The men’s wheelchair basketball team competed in the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament last weekend hosted by Southwest Minnesota State University.
Eleven of the nation’s top wheelchair teams clashed March 13-16 in Minnesota with a shared goal: securing a championship. The Movin’ Mavs fell short of its goal, placing sixth in the tournament. UTA’s last national championship came in 2022.
UTA went 3-2 in the championship, losing in the quarterfinals on the first day before splitting its remaining games in the consolation bracket. The team finished its second season under head coach Aaron Gouge.
UTA got off to a dominant start, defeating Eastern Washington University by an overwhelming 70-12. UTA knocked down nearly 44 percent of its field goals. Sophomore Kasean Paire led all UTA scorers with 13 three points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Senior Isaac Lipscomb was second in scoring with 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Freshman Michael Collins chipped in nine points but pulled down 12 rebounds. It was an efficient performance by the Movin’ Mavs with all 10 players scoring.
Collectively, UTA out rebounded EWU 53 to 33 and produced 24 assists compared to EWU’s three assists.
Next up was a rematch from the 2022 NWBA championship game against the University of Alabama. It was a hard-fought battle but in the end, UTA would go on to drop a heartbreaker to Alabama, 55-51.
The Movin’ Mavs had three scorers in double figures with Lipscomb leading all UTA scorers with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Graduate senior Ido Shkuri produced a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
UTA was outrebounded 40-36, but had more assists and only seven turnovers compared to Alabama’s 10. UTA cashed in 12 points on Alabama’s turnovers but Alabama got key contributions from its bench with 23 points to UTA’s 10 bench points.
