UTA Defeats App State
BOONE, N.C. – UT Arlington spent most of Thursday night playing from behind at Appalachian State, but the Mavericks were ahead when it mattered most.
Erick Neal drilled a huge 3-pointer with 2:16 remaining and the Mavs were able to hold for a 71-67 victory over the Mountaineers. UTA extended its winning streak to seven games, improving to 12-2 overall and 3-0 in the Sun Belt.
Despite trailing for the first 35 minutes against App State, UT Arlington is off to its best 14-game start in program history and the unbeaten run is the longest in four years.
The Mavericks took their first lead of the game (61-60) with five minutes left when Neal found Nathan Hawkins on a fastbreak layup. Neal’s free throw gave UTA a 63-62 edge before he nailed a 3-pointer for a four-point advantage.
The Mavs would close out their conference road win of the season at the foul line.
Jalen Jones led UTA with 14 points and added eight rebounds. Neal scored 13 and dished out six assists. Kevin Hervey came up just short of his eighth double-double with 10 boards and had nine points. Mairega Clarke and Faith Pope each scored nine off the bench.
App State guard Chris Burgess led all scorers with 21 points, but scored only
four in the second half. The Mountaineers are 2-12 overall and 0-3 in league play.
The Mavericks were in an early hole, as App State raced out to a 20-7 lead in the game’s first five minutes. UTA would get back into it with an 8-0 run, highlighted by Nick Pallas’ steal and breakaway layup leading to a three-point play.
The Mountaineers’ edge was down to 24-21 before they made another push to lead by double digits. The Mavs went into halftime down 44-35, easily their largest halftime deficit this season.
Pope had a team-high nine points in the first half. Neal and Jones each had six points. UTA was shooting 43.3 percent (13-30) at the break. App State was at 57.7 percent (15-26) from the floor and 60 percent (6-10) from 3-point territory.
