

Nov. 23, 2015

Final Stats | USATSI Photo Gallery

By Art Garcia | @ArtGarcia92

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The UT Arlington Mavericks did it again.

UTA stunned the Memphis Tigers 68-64 Monday night at FedEx Forum to put the wraps on an impressive two-game sweep over perennial basketball powers. The Mavs were three nights removed from beating Ohio State on the road.

UT Arlington improved to 3-1 after withstanding a second-half charge that saw the Tigers (2-2) rally from 10 points down with a 15-0 run. The Mavericks regrouped down the stretch and claimed their first victory over Memphis in three ties.

Kevin Hervey paced UTA with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds. The sophomore forward hit 7-of-20 shots from the floor and all six of his free throws in 35 tense minutes.

Sophomore point guard Erick Neal had 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior forward Jalen Jones added 15 points. Junior forward Jorge Bilbao grabbed five boards.

The Mavericks overcame a massive disparity at the foul line. Memphis shot 44 free throws, 31 coming in the second half. The Tigers made 28. UTA was 11-19 at the stripe for the game.

Neither team could buy a basket in the early going, as the Mavericks and Tigers combined to shoot 4-30 in the opening eight minutes. UTA put together the first surge of the game and took an 18-11 edge.

Hervey knocked down a couple of 3-pointers and the Mavs had their largest lead of the half at 28-17. Neal's 3-pointer made it 31-21 and UTA took that advantage into the locker room.

The Mavericks were shooting just 30.8 percent (12-39) at the break, with Memphis at 25 percent (7-28). Hervey had 10 points and five rebounds in the first half. Neal and Jones each scored seven.

Turning Point

The Tigers reeled off a 15-0 run to take a 47-42 lead midway through the second half. UTA responded with a 15-8 spurt to regain the lead and held on.

Key Stats

UTA held the Tigers to 29.6-percent shooting (16-54), which helped overcome a 53-46 rebounding deficit. The Mavs also outscored their American Athletic Conference foe 38-22 in the paint.

Notable

Hervey has scored in double figures in all four games this season. He added 11 rebounds for UTA's first double-double of the season. ... UTA is 1-2 all-time against Memphis and 2-15 against American Athletic teams. ... Junior guard Drew Charles fouled out late in the second half.

Up next

UTA returns to College Park Center on Wednesday night to face Grambling. Tip is 7 p.m.

Quotable

Scott Cross opening remarks

"I want to thank the good Lord for this victory. Our guys have shown a ton of resilience. For Memphis to go on that big run in the second half and the crowd got involved, we were fouling them every time down, it was amazing for our guys to snap out of it. Just like the game at Ohio State, the guys believed in each other. There is something special brewing with this basketball team."