ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington men's basketball (14-6, 6-2 WAC) dominated on Thursday night, taking down Southern Utah (7-15, 3-6 WAC) to win their sixth game in their last seven on Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Night. The Thunderbirds had come in hot of late, having won three of its last four. The Mavs are now 8-1 at home, and remain atop the WAC standings, setting up a battle for first place Saturday against California Baptist.
"I'm really pleased how these guys started the game," head coach KT Turner said following the win. "I thought the second half we didn't come out how we needed to. We put an emphasis on guarding and rebounding and tonight I was really pleased with the guys came out and performed tonight on the defensive and rebounding end.
"Then offensively, I thought we were good moving without the ball – taking good shots and rebounding the ball also. Overall I'm pleased with these guys today and we've got a big game on Saturday we need to get ready for."
Ten different Mavericks scored in the first half, and UTA closed the opening period on a 16-2 run to take a 22-point lead into the locker room. Freshman forward/center Amari Reed provided some big-time lift off the bench, scoring six points, grabbing three boards and swatting three shots on the defensive end. Fellow freshman Jordan Lowery chipped in with six points off the bench as well.
Senior forward Raysean Seamster, who played in his 50th career game at UTA, scored seven in the first stanza, including a buzzer-beating triple to cap off the Mavs' run and give UTA a 45-23 lead. Seamster led the way for the Mavs, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.
Lowery equaled his career high mark of 11 points, and also added six boards in the win, while senior guard Marcell McCreary was also in double figures with 10 points to go along with four assists and a pair of steals. Reed finished with eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks in 18 minutes of action.
UTA was able to clamp down defensively on Southern Utah star forward Jaiden Feroah, who put up 13 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting back on Jan. 3, and was coming off a 35-point, 12-rebound performance last time out at Utah Tech. The Mavs held him to just seven points and four boards on 2-of-8 shooting. Southern Utah now falls to 0-13 on the road this season.
The Mavs held the Thunderbirds to just 35.7% shooting on the night, and outrebounded Southern Utah 53-28. UTA is now 13-2 when outrebounding their opponent and this marked the third time this season that the Mavericks recorded 50-plus rebounds in a game.
UTA picked up its 14th win of the season on Thursday, the program's fastest time to that win total (Jan. 29) since the 2016-17 Mavs got there on Jan. 21. That team under Scott Cross went on to finish 27-9 and win the regular season Sun Belt crown on its way to an NIT Quarterfinal appearance.
The Mavs will be back in action at home and will host red-hot California Baptist (15-6, 5-3 WAC) on Saturday, Jan. 31. That game tips off at 2 p.m. CT from the College Park Center and will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and on the radio on the Varsity Network App with the Voice of the Mavs, Josh Sours. CBU has won five straight since its 0-3 start to league play and most recently dispatched of Utah Valley 78-71 in overtime back on Jan. 24 in Riverside, California.
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