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SPORTS
| february 17, 2004
Men's Basketball
Mavs fight back for 71-67 victory
In the 2nd half, the men ended
SFA’s 13-point lead to win the televised Homecoming game.
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| The Shorthorn: Mark Roberts |
| Senior forward Derrick Obasohan,
right, embraces freshman guard Stephen Floyd
during the Mavericks’ rally against Stephen F. Austin
on Saturday in Texas Hall. |
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By Britney
Tabor
The Shorthorn Staff
UTA had a home court advantage this weekend at Texas Hall, and Fox
Sports Net Southwest television cameras were there to show it.
In a 71-67 win Saturday, the Mavs recovered from a 13-point second-half
deficit to beat the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, marking the team’s
third consecutive win. Coach Eddie McCarter said the team entered
the game a bit tired from a road game but played hard and showed
improvement.
McCarter said the team did not use the televised game to make a
statement. After failing to get their first conference win on the
road until last week, the team was doing all it could to stay in
the hunt for a Southland Conference tournament bid, he said.
The Mavs entered the second half with energy and hard defense to
stop SFA from getting the ball and advancing the lead, McCarter
said.
“When we match any team’s intensity in this league,
we can play with anybody,” he said. “We have to play
as hard as they do.”
At halftime, the Lumberjacks held a 33-26 lead, but the Mavs rallied
back with four three-pointers, a pair of lay-ups and a couple of
free throws to lead by one.
Senior forward Derrick Obasohan said after shooting 0-5 in three-pointers
in the first half, the four three pointers that got them back in
the game were the turning point for the team.
“It was like a chain reaction that brought us back up,”
he said. “We got out there and just played UTA-style basketball.”
The team’s style was just fine for the around 1,150 fans who
attended.
As the Mavericks reached a seven-point lead, fans screamed and chanted
for UTA. Some stood at the edge of the court holding up signs that
read “Not in our house.”
Senior guard Keith Howell said handling the opponent’s press
is what kept them in the game.
“We’ve grown since we’ve been having trouble with
the press,” Howell said. “Now we don’t have any
problems with it because we work on it in practice every day.”
The Mavs are now No. 6 in the Southland Conference with a 9-1 record
at Texas Hall, while SFA moves from No. 3 to No. 5 in the SLC.
The Mavs’ next match up will be 8 p.m. Wednesday at UT-San
Antonio.
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