First-place UTA Mavericks

Back in a past life when I used to work at a popular local sports radio station, the Texas Rangers were in the midst of another losing season. They were last in the four-team AL West from 2000 to 2003. They were third place from 2004 to 2006. All but one of those seasons resulted in an overall losing record. During one of those years, they had a great April and either the end of that month or the start of May, the Rangers receptionist was answering the phone “first-place Texas Rangers.” The radio station got that audio and saved it and would use it often. It was an occasional jab at the Rangers, as the schedule to that point when the audio was recorded was quite easy, but it transitioned to just a general descriptor of the team. Then, after I left the station, it became an accurate way, perhaps even a proud way, to describe the team as they made their runs in the early teens.

I give that long intro to relay the first thing that came to my mind after an epic game between the California Baptist Lancers and the Utah Valley Wolverines. UVU entered the day half a game ahead of the UT Arlington Mavericks in the Western Athletic Conference standings. When CBU won, one easy phrase popped into my head.

First-place UTA Mavericks.

While UTA has been, more or less, competitive in Head Coach K.T. Turner’s first two years and had a second-place finish in Greg Ogden’s first year, they haven’t been in first place alone in any conference race since 2021/2022 when they were 3-0 and 4-1 en route to a 7-10 record and a 9th place finish among 12 teams. Even the team that won the 2016/17 Sun Belt regular season championship started 2-2 and had to work their way up in February. They were tied at 4-0 the year prior with Little Rock.

The last time UTA was in sole possession of first place at this time of the year was in 2011/12. On this day that season, UTA beat Texas State 82-79 to move to 8-0 in the Southland Conference race. To say being in first place is a rarity would not be an understatement. They have played competitive basketball, but not dominant to the point they were cruising entering February.

I said at the beginning of the conference slate that I thought there was a real chance the WAC winner would end with three to five losses and that is still a real possibility.

UTA got to first place with a couple of wins the week prior. In Saint George, Utah, the Mavs dropped Utah Tech, 56-52, and in Arlington, avenged a home loss to Tarleton State, 71-64. Sandwiched around those wins was a road loss to UVU, 74-86. That last one was itself a game for first-place, one the Mavericks obviously didn’t fair well in.

Utah Tech was briefly in first after the first week and winning on the road is tough, but mandatory for a championship team. The Mavericks never trailed in the second half, and they let a double-digit lead slip, but they played an overall quality game from tipoff to the final whistle.

Senior forward Raysean Seamster was the only Mav in double figures with 14. UTA allowed two Trailblazers to score 16, but limited everyone else in the win. The overall rebounding battle was close, 47-42, but UTA did have five more. Seamster and sophomore center Miles Goodman led the way for UTA with eight.

In what was UTA's first battle against a team for first place, they traveled to UVU. Like their first loss against Tarleton State, the Mavs came out slow in the first half. The Wolverines used  three layups, two jump shots and two free throws to score the games first 12 points. UTA had four turnovers, were issued two fouls and missed both regular jump shot and a three-point attempt. That is not a cold start. That involves lots of missed shots too. This was just a bad start.

UVU kept up the pressure and eventually built a lead to 20 twice. At the end of the first half, the Mav deficit was 18. At 46-28, UTA had their work cut out for them. It was also disappointing to see such a flat performance for such a hyped game. 

In the second, UTA played more focused and chipped the lead away. The Mavs got an initial burst to stay away from a 20-point deficit, but couldn't do more damage past that for a large portion of the second. With roughly eight minutes remaining, another little burst trimmed the UVU lead into single digits. UVU felt the pressure and responded with a 17-4 run and actually got the lead past 20 points. UTA used a final push, played a for a little pride and used the last three and a half minutes to make a 13-4 run, leading to a final score of 86-74.

Sophomore guard Cash Chavis had a career high 20 points and senior guard Marcell McCreary chipped in 15. UTA shot a rough 32 percent in the first, but a much better 51.6 in the second. Three's were down though, three of eight in the first but three of 12 in the second. The defense was a bit off, but at 86 scored for UVU, I don't think that is shocking. The Wolverines shot over 50 percent from the field. Even the three's were above UTA's average as UVU scored on every third attempt. Five UVU players, including four starters, were in double digits.

The second round of WAC play started when UTA hosted Tarleton for the second and final time. In the first game, the Texans raced ahead in a manner similar to what the Wolverines did above. The second time was a more consistent game in both halves. The biggest lead in the first for UTA was five for TSU a couple of times and two by UTA. The Mavs trailed much of the half, but TSU couldn't get that big lead.

UTA zoomed out of the locker room as they scored the first eight points to get the lead for good. The Mavs got a brief double-digit lead but the Texans wouldn't let it stick around. On five occasions, TSU would get within one, but UTA always had an answer. In the last two minutes, UTA went 12 of 14 from the free throw line to seal the deal, 71-64.

Seamster had a game-high in points with 23. Chavis put in 13 himself, Sophomore guard Tyran Mason added 10 while sophomore guard Bahsil Laster just missed out at nine. Seamster had eight rebounds as UTA and TSU tied at 29. The defense played better, giving up 41.5 percent shooting and 22.2 percent beyond the arc. 

With that and CBU's 78-71 overtime victory the following Saturday and UTA is half a game up on both UVU and CBU. UTA is 5-2 in WAC play while both CBU and UVU are 5-3. 

The Mavs have two home games this coming week scheduled. First Southern Utah comes to College Park Center on Thursday. The Thunderbirds are in fifth place at 3-5. Tip occurs at 7 pm.

Then, depending on what the Mavs do against SUU, another battle for first could take place as the Lancers make their second trip to Arlington for a 2 pm tip.

There's still plenty of basketball left this year. Next week won't make or break the WAC race. But the stakes sure are high. Every game has meaning and UTA could make a big case for number one at the end of the regular season.