ARLINGTON, Texas - Junior Joey Gladney had 19 points and eight rebounds as Texas Wesleyan almost pulled off a huge upset, falling to UT-Arlington, 74-69, Wednesday evening at Texas Hall.

     Down 64-54, with 8:32 to play in the game, Texas Wesleyan mounted its comeback. Buckets by Gladney and freshman Byron Tucker cut the lead to 64-58, at the 7:25 mark. The two teams traded baskets over the next five minutes, before Gladney made a turnaround jumper in the paint to bring the Rams within four, with 1:31 left in the game.

     After senior Wesley Haynes blocked a lay-up by Steven Thomas, Donny Beacham was there for the follow-up, to put the Mavericks back up by six, with eight seconds to play. Sophomore Brad Schilder's three-pointer with seven second left cut the lead to three. UT-Arlington picked up two free throws from Keith Howell to seal the game for the Mavericks.

     The Mavericks, preseason favorites to win the Southland Conference, were held to 43 percent shooting (28-65) by a stingy Ram defense, while Texas Wesleyan shot 52 percent (29-56) from the field.

     "This team is picked to finish atop its conference," head coach Terry Waldrop said. "Our team grew up a lot tonight. Anytime you take a team of this caliber down to the wire, it shows that you are doing some things right."

     UT-Arlington (2-2) opened the game on a 13-6 run to take a seven-point lead at the 13:31 mark. Howell led the charge with a bucket and a three-point play.

     Texas Wesleyan (4-5) fought back to tie the score, 22-22, with 6:15 remaining in the first half. Schilder had four points, while Haynes added three during the 16-9 run.

     The Mavericks ended the half, outscoring the Rams, 16-12, to take a four-point lead into the break, 38-34.

     The Rams opened the second half on an 11-4 run, to regain the lead, 45-42, with 14:39 left in the game. The run was keyed by a three-point play by junior Anthony Martin.

     UT-Arlington used a 22-9 run to retake the lead, 64-54, at the 8:32 mark. Thomas led the way with 12 points, while Derrick Obasohan chipped in with eight points during the streak.

     Gladney had a fantastic night shooting, going 9-of-12 from the field in 31 minutes of play. Four of his eight rebounds were offensive.

     "Joey has played well the last few games," Waldrop said. "He has the ability to be one of the best players in the conference."

     Also leading the Rams were Schilder, who had 14 points and four rebounds, while Haynes added nine points and 10 rebounds. Martin led Texas Wesleyan with six assists and Tucker dished out four assists.

     "Wesley played with a lot of intensity," Waldrop said. "He goes hard to whole and crashes the boards with authority. He is capable of that every night."

     Texas Wesleyan outrebounded UT-Arlington, 41-29, but turnovers are what killed the Rams as they gave it up 23 times compared to only 14 turnovers by the Mavericks.

     Thomas led the way for UT-Arlington with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting and Obasohan chipped in with 21 points and nine rebounds.

     Texas Wesleyan returns to action Saturday when they host conference-foe UT-Permian Basin at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard live at www.ramsports.net.