Sport in world

Slow start hurts as Western falls 80-57

December 26, 2007 on 10:00 pm | In Athletics |

ARLINGTON, Texas Nikola Bodic led the way for Western with 10 points, but Western could not overcome a strong shooting night from Texas-Arlington, losing 80-57.

The Mavericks (7-0) came out firing early on as Brandon Long connected on a three-pointer 46-seconds into the game, for an early 3-0 lead. David DuBois hit a long jumper to pull the Leathernecks (2-5) back within one point. After another bucket for UTA, David Jackson came up with a block on a layup attempt, which then translated into a James Washington fast break layup that made it a one-point game again at 5-4.

Western would not get any closer in the opening frame as the Mavericks went on a 15-1 run that ended with a Louis Johnson bucket at the 9:11 mark. The lead would remain in double figures and UTA took a 41-20 advantage into the break.

“On our first 13 possessions of the game, we had eight turnovers,” said Western Illinois assistant coach Trent Becker. “It doesn’t matter who you play, if you turn the ball over eight times in 13 possessions, you’re going to lose by double-figures.”

The Leathernecks did not make things easy on themselves in the first half, shooting just 7-of-26 (27%) from the floor. On the other end of the floor, the Mavericks were red hot, hitting 18-of-33 (55%) from the field. In addition, Western turned the ball over 11 times in the half.

Coming out of the locker room, UTA managed to stretch their lead to as many as 32-points after a three-pointer from Jeremy Dewalt at the 9:22 mark. Chris Gonzalez’s three-pointer at 7:07 sparked some life for the Leathernecks as they were able to cut the margin to 20 after a pair of free throws form Jerryck Owens-Murrey. But Western would be unable to get any closer the rest of the way.

In the second half, Western’s shooting trouble continued as it managed to hit just 10-of-35 (29%), while the Mavericks stayed hot hitting 13-of-29 (45%).

“Obviously we are extremely disappointed in our performance,” added Becker. “We just continue to dig a hole for ourselves early in basketball games. We’re down 10-12 points really early in the game and then it goes to 15-20 fast. We just cannot play catch-up with teams like this and expect to come back and win on the road.”

Bodic was the lone Leatherneck in double figures tonight, while UTA had four players score in double-digits, led by 19-points from Jermaine Griffin. The Mavericks dominated the glass 55-33, which included 10-rebounds from Larry Posey. Western was lead on the boards by Owens-Murrey with 10.

“Rebounding is a huge cause for concern for us,” added Becker. “Both of the games we won, we controlled the glass. It comes down to a mental toughness. We have to have the mentality that we are going to go rebound.”

The Leathernecks will attempt to rebound from the loss, and avenge their previous loss, as they remain in Texas to take on Texas-Pan American, Monday, December 3, at 7 p.m.

Originaly from Source