The Beavers opened up the 2010-2011 regular season with a 71-56 win against the UT-Arlington Mavericks. The Beavers improved to 1-0 on the young season with the victory. The game was played in front of 2,615 people at Gill Coliseum.
Omari Johnson led the Beavers with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal.
Ahmad Starks had 14 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 2 steals. Lathen Wallace had 12 points and 2 rebounds.
Even though the Beavers won by 15, the first five minutes belonged to UT-Arlington. The Mavericks got up 16-4 with the help of four early three-pointers, and it appeared as if Arlington would begin to blow the Beavers out before they even knew what hit them. But with good defense and some hot shooting by Angus Brandt, the Beavers clawed all the way back to take a 37-35 lead into the locker rooms.
For the Mavericks, Jordan Reves led the way minutes-wise, with 32. LaMarcus Reed led UT-Arlington with 15 points, followed by Reves with 12. The Mavericks came into this game with a record of 1-0 after defeating Texas Lutheran.
After a disappointing exhibition game for the Freshmen, only two of them got into Sunday's game. Devon Collier only played three minutes and didn't get on the board, but Ahmad Starks made the most of the oppurtunity. Starks had 14 points, along with a huge three pointer to tie the game at 19.
UT-Arlington did lead the Beavers again at 33-30, but the Beavers closed out the 1st Half with a 7-2 run. Perhaps the key stat of the game though was points off turnovers, where the Beavers led 30-14.
Coming into the 2nd Half, the outcome was still very much in doubt. That would all change though when the Beavers opened the 2nd Half with a 6-0 run to go up by eight. UT-Arlington cut the lead to four many times early on in the final half, but the Beavers went on a 10-3 run to take a 57-46 lead. There was no question about the outcome at that point, and the Beavers went on to win 71-56.
With the win, the Beavers open up the season with a record of 1-0. It was the first opening game victory for the team since 2006, when they beat Portland 65-48.
As far as the crowd goes, 2,615 isn't bad for a Sunday afternoon. Expect a much better atmosphere for Wednesday's game at Key Arena in Seattle.
Next up for the Beavers is their road opener against Seattle University, Wednesday at 7:00 PM in Seattle, Washington.