT Arlington has now trailed at the half in seven of its last eight games (led 31-30 at the break vs. Grand Canyon on Feb. 15).
» UT Arlington honored its six seniors (Jaden Wells, Smith, Ware, Brandyn Talbot, Troy Hupstead and Darius Burford), as well as two student managers (Luke Lewis and Jordan Douglas) in a pregame ceremony.
The Mavs hit the road for the final regular season game of the season to battle California Baptist on Saturday, March 8. The game tips off at 7 p.m. CT from Riverside, California, and will be broadcast on ESPN+, and on the radio on the Varsity App, 102.5 FM and KTNO 620 AM with the Voice of the Mavericks, Josh Sours.
-- #BuckEm –
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