Kevin Hervey scored 18 points, Erick Neal added 17 and Texas-Arlington handed Ohio State a 73-68 loss on Friday night.
The Mavericks (2-1) dominated in the paint and on the glass to hand the Buckeyes (2-1) their first loss.
Texas-Arlington trailed 34-32 at the half but scored the first 7 points of the second to open up a 39-34 advantage. The Mavericks maintained the lead throughout the second, stretching it to as many as 9 on multiple occasions.
Ohio State had a hard time getting any flow in its offense and struggled mightily from the free-throw line, going 13 for 27 (48 percent).
Keita Bates-Diop scored 16 points to lead the Buckeyes while Jaquan Lyle had 15 and Marc Loving finished with 12.
The Mavericks won the battle on the boards 46-37, and they scored 15 points off 18 offensive rebounds.
UTA also had a big advantage in the paint, outscoring the Buckeyes 34-22.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
The first half was back-and-forth.
The Mavericks scored first -- marking the first time Ohio State had trailed this season -- but the Buckeyes eventually went in front for the first time on a Marc Loving 3-pointer that made it 12-11 with 13:02 left in the half.
Kam Williams' trey less than 30 seconds later extended the lead to 4 points, but that would not stick.
The teams traded the lead for a few possessions before a 7-0 run gave the Buckeyes a 30-24 lead with three minutes left in the first half.
Austin Grandstaff hit a 3-pointer, Keita Bates-Diop scored on a driving layup and Daniel Giddens made a layup to account for the scoring.
The Mavericks scored 8 of the next 10 points, tying the game at 32 on Kaelon Wilson's layup with 54 seconds to go before the break.
Daniel Giddens then powered in a shot off the glass with 37 seconds left to send Ohio State to the locker room with a 34-32 lead.
------
TIP-INS
UT-Arlington: The Mavericks shot only 61 percent from the charity stripe in their first two games, but they made 19 of 22 (86 percent) against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State: Daniel Giddens was a force defensively for Ohio State, coming off the bench to block four shots in his first four minutes on the floor. He finished with six.
UP NEXT
UT-Arlington plays at Memphis on Monday night.
Ohio State hosts Louisiana Tech on Tuesday night
