Friday, November 30, 2007

UTA men’s basketball survives scare against Texas Wesleyan

By Pegasus News wire

UTA's take

Jermaine Griffin had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead UT Arlington to 71-49 victory over Texas Wesleyan Thursday night at Texas Hall.

Anthony Vereen (12) and Brandon Long (11) also scored in double figures for the Mavericks, now 6-0 and off to the best start in school history. Kennith (cq) Gober led Texas Wesleyan (3-3) with 19 points. Ryan Barnes added 12 points.

UT Arlington made seven of their first eight field goals in the second half to lead 52-38 with 11:58 to play after a three-point play by Griffin.

The lead swelled to 20, 62-42, after a Griffin dunk with 6:19 to play.

Defensively, UTA held Texas Wesleyan to 18 points in the second half and a season-low 29.3 percent from the field for the game (17-of-58).

UT Arlington needed a 7-0 run in the middle of the first half to shake TWU.

Tied 13-13, two Cardell Hunter free throws sparked the run. A free throw and layup by Anthony Vereen and a Griffin layup gave UTA the lead for good, 20-13 with 11:08 left in the first half. Griffin had 10 points and seven rebounds in the half.

UT Arlington hosts Western Illinois Saturday at 4 p.m. at Texas Hall.

GAME NOTES: Griffin recorded his third double-double of the season... UT Arlington held an opponent below 30 percent from the field for the first time since Nicholls State on Jan. 21, 2006.

Texas Wesleyan's take

The Texas Wesleyan University men’s basketball team (3-2) took on NCAA Division I UT-Arlington (6-0) on Thursday. In what was an exhibition contest for Texas Wesleyan, the Rams came up on the short end of a 71-49 score.

In the first half, the Rams kept pace with the high-powered Mavs by striking on 5-of-12 (41.7%) from beyond the arc. A three from Fred Eshon kept the Rams within four, 32-28, with 1:32 to play, and the deficit was just five, 33-28, at the break. Kennith Gober scored 10 points in the period. Freshman Ryan Barnes, making his first collegiate start, scored eight points while draining a pair of threes.

A 10-2 run early in the second half gave UTA an eleven-point advantage at 43-32. Midway through the period the Mavs put the game out of reach by holding the Rams scoreless for a five minute stretch and opening a 64-42 lead with just over four minutes remaining. From there UTA cruised to the 71-49 win.

In what is the longest running rivalry for Texas Wesleyan, dating to the program’s inception in the 1935-36 season, UT-Arlington improved to 38-13. At 6-0, the Mavs are off to their best start in school history.

While the Rams were on the short end of the scoreboard, the season and the future looks bright. For the first time in head coach Terry Waldrop’s tenure, Texas Wesleyan started a pair of true freshmen in Barnes and point guard Evan Randall.

Barnes finished with 12 points and went 3-for-8 from three-point range. Gober, a junior guard, led the Rams with 19 points. UTA’s Jermain Griffin led all scorers with 22 points while pulling down 13 rebounds.

Texas Wesleyan will return to action on Tuesday, December 4, when they travel to New Orleans, LA, to take on 10th ranked Xavier University. That contest is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.

Sources: UTA and TWU

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