UTA Beats Western Kentucky
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ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington made Senior Night and the last home game of the season count against one of the Sun Belt Conference’s best teams. The Mavericks rallied from a 17-point deficit to upend Western Kentucky 80-73 before 1,835 fans at College Park Center.
UT Arlington improved to 13-15 overall and 8-8 in the Sun Belt Conference with two league games remaining. The second-place Hilltoppers dropped to 19-10 and 11-5.
The Mavericks were led by a pair of seniors playing their final games at CPC. Reger Dowell, the leading scorer in the Sun Belt, set a new career high with 37 points. Brandon Edwards had his 12th double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The Mavericks started slow, falling behind 20-5 over the first six minutes. The WKU lead stretched out to 26-9 before UTA ripped off a 9-2 run to wake up the crowd.
The Mavericks kept coming. Dowell knocked down a 3-pointer to get the Mavericks
within 10 points (31-21). Back-to-back layups from junior center Anthony Walker and Dowell cut the WKU advantage to 32-25.
The Hilltoppers responded with two 3-pointers to temporarily regain control before Dowell led another UTA surge. The Mavericks were down just six (38-32) with less than two minutes left in the half and went into halftime trailing 42-32.
Dowell led all scorers with 15 points at the break. The Mavericks were shooting just 41.9 percent (13-31), but did enjoy a 20-6 edge in points in the paint.
UT Arlington opened up the strong, getting within 46-40 at the first media timeout. The Mavericks were down just 60-55 after consecutive 3-pointers from Dowell and Edwards. Baskets from Edwards and Dowell against made it 64-63 WKU with less than five minutes left.
A lob from senior guard Shaquille White-Miller to Edwards gave UTA its first lead (65-64) with 3:52 remaining. The Hilltoppers would inch ahead one more time before the Mavericks closed with one last winning push.
The Mavericks shot 50 percent (13-26) and outscored WKU 48-31 in the second half.
The final home game doubled as Senior Night. The senior class of Edwards, White-Miller, Dowell and Kyle McElvain will leave UT Arlington as the most successful group in program history.
Edwards and White-Miller, as four-year lettermen, have been part of a program that has won 68 games, which is a school record for any four-year span. The Mavericks have also earned back-to-back postseason appearances (2012 NIT and 2013 CIT) for the first time ever.
Edwards is fourth all-time in rebounding at UTA, while White-Miller is third all-time in assists.
