ARLINGTON – Texas-Arlington withstood a second-half surge and handed Abilene Christian an 86-71 setback in both teams' Western Athletic Conference opener on Wednesday.
ACU scored the game's first six points and led 8-1 early but UTA overtook the Cats with 6:35 left in the first half, 28-27, and had a 41-34 halftime lead.
The Mavs pushed the lead to 12 points with 18:11 to go, but ACU responded with an 11-1 run to cut the UTA lead to 49-47 with 13:46 to play.
Hunter Jack Madden had five points and
Ali Abdou Dibba added four in the spree.
UTA never surrendered the lead, however, and led by as many as 15 points.
Madden led the Cats with 19 points, seven assists and three steals.
Airion Simmons had 17 points and Dibba finished with 14 points to go with a team-leading seven rebounds.
The 3-4 Wildcats return home on Saturday, hosting Stephen F. Austin in the annual Christmas Slam at 5 p.m.
