| Mavs prepare for rematch against Texas State |
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| Written by Stephen Peters, The Shorthorn sports editor | ||||
| Thursday, 29 January 2009 08:10 PM | ||||
 Senior guard Jeremy DeWalt attempts a layup during practice Thursday at Texas Hall. The Mavericks will take on Texas State at 4 p.m. Saturday at Texas Hall. (The Shorthorn: Andrew Buckley) InformationScouting the MavericksFour Mavericks are in the top 25 in the Southland Conference in scoring average. Two of those are in the top 3: Junior guard Marquez Haynes (19.2) and senior forward Anthony Vereen (17.8). Against Sam Houston, UTA was outrebounded 43-33 and allowed 15 second-chance points to only scoring eight. Scouting the Bobcats In six conference games this year, the Bobcats have had five different players lead the team in scoring. Senior guard Brandon Bush is the only player to do it twice in conference play. Texas State is losing by an average 13.3 points a game in its three conference road games. Head coach Scott Cross said his team was able to recuperate during the week and focus on avenging the loss to Texas State. “I’m hoping they have a revenge mentality on their minds,” he said. “If we play like we want revenge and come out and play hard, I think the rest will take care of itself.” The meeting is the 49th time UTA and Texas State will square off, as the Bobcats own a 27-21 series advantage and are winners of the last two. Players and coaches expect another high-scoring game — both teams are in the top half of the conference in scoring average, with Texas State and UTA at 73.2 and 82.2 points, respectively. Last meeting, three players from each team scored in double-figures, the game-high going to junior guard Marquez Haynes, with 23. Haynes is second in the conference, averaging 19.2 points a contest. Cross said the emphasis during practice this week was on the defensive end, which has been a constant theme for the team the past six weeks. He added that he feels confident in his team’s scoring ability but is pushing his team to continue improving as the year moves forward. “We’re leading the Southland Conference in almost every offensive category. So, defense is where we’ve got to get better, rebounding [and] those types of things.” UTA must stop the duo of senior guards Brandon Bush and Brent Benson, both averaging more than 14 points a game this season. Bush also leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. The Mavs snapped their 3-game win streak last weekend in a 78-74 loss to Sam Houston State. That game, coupled with a UTSA win Wednesday, dropped the team to a third-place tie in the West Division and sixth overall in the conference. A key factor in UTA’s recent setback was the poor shooting performance from the conference’s 16th leading scorer, junior guard Brandon Long. Long missed all eight of his field goal attempts and was held scoreless for the first time this year. “I’m focused now,” Long said. “I guess I had a mental lapse last game, and I took myself out of the game. I should be ready on Saturday.” The Mavericks are 5-0 at home this season and are outscoring opponents by average of 16.4 points in games at Texas Hall. Texas State is winless in its seven roads games this season and are losers of five straight since opening the conference with a win against UTA. Views: 1613 | E-mail
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