CEDAR CITY, Utah – UT Arlington men's basketball (10-5, 2-1 WAC) rode a career night from senior guard Marcell McCreary, who scored 39 points, tying for the fourth-most in a single game in program history. The Fort Worth native was 12-of-16 from the floor and 8-of-11 from distance. McCreary also had seven rebounds and four steals.
 
McCreary's 39 points tied with Willie Brand, who did the same on Dec. 2, 1989, against Prairie View A&M and Jerry Janek, who did so against Texas Wesleyan on Dec. 29, 1962. McCreary was just five points shy of the single game program record – 44, set by Dink Ford in 1964.
 
McCreary's previous career high was 26 points, set as a freshman at Air Force, against Colorado State on Jan. 10, 2023.
 
"We came here and they fought us," head coach KT Turner said following the win. "They punched us in the mouth to start the game, they did a great job and I tip my hat to them. [Our] guys just kept fighting – three games in six days, we had a long travel day that had a lot to do with it and we were playing at elevation. We didn't bring that up one time until now, but I'm just happy these guys fought and won a tough game."
 
The Mavericks got off to a slow start, falling behind 15-6 in the early-going, and a pair of 9-0 runs for the Thunderbirds put Southern Utah on top by as many as 12 in the opening half. It was McCreary who kept the Mavs in it, going nuclear, hitting a stretch of four straight triples to help UTA keep the halftime deficit at four.
 
"Marcell has been playing really good basketball right now," Turner continued. "He's playing really unselfish and getting shots, I had to get on to him about shooting more open shots. He kind of looked at me puzzled and I said every open shot, I want you shooting and if you miss it, we'll go rebound it. He's just playing good basketball, he's having fun in his senior year and he's just bought in to what we do. I'm just really happy and proud of him for how he's playing now."
 
McCreary hit 5-of-7 from distance in the opening stanza and scored 17 of his 39 points in the first half, as the Mavs hit 9-of-11 from the field to close the half.
 
"We all had a talk as a team for me to shoot open shots for us to win," McCreary said postgame. "I appreciate my teammates for getting me the ball. I feel like our offense has come together. That was something we were struggling on at the beginning of the season, but if we keep our assists higher than our turnovers, this team can keep going up."
 
UTA opened the second half on an 18-2 run and raced to a 12-point lead at 55-43 when McCreary finished through contact for a three-point play. Southern Utah would get as close as four, but the Mavs clamped down in the final minutes to pick up their second straight conference win, and fifth road win of the season (5-3).
 
McCreary's eighth triple on the night stretched the Maverick lead to 69-61, and that three-pointer tied him for second-most made in a single game alongside former Maverick Eric Gore, who also hit eight, at Charleston Southern on Dec. 28, 1991. The single game program-record of nine has been accomplished on three occasions, by Carson Bischoff at Little Rock on Jan. 22, 2022, Erick Neal at ULM on Feb. 15, 2018, and Willie Brand against Northwestern State on Valentine's Day in 1991.
 
Another triple for the Mavs, this time from senior guard Marcus Rigsby, Jr., with 4:51 to go seemed to seal it for UTA.
 
Two other Mavs scored in double figures, as Rigsby, Jr., scored 12 points to go along with five rebounds, while fellow senior Raysean Seamster chipped in with 11 points, five assists and three boards.
 
UTA shot 11-of-19 from distance (57.9%) and 51.9% from the field (28-of-54) in the win, while improving to 10-2 this season when outrebounding its opponent (33-30 on Saturday).
 
UTA aims for a third-straight win when they host Abilene Christian (8-6, 0-1 WAC) next Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT from the College Park Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and on the radio on the Varsity Network App with the Voice of the Mavs, Josh Sours on the call alongside Parker Eidson.
   
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