ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team (12-6, 3-3 Sun Belt) nearly came back from a 15-point halftime deficit but fell short Thursday night against UT Arlington (9-11, 5-4 Sun Belt) at the College Park Center.
 
The Mavericks jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the first four and a half minutes with the only bucket for the Bobcats being a three-pointer courtesy of Caleb Asberry. UTA would eventually its advantage to 21-5 but TXST stepped things up on both ends of the court to go on a 16-6 run capped off by a trey from Shelby Adams.
 
UTA closed out the first half by scoring the final nine points to take a 15-point advantage into the break.
 
Texas State scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half and followed a couple of minutes later with an 11-2 run that finished with a three-pointer from Tyrel Moran that cut the deficit to 43-41 with just under 13 minutes left on the clock.
 
The Mavs responded with 10 consecutive points to swing the momentum back in their favor for the rest of the game.
 
Adams scored a game-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting with two made three-pointers. He grabbed four rebounds and was one of three Bobcats, along with Mason Harrell and Asberry, to record two steals. Harrell netted 14 points, 10 of which came in the final 20 minutes, as he knocked down 6-of-10 shots and dished out a game-high six assists as well.
 
Isiah Small cracked double-figures as well with 10 points and retrieved a game best eight rebounds. Blocking two shots apiece was Nighael Ceaser, Nate Martin and Asberry.
 
The Bobcats and Mavericks face off again Saturday in Strahan Arena at 4 p.m. It is a Blackout game in which fans are encouraged to wear black and their will be a silent auction in the lobby of the University Events Center with all funds going to support Coaches vs. Cancer.
 
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