UTA Downs South Alabama
ARLINGTON, Texas – Another superb defensive effort extended UT Arlington’s winning streak to three with Saturday night’s 73-65 victory over South Alabama before a raucous crowd of 2,896 at College Park Center.
The Mavericks improved to 9-10 overall and 4-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. UTA is tied for fourth place with Arkansas State in the 10-team Sun Belt. The Jaguars dropped to 7-13 and 1-6.
UT Arlington has held its last three opponents – Texas State, Troy and USA – to an average of 56.3 points. The Jaguars were limited to 35.5-percent shooting, the third straight foe held to less than 40 percent.
Senior guard Reger Dowell paced the UTA attack with 21 points, including 15 in the first half. Junior guard Lonnie McClanahan added 19 points. Senior forward Brandon Edwards (17 points and 11 rebounds) tallied his ninth double-double of the season.
A defensive focus for the Mavericks was USA forward Augustine Rubit. Edwards, junior center Anthony Walker, and freshmen forwards Brandon Williams and Jorge Bilbao, did a solid job battling the potential NBA prospect. Rubit finished with 14 points and eight boards.
McClanahan scored the first eight points for UTA and 14 in the first half. Dowell came off the bench and didn’t need long to heat up, hitting four 3-pointers in his first seven minutes on the floor.
The Mavericks pushed the tempo in opening half, attacking the USA defense and
looking for good shots early in the shot clock. UT Arlington was up 28-19 before the Jaguars reeled off a 6-0 run.
The Mavericks clamped down defensively and upped their lead to 10 (37-27) on McClanahan’s floater. UTA went into halftime leading 37-29.
The Jaguars were held to 28.1-percent shooting in the first half, including 25 percent (5-20) from 3-point range. The Mavericks spent much of the half shooting higher than 50 percent before settling in at 48.1 percent (13-27) at the break.
USA started the second half strong behind Ken Williams and Barrington Stevens, taking 46-45 lead with less than 12 minutes left. UT Arlington responded with a 7-0 run capped by Outler’s 3-pointer.
Another Outler jumper from beyond the arc ignited a 12-3 spurt that gave UTA the cushion it needed down the stretch.
The Mavericks hit the road next week for Sun Belt games at Western Kentucky on Thursday at Georgia State on Saturday.
