UTA Loses To Georgia State
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ATLANTA, Georgia – UT Arlington dropped to 3-3 in the Sun Belt Conference with Thursday night’s 83-62 setback to Georgia State at GSU Sports Arena.
The Mavericks (9-7) have lost all three meetings with the Panthers as Sun Belt members dating back to last season. The teams square off again Jan. 29 in Arlington at College Park Center.
UTA was done in by its sloppiness against the Panthers’ length and athleticism. The Mavericks lost the ball a season-high 26 times, leading to a 35-2 deficit in points off turnovers.
“Our turnovers killed us,” UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. “We just to jump and make passes, and probably turned it up over 10 times in the second half doing that. That’s a fundamental we practice, the jump stop, and our guys did not utilize the jump stop.
“They were just scoring in transition and played very well. They were active defensively, which caused us to turn the ball over. We just weren’t very good tonight and the results showed.”
Senior forward Greg Gainey topped the Mavericks with 11 points. Senior guard Lonnie McClanahan grabbed 10 rebounds and scored nine points. Freshman forward Kevin Hervey and junior guard Johnny Hill also have nine points each.
Georgia State (11-6, 4-2) opened the second half with a 21-10 spurt to turn the tide in a
tight game. Panther guard Ryan Harrow, the Sun Belt’s third-leading scorer, racked up a game-high 27 points.
The Mavericks did an admirable job on SBC-leading scorer R.J. Hunter, who came into the game averaging 21.1 points. The junior guard had just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting.
The first half was played at a frenetic pace with both teams racing up and down the court, as the Panthers took a 36-32 lead into the break. The Mavericks made up for poor shooting (39.3 percent) and too many turnovers (10) with hustle and effort.
UTA opened the game with a 6-2 lead on 3-pointers from Hervey and freshman guard Kaelon Wilson. Georgia State responded with a 13-0 run with seven points from Harrow to go up nine points.
Neal knocked down a 3-pointer to pull the Mavericks within 18-16 before GSU extended the lead back to seven (28-21). UTA was particularly active late in the half, especially on the offensive boards to close the gap again going into the locker room.
Harrow had 19 points at the break, with Hunter managing just four points on 1-6 shooting. McClanahan led UTA with six points, while Gainey and guard Erick Neal each scored five.
The Panthers quickly took control to open the second half, taking a nine-point edge (47-38) at the first media timeout. Turnovers continued to be an issue for the Mavericks as the deficit reached double digits.
The Mavericks, down as many as 21, reeled off a 7-0 run to make to 74-62 with less than four minutes to play. UTA wouldn’t get any closer.
