UT Arlington Loses To Georgia State

George Walker | February 28, 2014 | College | No Comments

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ARLINGTON, Texas – A flurry from Sun Belt Conference-leading Georgia State to start the second half buried UT Arlington in a 77-49 setback Thursday night at College Park Center.

The Mavericks, up 34-29 at halftime, found themselves down 20 just eight minutes into the second half. The Panthers’ game-defining run ended any upset hopes for UT Arlington, which dropped to 12-15 overall and 7-8 in conference play.

“That’s definitely a very humiliating loss for me and for the program,” UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said.

The Mavericks play their final home game of the season Saturday night against Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers came into Thursday trailing just George State in the Sun Belt standings.

The Panthers (21-7, 14-1) opened the second half with a 23-4 run to take a 52-38 lead, forcing two timeouts out of Cross. The stoppages didn’t stem the bleeding. Georgia State would go up 59-39 and cruised to the win, its second over the Mavs this season.

Senior guard Reger Dowell topped UTA with 18 points, all but two coming in the

first half. Senior forward Brandon Edwards had 12 points. Junior guard Lonnie McClanahan had his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mavericks shot just 25.0 percent (5-20) after intermission, compared to 59.3 percent (16-27) for Georgia State. The Panthers outscored UTA 20-2 off the bench. GSU forward Manny Atkins scored 27 to lead four Panthers in double figures.

The game remained close throughout the first half, with nine ties and 12 lead changes. The Mavericks took their largest lead of the half when Dowell tipped in his own miss at the buzzer for a five-point edge.

Dowell had 16 points in the first half on 7-13 shooting, and Edwards added seven points. McClanahan had six points, seven boards and three assists at the break. The Mavericks were enjoying a 23-15 rebounding advantage at the half.

Atkins had a team-high 10 points for Georgia State at halftime. The Panthers were outscored 24-16 in the paint through 20 minutes.