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January 27, 2006

Men’s Basketball

Mavs Victorious After Second-half Comeback

Forward Steven Thomas kept the Mavs alive for their third consecutive conference win.

Story by: Chad Nothe

Contributor to The Shorthorn

Despite 22 turnovers, the Mavericks rallied to beat Stephen F. Austin State in Nacogdoches last night, 65-59.

The Mavericks won their fourth Southland Conference game last night for their third consecutive victory.

Forward Steven Thomas led UTA with 18 points and 16 rebounds.

The Mavericks opened the first half on a 10-2 run led by a pair of three-pointers by guard Brady Dawkins at the 16:42 mark. The Lumberjacks quickly made their way back into the game with offensive rebounding. SFA capitalized off six UTA turnovers before the 10:00 mark, taking the lead at 16-15.

Both teams were neck and neck the last 9:11 of the half. The Lumberjacks scored five points in the last 49 seconds to take a first-half lead of 33-28. Lumberjacks guard Antuane Miller scored 10 of the team’s last 15 points.

The Mavericks’ 15 first-half turnovers and lack of rebounding led to a five point deficit.

Coach Eddie McCarter said he is not used to seeing 15 first-half turnovers.

“We turned it over too much and just really came out flat,“ he said.

The Lumberjacks had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half.

Guard Jarrett Howell’s nine points helped the Mavs stay close, shooting 55.6 percent from the field.

Improved ball handling and the rise of Thomas, reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week, made for a great comeback by the Mavericks in the second half.

“The last three games Steven has been great for us,” he said. “I think he has recovered from his back injury and really kept us in the game. He was a warrior tonight.”

The team started off slow in the second half, scoring its first two points with 16:27 left but never looked back.

Thomas went on to score eight of the next 11 Mavs points to take the lead, 39-38.

The Mavs’ defense also stepped up in the second half, holding the Lumberjacks to 5 of 21 three-pointers.

In addition to Thomas, the team shot an astounding 93 percent from the free throw line in the second half, making 15 of 16.

McCarter played 11 players including six from the bench with 19 points from guard Rodrick Epps and 14 points from forward Larry Posey. Forward Jermaine Griffin was held scoreless in 17 minutes of play after posting 17 points in Saturday’s victory over Nicholls State.

The UTA bench outscored the Lumberjacks’ reserves 21-4 and helped the entire team outscore SFA 37 to 26 in the second half alone.

“We try to get everybody involved and it was definitely a team effort tonight,“ said McCarter.

Correction

The article should have stated that guard Rodrick Epps had 19 minutes and forward Larry Posey had 14 minutes.