UT Arlington Shocks Ohio State, 73-68
COLUMBUS, Ohio – UT Arlington men's basketball claimed arguably the biggest victory in program history by upsetting Ohio State 73-68 on the road Friday night at Value City Arena.
The Mavericks improved to 2-1 with their first-ever win over a squad from the Big Ten. UTA was previously 0-8 against the Big Ten and 0-2 against Ohio State.
Sophomore forward Kevin Hervey battled through foul trouble to lead the Mavs with 18 points in 26 minutes and hauled in seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Erick Neal added 17 points and three assists, while junior forward Faith Pope scored 11 off the bench.
The contributions hardly ended there for a UTA team determined to compete with the Buckeyes. UT Arlington coach Scott Cross told the Mavericks in the locker room before the game that beating Ohio State was doable by hitting the boards, staying focused defensively and taking care of the basketball.
The Mavs were able to do just that. UTA out-rebounded the bigger Buckeyes 46-37 and outscored them 34-22 in the paint. The Mavs scored the first five points of the second half to take the lead and never looked back. The lead reached nine points on several occasions and UTA held on to the momentum.
The Mavericks also hit their free throws down the stretch, thwarting a potential OSU comeback. UTA knocked down 19 of 22 from the line, with Hervey and Neal each going 7-8.
The Mavericks opened the game strong and attacked the basket, remaining disciplined and under control throughout the first half. UTA held an 11-7 advantage before the Buckeyes went on a 3-point barrage to inch ahead.
The game remained close and Pope gave the Mavs their last lead of the first half (24-23) on a 3-pointer. Ohio State went into the locker room up 34-32.
UT Arlington was shooting only 38.9 percent (14-36) in the first half and 1-9 on 3-pointers, but stayed in the game by winning the rebound battle (23-18) and holding the Buckeyes to 42.9 percent (12-28) from the floor. The Mavericks also held a 26-8 edge in points inside.
UTA would make 5-14 from beyond the arc in the second half. Junior guard Drew Charles had a team-high nine rebounds and junior forward Jorge Bilbao had a eight boards.
Turning Point
After the Buckeyes cut the lead to 50-46, a person foul on Hervey and a technical foul by OSU proved costly. Hervey would knock down four free throws at the 9:05 mark of the second half to go up 54-46. Jalen Jones knocked down a 3-pointer soon after to make it 57-48.
Key Stats
UTA held advantages in points off turnovers (19-8) and second-chance points (15-7). The Mavs also had a six-point edge in made free throws (19-13) despite the Buckeyes going to the line more (27-22).
Notable
Sophomore forward Julian Harris made his first appearance of the season in the first half. ... Bilbao hit a baseline prayer at the shot clock buzzer to put UTA up 66-58. The shot was reviewed by replay and stood. ... Ohio State lost to an unranked team for only the second time in the 12-year tenure of Buckeyes coach Thad Matta.
Up next
The Mavericks complete a three-game road stretch Monday night at Memphis. Tip is 7:30 p.m. on ESPNews and KKGM 1630 AM.
Quotable
"It's unbelievable. I'm so proud of our guys. They played their heart and soul out. At halftime we were playing really well and guys were stepping up. Jorge and [Nick Pallas] got in foul trouble, and Kevin had to play some 5 for us, as did Julian. Kennedy Eubanks gave us some great minutes. Down the stretch our guys just stepped up, hit some free throws and big shots. Most of all we defended and rebounded, and that's why we won this basketball game." – Cross
"Coach Cross focuses a lot on rebounding and defense, so we knew coming in here this team is going to be bigger than us and stronger than us. We wanted to box out and do it the fundamental way, and that's what we came in here and did." – Hervey
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HOT SHOOTING CRIMSON TIDE DEFEATS RAGIN’ CAJUNS, 105-93
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Shawn Long posted a double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds to become the UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns all-time leading rebounder, but Alabama sizzled from long range and held off a late rally for a 105-93 victory in a non-conference game on Friday at Coleman Coliseum.
Shannon Hale, Riley Norris and Justin Coleman scored 18 points each for Alabama (2-1), which shot 54 percent (32-for-59) from the floor and 15-for-25 (60.0 percent) from behind the 3-point line. Retin Obasohan added 17 points for the Crimson Tide with Arthur Edwards added 12 points and Dazon Ingram 10.
Long, who recorded the 54th double-double of his career, tipped in a Steven Wronkoski miss with 5:47 remaining to record his 1,065th career rebound and pass former Ragin’ Cajuns standout Roy Ebron (1,064 from 1971-73) as the school’s all-time leader. Long, who went 9-for-16 from the floor for UL Lafayette (1-2), increased his career total to 1,068 rebounds while moving to within three points of passing Graylin Warner (1,762, 1981-84) for sixth-place in school history.
Alabama, which eclipsed the 100-point mark for the first time in nearly two years, made its first eight shots from behind the 3-point line before missing its final three attempts in the opening half to take a 55-39 lead at halftime. The Crimson Tide trailed 5-4 after Long hit the first of three 3-pointers on the night, but went ahead for good, when Hale sank a 3-pointer for a 7-5 lead at the 18:48 mark.
UL Lafayette trailed 11-10 with 15:53 remaining in the first half after Long tapped in a Hayward Register miss from behind the 3-point line before Alabama made its next five shots in part of a 15-2 run that pushed the lead to 26-12.
