Russell has 28 in debut, UT Arlington edges Air Force 76-73

Dec 17, 2023, 02:03 am

FORT WORTH, Texas -- — Phillip Russell had 28 points in his UT Arlington debut, leading the Mavericks to a 76-73 win over Air Force on Saturday night in the USLBM Coast-to-Coast Challenge.

Russell, who has transferred from Saint Louis to Southeast Missouri and now UT Arlington, made his debut, thanks to the court ruling earlier in the week granting immediate eligibility to multi-time transfers.

Russell, who began his career as a walk-on at Saint Louis, averaged 18.1 points, 5.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 34 starts with SEMO last year as a sophomore.

He was originally denied immediately eligibility with the Mavs as a result of being a two-time, D-I/four-year transfer as an undergraduate. UTA appealed that decision with the NCAA before the season, but that was also denied, leaving Russell to redshirt this year before the court order this week.

Russell was 9 of 17 shooting, including 4 for 9 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 7 from the line for the Mavericks (6-4). DaJuan Gordon added 15 points and 15 rebounds. Shemar Wilson finished with 10 points.

The Falcons (7-4) were led in scoring by Rytis Petraitis, who finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Ethan Taylor added 16 points and three steals and Beau Becker had 13 points for Air Force.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.