VANCOUVER - The University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks picked up a 108-60 victory over a short-handed UBC Thunderbirds in early pre-season action, Friday night at War Memorial Gym.
UTA improved to 3-0 on their tour of B.C., having previously registered victories over Trinity Western on Wednesday and Quest University on Thursday. They round out their Canadian trip with games against Douglas College and Fraser Valley University.
On Friday, the Mavericks used their athleticism and size to shut down UBC who shot just 19-of-64 (29.7%) from the floor while committing 20 turnovers. UTA was an impressive 37-of-64 (57.8%) from the floor, including a sparkling 12-of-20 (60.0%) from downtown.
The Mavs had five players reach double figures, led by starters Kevin Butler and LaMarcus Reed III who had 17 and 14 points respectively. UTA's depth was on display as well, as their bench outscored UBC's 60-26 with a game-high 19 points from Bradley Gay.
Second-year
Tommy Nixon led UBC with 12 points while
Doug Plumb had 10 in the losing cause. Freshmen
Nakai Luyken and
Malcolm Williams impressed in their UBC debuts, finishing with eight and seven points respectively.
Nixon and Plumb were just two of four T-Bird holdovers from the 2010-11 season that dressed in the game. Standout fifth-years
Nathan Yu and
Kamar Burke did not participate in the contest for UBC. Head coach
Kevin Hanson was also not on the bench for the 'Birds, as he and Yu are members of Team Canada currently competing at the Summer Universiade in China. UBC was led by first-year assistant coach Casey Archibald.
The first half was a story of turnovers for the T-Birds who committed 14 while only forcing four from their NCAA counterparts. UTA took advantage with 22 points off turnovers in the opening two quarters.
Plumb scored the first basket of the game before the Mavs raced out to a 9-2 lead. The T-Birds responded with a 6-3 run but UTA's consistent defensive pressure led to a spat of UBC turnovers and the Mavs led 32-17 after the the first quarter.
UTA maintained their advantage with another stout defensive effort in the second frame. UBC tallied just 14 points in the quarter and saw the visitors lead 55-31 at the break.
It was more of the same from the high-flying Mavericks in the third and fourth quarters, as they steadily pulled away from the T-Birds over the final 20 minutes.
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