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ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas-Arlington men's basketball team jumped out to a 15-2 lead early and held off a furious University of South Alabama rally late in a 99-87 victory Saturday night at College Park Center.

UTA wins for the fifth straight game to improve to 8-4 and 2-0 in the Sun Belt Conference while USA drops to 2-10 and 0-2.

The Mavericks shot 68.6 percent in the first half and 59.7 percent for the game and scored 55 first-half points.

"We didn't come out with much firepower; we got down a lot early and we just never got in any kind of rhythm on either side of the ball," Jaguar head coach Matthew Graves said. "When you dig yourself such a deep hole, you have two choices: you can fight harder and get more physical or you can quit, and I'm proud to say that our guys showed fight. We got down as many as 24 and cut it all the way to eight. It's the same type of theme we've talked about in previous games: we're not giving up but we've got to find a way in our preparation to be better in starting games."

Eleven different UTA players scored, including five in double-digits, with Johnny Hill leading the pack with 15 and seven assists. Lonnie McClanahan and Anthony Walker both came off the bench to record 14 points apiece.

The Jaguars also placed five in double-figures. Sophomore Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) scored a game-high 18 points on four 3-pointers and freshman Taishaun Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) poured in 15.

Freshman Abdul Lewis (Newark, N.J.) just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, junior Barrington Stevens III (Allen, Texas) tallied 12 points and had a career-high seven assists, and junior John Brown (Charlotte, N.C.) posted 10 points.

South Alabama put together an 11-0 run in the final three minutes to cut the deficit to eight (95-87) with 1:24 left, but Hill hit a pair of free throws and the Jags would get no closer.

"We dug ourselves a really deep hole right off the bat," Graves said. "Giving up 70 points in the paint is a recipe for disaster and I'm really amazed that the score was even this close. We showed some fight and on the offensive end, we had 18 assists on 29 field goals, so the one thing you might be able to take from this is, with Ken and Luka (Andjusic), they made some shots so maybe they got into a rhythm and it's something they can carry into the next game.
 
"Part of it to take into consideration was the intensity of UT Arlington, so you have to take it with a grain of salt, but it does help when guys see the ball go through the net. If we can carry some of that confidence forward in the next few games, it can be a silver lining in what was a pretty poor performance for the Jaguars."

The Mavericks made seven of their first eight shots from the floor and took advantage of three Jaguar turnovers to take control from the outset. Six different UTA players contributed points during the run as the team started the contest with eight unanswered, and eventually stretched its advantage to 19-5 through the opening seven minutes.

"It all started with our on-ball defense," Graves said. "We really allowed them to get comfortable and we just weren't physical enough with guys, and whether it was getting into the ball handler, or when their screener would roll, we didn't bump the roll guys. It's an overall physicality and mindset thing, and we just went through the motions on that. Once we started doing some of those things in the second half, I think you could see that some of these things work, so we've got some positives to look at in how we can play, but on the flip side, we have to figure out how to start better."

After the Jags got within nine on a layup from Lewis with 6:29 left in the first half, the Mavericks scored 15 of the next 19 points, capped off with a Jason Hervey 3-pointer for a 20-point lead, and went into the break up 55-34.

UT Arlington went 24-for-35 from the floor before intermission and earned 40 of its 55 points in the paint. Seven of its 11 misses came on 3-pointers.

South Alabama travels to Arkansas-Little Rock Monday for a 7:30 p.m. start.

NOTES: The Jaguars' seven-game losing streak is the program's longest since 2004-05… UT Arlington's 55 points in the first half tie the most by an opponent in any half since allowing 58 to New Orleans on Jan. 12, 2008, and are the most first-half points by an opponent since Southern Utah had 61 on Dec. 10, 1994… USA set new season highs with 87 points, 18 assists, 51.9 percent shooting in the first half, 53.6 percent in the second and 52.7 percent overall… South Alabama tied a season best in 3-pointers with 11… The Jags hit the 80-point plateau for the first time since putting up 83 in the season opener vs. Carroll… UT Arlington won the rebounding battle 40-25 and had 15 offensive rebounds to South Alabama's 17 defensive boards… USA's minus-15 rebounding margin ties a season low (Southern Miss)… USA's five players in double-figures ties a season high (Miami)… Stevens' seven assists are the most by a Jaguar since 2012-13… Senior Dionte Ferguson's (Prattville, Ala.) seven-game block streak was snapped… Williams tied his season high with four assists.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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