Feb. 6, 2010

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Final Stats

By Josh Bowe for utamavs.com

ARLINGTON - Texas - When it left his hands, Marquez Haynes knew it was pure. That didn't surprise him.

"That one I knew," Haynes, senior guard, said as his smile grew. "It felt real good."

Nothing should surprise UT Arlington fans about Haynes anymore. His storybook season added another chapter on Saturday night as Haynes hit the game winner with 4.3 seconds left in UTA's 81-80 victory over Northwestern State.

Coach Scott Cross certainly wasn't surprised. Cross isn't surprised about anything about his team anymore. With UTA down 77-69 with just under three minutes left to play, he knew his team had another run in them.

"They just keep fighting, they never give up," Cross said. "They could of easily folded the tent, but that's not our nature."

It looked as if that was the only choice the Mavericks had, to give up. UTA collected four technical fouls in the second half. Junior forward Trey Parker had two of them and was ejected.

"You can't get sidetracked from the main goal," Haynes said. "Just try to tell everyone to keep their composure."

After NSU shot eight free throws and built the eight point lead, Haynes and the rest of the Mavericks started the rally.

Senior guard Brandon Long connected on two three-point plays. One on a three point shot and another on a lay-up plus a foul. In a matter of seconds UTA had cut the lead to 77-75.

"The shot Brandon hit and the and one that Brandon got, those were just huge plays for us," Cross said. "Then we got defensive stops down the stretch when we needed them."

But the Mavericks wouldn't have completed the comeback if not were for some fortunate misses from the free throw line.

Demon junior guard Devon Barker missed two free throws with the Mavericks trailing 80-79. UTA collected the rebound, Cross called a timeout and the rest is, well, history.

Cross said Haynes' shot was a thing of beauty. Once UTA inbounded the ball, Haynes dribbled to his right inside the arc and faded away.

"It looked like a flashback to the shots Michael Jordan hit against Craig Ehlo," Cross said. "With a hand in the face and just raise up over him and shoot it. Phenomenal."

The game winner wasn't the only thing Haynes achieved. With his 32 points he became the second Maverick in school history to reach 1,000 point mark in their career.

But actually, Haynes was surprised about one thing. He was surprised Northwestern State didn't try to trap him again like they did earlier in the game. Haynes didn't mind it one bit.

"We drew something up if they would of trapped," Haynes said. "They didn't but I'm glad they didn't."