Jan. 31, 2009

Arlington, Texas - Brent Benson grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a running 10-foot jump shot in the lane with 17.3 seconds left to give the Texas State men's basketball team an 80-78 victory at UT Arlington Saturday afternoon in UTA's Texas Hall.

The game was tied with 56.5 seconds left when Texas State called timeout to set up a play.

"We wanted to isolate Brandon Bush, but we couldn't get him the ball," Texas State head coach Doug Davalos said. "Corey did a good job of finding Jonathan Sloan inside."

Sloan received Jefferson's pass on the left block with less than 10 seconds left on the shot clock. He turned toward the basket and missed a turn-around jumper. Benson ran into the lane and grabbed the offensive rebound and went right back up with his game-winning shot.

UTA jumped out to an early 14-7 lead in the game, but John Rybak hit three-point shot from the left wing and Brandon Bush scored four straight points to pull the Bobcats to within 18-16 with 10:20 left to play.

"Once the first one falls, you get confidence, and seem to get into a zone," Rybak said. "After that, the rim just seems to get bigger."

Rybak hit another jumper to give Texas State their first lead. With the score tied at 25-25, Benson nailed a three-point shot that gave the Bobcats a 28-25 lead.

Rybak finished the first half with 13 points and Bush added nine in the opening period as Texas State took a 36-32 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Texas State extended its lead to eight points three times and took a 59-51 lead on John Bowman's lay-up with 11:11 left to play.

A UTA stampede got them back into the game as Anthony Vereen scored eight points, six of which came at the free throw line, and Marquez Haynes added three on a lay-up and free throw to pull the Mavericks back to within 63-62 with 8:47 remaining in the game.

Both teams fought back and forth the rest of the way. The Bobcats continued to hold the lead until Vereen made a lay-up and free throw to give the Mavericks a 78-76 lead.

Texas State came back to tie the game on its next possession when Cory Jefferson made two free throws with 1:16 left in the game.

The Bobcats got the ball back on UTA's next possession when Marquez Haynes was called for traveling on the left wing, giving Texas State its final possession and setting up Benson's game-winning shot.

"This was huge for us," Rybak said. "This was the first road game we have won this year and the first close game we have won. It means a lot to get it done. "

The Bobcats had entered the game with a 0-7 record in road games and a 0-6 mark in games decided by six points or less.

Brandon Bush led Texas State with 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Rybak finished with 18 points and Cameron Johnson added 18. John Bowman finished with nine points and Jefferson added six points and five assists. Benson finished the game with eight points, but there were not any points scored that were of more importance than the two he made in the final 17 seconds.

Vereen led UTA with 25 points, while Haynes added 19 and Roge'r Guignard finished with 14, including 10 in the second half. The win gives Texas State a 9-11 overall record and a 2-5 mark in Southland Conference play heading into Wednesday night's game against Southeastern Louisiana.