The UTA men learned on Wednesday night that shooting the ball poorly usually leads to a loss, and they learned it the hard way. In a game televised regionally on FSN Southwest, Anthony Vereen seemed to be the only UTA player interested in playing some offense, and the turnover epidemic that had disappeared in the Mavericks' previous two games re-emerged. Sam Houston State took advantage of both in its 73-57 win.
Vereen scored 22 points for the Mavericks, but he was the only player to reach double digits. Senior center Jermaine Griffin played only one minute in the first half after picking up his second foul with 19:02 left. Griffin finished with four points. UTA (14-6, 4-3 SLC) was also without senior forward Larry Posey, who missed the game because of illness.
Rebounding machine Ryan Bright and his bright red hair led Sam Houston State (16-3, 4-2) with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
UTA shot 32% from the field, and a whopping 13.3% from behind the arc. The Mavericks added 16 turnovers to the mix, making for a sloppy game. Sam Houston St. did not fare much better from the field, finishing at 35.8%, but did find some success behind the arc in the second half. The Bearkats' struggles from the field were countered with 18 offensive rebounds.
The loss ended a four-game winning streak for UTA, and knocked the team from first in the SLC West Division to third, a half-game behind Sam Houston St. and Stephen F. Austin.
Danny Kaspar's mustache and the rest of the SFA Lumberjacks (16-3, 4-2) will visit the stage at Texas Hall at 4 p.m. Saturday.
--Trey Benedict
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