ST. GEORGE, Utah – UT Arlington men's basketball (12-5, 4-1 WAC) won their fourth consecutive game on Thursday night, knocking off Utah Tech (9-10, 2-3 WAC) 56-52 in a defensive struggle in St. George. The win moved the Mavs into a tie for first place in the WAC with Saturday's opponent, Utah Valley, who were idle Thursday night.
 
The Mavs clamped down on Utah Tech, who came into play averaging 78.1 points per game. UTA held them to 52 points and 31.8% shooting from the field (21-for-66). The nation's second-best defense against three pointers also held the Trailblazers down, as Utah Tech hit just 1-of-15 from beyond the arc (6.7%). Utah Tech entered play averaging 7.7 threes per game, which led the league.
 
"We ground out a really tough game," head coach KT Turner said following the win. "We didn't play well, but we won the game, so that was a good thing to see. We came in and wanted to take their threes away and keep them off the glass and we felt like we did that, but they were good [tonight], I tip my hat to them."
 
The Mavs were led by senior forward Raysean Seamster, who scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the second half. The preseason All-WAC selection also added eight boards and a pair of steals in the win.
 
The Mavericks utilized a 13-0 run that saw them hold Utah Tech scoreless for nearly five minutes to build an early 19-10 lead. A three-pointer from sophomore guard Cash Chavis pushed the Mavs to their largest lead of the opening half at 12.
 
The Mavs took a 27-18 lead into the break, courtesy of a phenomenal defensive performance. UTA held the Trailblazers to 22.9% shooting from the field (8-of-35) and 0-of-6 from downtown. The Mavs also outscored Utah Tech 10-0 in bench points, led by sophomore Tyran Mason, who had six first half points.
 
UT Arlington led by as many as 13 in the second half, but Utah Tech was able to cut into the Mavs' advantage and cut it as close as two, at 42-40 when Noah Bolanga knocked down the Trailblazers' only triple of the night.
 
A steal and finish in traffic for Seamster helped get the Mavs back on track, sparking an 8-0 run over a four-plus minute stretch to push the lead back to double digits at 50-40. Utah Tech responded immediately, however with a 7-0 spurt of their own, cutting the lead back to three.
 
Seamster scored again inside after a fortuitous bounce found him alone under the basket, to put the Mavs up five with just 23.7 seconds to play. Four huge free throws from senior guard Marcus Rigsby, Jr. (12.0 seconds remaining) and Chavis (2.8 seconds left) sealed the win for the Mavs, who improved to 6-3 on the road this season.
 
UTA was 17-for-21 from the free throw line, and over its last four games are shooting 81-of-98 (82.7%) from the charity stripe. That has improved the team's percentage to 72.1% for the season. Utah Tech on the other hand, made just 9-of-18 from the line on Thursday night.
 
UTA outrebounded the Trailblazers 47-42, and are now 12-2 this season when pulling down more boards than their opponent.
 
The Mavericks now have 12 wins by Jan. 15, the fastest UTA has reached that mark since the 2017-18 season, when the Mavs hit the 12-win mark on Jan. 13. That team under Scott Cross went on to win 21 games and ultimately fell in the Sun Belt title game.
 
The Mavs remain on the road in the Beehive State when they travel to take on Utah Valley (14-4, 4-1 WAC) in a battle for first place in the WAC in Orem, Utah, at 3 p.m. CT from UCCU Center on Saturday afternoon. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and on the radio on the Varsity Network App with Will Conerly on the call.
   
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, follow the men's basketball program on X (formerly Twitter) (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).