Men's Basketball
Anthony Vereen had his second consecutive game with at least 20 points. |
UTA FALLS ON THE ROAD IN FINAL REGULAR-SEASON GAME; SLC TOURNAMENT NEXT UP
March 8, 2008
SAN MARCOS, Texas - - UT Arlington let a 12-point, second half deficit slip away, then couldn't regain momentum in a 97-86 loss Saturday against Texas State in the Southland Conference regular-season finale for both teams.
The crowd at Strahan Coliseum got to see some hot shooting from both squads.
UTA (18-11, 7-9 in the SLC) shot 60 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from the 3-point line. Texas State shot 48.3 percent from the field and nailed 14 of 32 3-pointers to capture a victory at home. Anthony Vereen led the Mavericks with 20 points, leading four Mavericks in double-figures.
With the loss, UTA drops to the No. 7 seed in the SLC Tournament scheduled March 13-16 at the Merrell Center in Katy. UTA will face Lamar at Noon in the tournament's first game. If the Mavericks win, they will play the winner of the Sam Houston State-McNeese State game. Tipoff for that game would be at 6 p.m. Friday.
Against Texas State, the Mavericks and Bobcats took turns scoring in bunches. UTA led by as many as nine in the first half before Texas State scoring spurt put the Bobcats up by seven. UTA closed the first half on a 7-0 run, and the squads went into halftime tied, 49-49.
UTA controlled the action in the second half - nearly from start-to-finish - going inside to Anthony Vereen and getting balanced scoring from Larry Posey (14 points) and Rod Epps (11 points). But an offensive lapse with seven minutes left in the game allowed Texas State to climb ahead. UTA continued to turn the ball over and couldn't stop the Bobcats on the perimeter, and eventually, UTA was forced to foul.
Texas State, led by Brent Holder's 20 points, hit its free throws down the stretch to put the Mavericks away. Texas State did not qualify for the 2008 post-season tournament.