UTA Defeats Texas State

{fshare id=6030}

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Senior guard Lonnie McClanahan scored 18 points to lead three Mavericks in double figures in UT Arlington’s 70-61 victory over rival Texas State on Thursday night at Strahan Coliseum.

The Mavericks won their second in a row to improve to 14-9 on the season and 8-5 in the Sun Belt Conference. UTA swept the two-game season series and has won eight consecutive games against the Bobcats.

The Mavericks took control with an 11-2 run to open the second half and take a 42-30 lead. Texas State would get as close as 64-59 with less than two minutes to play, but UTA would close out the win at the line.

“We had to work for everything tonight,” UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. “It wasn’t easy. Our guys came through down the stretch. They went zone on us and things got a little tight. They cut the lead down to five and it looked like our guys might be melting a little bit, but we withstood it.”

McClanahan also had seven rebounds and six assists in UTA’s first game since junior guard Johnny Hill was lost to a season-ending injury. Senior forward Greg Gainey tied a season-high with 15 points, and sophomore guard Drew Charles added 12 points and six boards. Freshman guard Kaelon Wilson had nine points off the bench.

“It was a good all-around team performance,” Cross said.

The Mavericks shot 51.9 percent (27-52) against the Sun Belt’s top defensive team in points allowed.

UTA returns to action Saturday at South Alabama. Tip is set for 4:05 p.m.