UTA’s rally from 28 down falls short
Life without Kevin Hervey won’t be as easy as UT Arlington might have thought, but it will certainly remain exciting.
One day after learning their star player had suffered a season-ending knee injury, UTA fell behind Arkansas Little Rock by 28 points before mounting a furious rally that fell just six points short in a 68-62 loss Saturday night at College Park Center.
We stopped playing and competing the way I know we’re capable of. That was the disappointing part.
UTA coach Scott Cross on the Mavericks falling behind early
In the much-anticipated battle for first place in the Sun Belt, Little Rock erased UTA’s home-court advantage by making six early 3-pointers and taking a stunning 18-0 lead.
The Trojans (17-2, 7-1 SBC) extended the lead to 26-6 and led at halftime 42-14, the Mavericks’ their third-lowest scoring half in program history.
“We stopped playing and competing the way I know we’re capable of. That was the disappointing part,” coach Scott Cross said. “There’s going to be games where you’re not hitting shots, but the competing aspect is the thing that I pride myself in.”
But in the second half, the Mavericks (14-4, 5-2 SBC) scratched and clawed back and made the Trojans sweat. UTA forced 12 second-half turnovers and went on a 20-3 run in the final seven minutes that cut UALR’s lead to 60-56.
That was good to see, but it was too little, too late.
Cross on UTA’s late rally
The Mavericks extended the game by sending UALR to the line in the final minutes, but Josh Hagins made all six free throws to close it out. Hagins finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
“That was good to see, but it was too little, too late,” Cross said.
Eubanks led the Mavericks with 14 points.
The Mavericks, who were beating teams at home by 27 points per game this year, looked out of sync all game. Even during their second-half rally, it was a grind to score against the stingiest defense in the nation.
The loss ended UTA’s eight-game home winning streak, and now the Mavericks play their next five games on the road.
UALR (17-2, 7-1 SBC): Woods 1-1 1-3 3, Shoshi 1-4 0-2 2, Hagins 6-10 6-6 20, Johnson Jr. 3-8 2-4 9, Osse 3-8 0-0 9, Jackson 4-7 2-2 10, Hill 2-3 0-0 4, Ruttley 1-3 0-0 2, Isom 3-7 0-2 9, Billings 0-0 0-0 0, Burns 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 11-19 68.
UT ARLINGTON (14-4, 5-2): Eubanks 5-15 2-2 14, Bilbao 2-6 1-2 5, Neal 3-16 4-6 12, Charles 4-10 1-3 12, Jones 2-7 1-2 5, Hawkins 3-7 0-0 8, Wilson 0-1 1-2 1, Clarke 0-1 0-0 0, Pallas 0-0 0-0 0, Pope 1-4 3-3 5. Totals 20-67 13-20 62.
Halftime—UALR 42-14. 3-Point Goals—UALR 9-25 (Isom 3-6, Osse 3-7, Hagins 2-5, Johnson Jr. 1-5, Ruttley 0-1, Shoshi 0-1), UTA 9-38 (Charles 3-8, Hawkins 2-4, Eubanks 2-7, Neal 2-12, Bilbao 0-1, Wilson 0-1, Pope 0-2, Jones 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—UALR 42 (Hagins 9), UTA 40 (Bilbao 9). Assists—UALR 10 (Hagins 7), UTA 14 (Neal 8). Total Fouls—UALR 21, UTA 16. A—5,033.
This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 11:21 PM with the headline "UTA’s rally from 28 down falls short."