University of Texas at Arlington University of Texas at Arlington

Men's Basketball

Anthony Vereen stood strong against Memphis inside players with 20 points.

Anthony Vereen stood strong against Memphis inside players with 20 points.

UT ARLINGTON HANGS TOUGH BEFORE FALLING TO MEMPHIS IN FIRST NCAA TOURNAMENT

Mavericks history-making run ends with 87-63 loss against second-ranked Tigers

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The UT Arlington men's basketball team didn't shock the world or make NCAA Tournament history by knocking off the top-seeded Memphis Tigers on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament.

Mavericks coach Scott Cross said that's OK after UTA fell to Memphis, 87-63, because UTA did energize a starving-for-success fan base. And it did make its own history by qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. And the 21 victories heading into the South Region first-round game at the AllTel Center in North Little Rock, Ark., is a school record.

"I've never been happier or more proud to be a Maverick," Cross said in his post-game new conference opening statement. "We played one of the most talented teams - if not the most talented - in the country, and our guys fought their hearts out and played as hard as they could. Unfortunately, we came up a little bit short. But the credit goes to Memphis."

UTA (21-12), trying to become the first team to ever beat a No. 1 seed, hung tough in the beginning and made a run early in the second half to get within striking distance at 46-35. The Mavericks did it by going inside to 6-foot-7 junior forward Anthony Vereen, who finished with 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting.

But the deeper, bigger Tigers (32-1) answered every Mavericks charge and pulled away with an 8-1 run midway through the second half that pushed a 14-point lead to 21.

Chris Douglas-Roberts led the Tigers with 23 points.

Five Memphis players scored in double-figures.

"It was a good win," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "It was like pulling teeth to get our guys going, and part of it was that we hadn't played since Saturday at 10:30 in the morning."

Memphis advances to the second round to play Mississippi State, which beat Oregon on Friday afternoon.

UTA will return all but three seniors to next year's squad. Rod Epps, Jermaine Griffin and Larry Posey played in their final games in a Mavericks uniform.

"This is really big for our program," Epps said. "I'm just glad that I could end it off on this note. And I'm glad for Anthony and the rest of the team; they can keep the tradition going."