Julien Lewis scored a season-high 18 points as Texas topped UT-Arlington 70-54 Saturday afternoon at the Frank Erwin Center. Lewis caught fire from behind the three-point line, hitting a career-high six threes as well as recording a game-high four steals.

Texas would finish the game with three scorers in double-digits and shot 50 percent as a team from behind the three-point arc.

“There were more good things,” head coach Rick Barnes said. “We ran some fake screen action and got where we could drive the ball. Some of that was good. It’s just the mentality there when you have the lead that we don’t stay engaged.”

The Longhorns jumped to an early lead, fueled by eight first half three-pointers. Texas shot 52 percent from the field in the first half and entered the intermission with a 38-18 lead over the Mavericks. The Mavericks’ Jordan Reeves and Cameron Catlett led the team in scoring with four points apiece at the half.

Javan Felix tied a career-high with nine assists and turned the ball over twice as he split point guard duties with fellow freshmen Ioannis Papapetrou and Demarcus Holland. Papapetrou added a career-high 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Holland garnered his second consecutive start in favor of sophomore Sheldon McClellan, who came off the bench to score 14 points.

Texas led by 28 points with 12 minutes to play in the second half and the Mavericks struggled to keep up for much of the game. While the Mavericks did finish the game with more points in the paint, the Longhorns converted 19 UTA turnovers into 20 points and were buoyed by 43 points off the bench, thanks in large to McClellan and Papapetrou.

“Even the walk-ons would tell you that we didn’t play as hard the second half, and that is part of learning how to finish and having the discipline to play for 40 minutes,” Barnes said.

Defense continues to be the calling card for this Texas team as it held the Mavericks to less than 30 percent shooting from the field for the game.

Printed on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012 as: Horns solid over Mavericks, Lewis leads with 18 points