Jimmie Taylor opened the spurt for the Crimson Tide with a bucket at the 15:45 mark before baskets by Obasohan, Hale and Ingram gave Alabama a 19-10 lead. The Crimson Tide added a pair of free throws by Obasohan at the 13:17 mark for a 21-10 lead before Cooper scored five straight points for Alabama, including a 3-pointer from the right wing for a 26-12 lead with 11:50 to play in the first half.
The Ragin’ Cajuns chipped away at the lead as they twice closed to the lead to seven – the last time when Kasey Shepherd sank a pair of free throws with 5:14 remaining in first half that cut the deficit to 36-29. Alabama then scored 12 of the next 14 points as 3-pointers by Hale and Coleman along with a layup by Coleman and two free throws by Norris gave the Crimson Tide a 48-31 lead.
A layup by Ingram with 1:25 left in the first half gave Alabama its biggest lead of the night, 53-34, and the Crimson Tide never let UL Lafayette get closer than nine points until the final minute after Shepherd sank two free throws and later added a layup.
Shepherd scored a season-high 17 points for UL Lafayette, which finished 28-for-61 (45.9 percent) from the floor and 11-for-27 (40.7 percent) from behind the 3-point line. Jay Wright added 11 points for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Jay Hedgeman coming off the bench to add 10 points and a season-high eight rebounds.
UL Lafayette will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 25, when it plays host to in-state opponent Loyola at the Cajundome. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
- www.RaginCajuns.com -
Men’s Basketball Falls 92-62 at Auburn
Eagles close deficit just before half, Tigers stretch their legs in the second half
AUBURN, ALA. – Georgia Southern dropped a 92-62 decision to Auburn in a contest that was much closer than the final score indicated. The Eagles trailed by just one at the break, but saw Auburn win the second half 55-26. Mike Hughes led all scorers with 15 points including a pair of buckets from downtown.
THE STORY
Georgia Southern erased a 10-point first half deficit in the final minutes of the first half with a 10-2 run to trail by just one at the halftime break. The Tigers, however, went on a 24-10 run over the first eight minutes of the second half to extend the lead to 61-48 with 12 minutes left in the game. From there the Tigers stretched the lead to as many as 32 en route to the 92-62 victory.
The Eagles committed 26 fouls, sending the Tigers to the free throw line where they made 25-of-33. Auburn ruled the paint with 38 points inside while the Eagles converted 14 Auburn turnovers into 12 points.
TEAM LEADERS
Hughes was 5-of-10 from the field with four rebounds while freshman Ike Smith grabbed seven rebounds to go with 13 points. Freshman Tookie Brown came off the bench to score 11 points with seven at the charity stripe.
WHAT HEAD COACH MARK BYINGTON SAID
“We lost our identity in the second half. I told the guys that for 60 minutes this week (40 at Ole Miss and 20 tonight) our identity was toughness, defense, rebounding and things that give us a chance to win the game. We were scoring in the first four minutes of the second half, but we turned it into a pickup game and that is not going to favor us. We still kept battling in the second half, but we ran out of gas.”
NEXT UP
The next challenge for the Eagles is three games in the Upstate Challenge, hosted by USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C. Georgia Southern battles The Citadel on Wednesday before a Black Friday matinee against USC Upstate. The tournament closes at home against Bob Jones on Monday, Nov. 30.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets.
-GS-
Appalachian State Falls at Hampton, 82-61
HAMPTON, Va. -- 22 points from Frank Eaves (Greensboro, N.C./Page) wouldn’t be enough for Appalachian State University men’s basketball to overcome a double-digit deficit in the second half and fell on the road at Hampton 82-61.
The Mountaineers (1-2) got off to a quick and solid start in the first half. The Black and Gold went on a 9-5 run in the opening minutes to build a 23-19 lead. The run was keyed by a jumper from Jacob Lawson (Reidsville, N.C./Oak Ridge Military/Purdue) and was capped by a matching three-pointer from Eaves.
In nearly eight minutes to start the game, Eaves poured in 14 of the Mountaineers’ 23 total points. With a 23-19 lead, Hampton then went on a 12-0 run to open up an eight-point advantage, which spanned a 6:46 scoreless drought for the Apps. The Mountaineers would get the deficit to four points on two different occasions.
The first time, App State went on a small 4-0 run down 38-30 initiated and carried out by Ronshad Shabazz (Raliegh, N.C./Huntington Prep (W.V.). Shabazz scored a layup and added two free throws. Following two free throws from Eaves to cut the deficit to 40-36, Hampton’s Trevond Barnes hit a jumper with three second left in the half to give the Pirates a 42-36 lead into the break.
Appalachian came out of the locker room in the second half firing. Immediately, Griffin Kinney (Delaware, Ohio/Fork Union Military Academy) scooped in a layup which was followed up by Chris Burgess (Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins) splashing a triple to bring the Pirate lead to within one point at 42-41.
The Mountaineers would be answered by a 7-0 run from the Pirates, which opened up a 49-41 lead. A layup and free throw from Eaves and a jumper from Kinney got the Apps to within six points at 51-46, however, a 7-2 run would put the Pirates back up by 10 at 58-48.
After a free throw from Burgess, Hampton engineered an 21-13 run to end the game.
Eaves and Shabazz were the only Mountaineers to finish in double figures. Eaves finished 8-of-12 from the field, 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Shabazz finished with 12 and shot 4-of-10 from the floor.
As a team, the Mountaineers shot 40.7 percent from the floor in the first half, but just 29.4 percent in the second half. Hampton finished with 16 second-chance points and out-rebounded the Mountaineers 49-35.
The Mountaineers will return to action on Sunday, Nov. 22 when they travel to New Orleans, La. and face-off against Tulane. Tipoff is slated 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3.
— appstatesports.com —