OVERALL

UTA lost a pair of games at Little Rock this past weekend. Little Rock is a tall team with several very good post players and guards that can really score the ball from outside. The Mavs defense forced 42 Trojan turnovers in the two games, but unfortunately the Mavs offense experienced some scoring lulls this weekend, and were unable to overcome 18-point deficits in the second halves of each game. Sam Griffin had a great weekend, scoring 25 and 22 points in the two contests.

Game 1 – Friday – uta 93, little rock 102

Little Rock got the ball inside for easy dunks and layups for the entire 40:00. Little Rock’s outside shot was falling as well, with Ben Coupet leading all scorers with 27 points (10-13 fg, 5-7 3pt, along with 7 rebounds). Little Rock finished the game at a sizzling 35-50 (70%) from the field. It was only a 9-point deficit at halftime, but reminiscent of the Tulsa game, Little Rock quickly extended their lead in the first few minutes of the second half, and were up 18 with about 10 minutes left. UTA shot the ball fairly well too, making 47% of their shots. The Mavericks defense forced 21 Little Rock turnovers–with several coming on key possessions late in the game to help the Mavs to get as close as 5 with a few minutes remaining. Sam Griffin had a great game, scoring 25 points. UTA shot 95% from the free throw line, making 19 of 20.

	Record	1	2	Final
UT Arlington	4-5, 0-1 Sun Belt	36	57	93
Little Rock	5-3, 1-0 Sun Belt	45	57	102

	FG	3 PT	FT	Leading Scorers
UT Arlington	47.1%	10-24 41.7%	19-20 95.0%	Griffin 25 pts. (4-8 3pt) De La Cruz 17 pts. (9-10 ft)
Little Rock	70%	9-14 64.3%	23-27 85.2%	Coupet 27 pts. (5-7 3pt) Monyyong 23 pts. (7-8 fg, 9-11 ft)

Game 2 – Saturday – UTA 62, Little rock 75

After the two teams combined to score 195 points in an entertaining, fast-paced game on Saturday, this game was a bit lower scoring. UTA’s swarming defense did a great job of keeping the ball out of the paint, with the Mavs double and triple-teaming Trojans within 8 feet of the basket and forcing them to settle for more mid and long-range jumpers. Coupet had another great game, scoring 26 points (6-8 from 3 point-range). The Mavs forced 21 turnovers, but simply couldn’t get much going on offense and finishing the game at 31% from the floor. After being down by 1 at halftime, UTA was outscored by 12 in the final 20:00 (largest Little Rock lead was 18 with about 10 minutes left).

	Record	1	2	Final
UT Arlington	4-6, 0-2 Sun Belt	25	37	62
Little Rock	0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt	26	49	75

	FG	3 PT	FT	Leading Scorers
UT Arlington	31.8%	12-33 36.4%	8-16 50%	Wells 22 pts (6-12 3pt), 7 reb. Griffin 18 pts (4-8 3pt).
Little Rock	56.1%	7-14 50%	22-28 78.6%	Coupet 26 pts. (6-8 3pt) Monyyong 18 pts. (5-6 fg, 8-10 ft), 13 reb.

Sun Belt Standings after Week 1 of Conference Play

West

Team	Conference
Little Rock	2-0
UL-Monroe	2-0
Louisiana	1-1
Texas State	1-1
UTA	0-2
Arkansas State	0-2

EASt

Team	Conference
Coastal Carolina	1-1
Georgia State	1-1
Appalachian State	1-1
Georgia Southern	1-1
South Alabama	1-1
Troy	1-1

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