Road trip may be remedy for UTA men's slump

By Sam Morton

Special to the Star-Telegram

The last time the UT Arlington men played on Utah State's home court, senior LaMarcus Reed hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to upset Kent State at the Athletes in Action Classic, sparking a 16-game winning streak a season ago.

This year's Mavericks could use a scorer like Reed, who had the ability to take the game into his hands and get points when things looked dire. Not a single Maverick is scoring more than 9.5 points per game as coach Scott Cross' team faces a good Utah State team at 8 tonight in Logan, Utah.

UTA ended a disappointing homestand on Saturday in which it didn't hold a lead in two games against teams below it in the Western Athletic Conference standings. Seattle and Idaho dominated UTA from start to finish on the Mavericks' own court.

Hitting the road might be a blessing in disguise for the Mavericks, who play their best basketball on the road. Their 6-2 road record is keeping them afloat as they try to figure out how to score points.

UTA's 60.8 points per game place the Mavericks 308th in the country and dead last in the WAC, but they're marginally better away from home, averaging 65.4 points.

Utah State is scoring 70.4 points per game and leads the WAC in field-goal shooting at 48.8 percent. But something has to give when it faces UTA's WAC-best defensive shooting percentage of .383.

Utah State won last year's meeting 73-69 in Logan.

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