UT Arlington Loses To ULM
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ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington dropped its second consecutive Sun Belt Conference game, as ULM rallied to beat the Mavericks 76-73 in overtime Thursday night at College Park Center.
UTA falls to 8-6 and 2-2 in league play after losing for the second time this week. The Warhawks (8-6, 2-1) beat the Mavericks for the first time in four meetings SBC foes. The teams meet again Jan. 22 in Monroe, Louisiana.
“We didn’t do enough to win that basketball game down the stretch,” UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. “We were outhustled on loose balls and we didn’t get the big rebound when we needed it. It was very frustrating. It was definitely a game we should have won.”
The Mavericks had double-digit leads in both halves, and were up nine with nine minutes to play. UTA struggled at both ends of the court from there, and at the line. The Mavericks would miss five consecutive free throws late in the game and into OT.
Johnny Hill scored 19, tying his season high set in Monday’s 71-66 loss at Troy. Freshman guard Kaelon Wilson had a season-high 16 points and forward Greg Gainey scored 10 in his first start of the season.
Wilson hit the first shot of OT on a running floater through the lane and ULM promptly tied it again. The Mavericks had a chance to go up after Jamel Outler was fouled on a 3-point try, but the senior guard missed all three free throws.
The Warhawks scored at the other end with 1:51 left and held the
lead from there. Marvin Williams led ULM with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Majok Deng added 15 points and Mack Foster scored 11.
ULM won despite shooting 40 percent. The Warhawks won the rebound battle 47-36 and outscored UTA 18-6 in second-chance points.
The Mavericks responded from an early deficit to take a 22-11 lead by clamping down on ULM. The Warhawks were shooting 26.3 percent (5-19) through the first 13 1/2 minutes, enabling UTA to take control despite a sluggish offensive start.
Guard Erick Neal finished off a seven-point first half with a scoop at the buzzer to give the Mavericks a 28-20 lead going into the locker room. Hill also scored seven in the half, with Outler adding six points.
ULM’s 20 points were a season low for an opponent in any half this season. The Warhawks missed 22 of 30 shots in the first half and were outscored 11-0 in points off turnovers.
A 3-pointer from Gainey and guard Lonnie McClanahan’s three-point play pushed UTA’s lead back into double digits at 34-23. The Warhawks climbed back and tied at 45-45 before UTA responded with a 9-0 spurt.
ULM wasn’t dead. The visitors took the lead 63-61 and on two other occasions, only to have the Mavs answer. Wilson had a three-point play and Hill knocked down three free throws to tie it up 67-67.
The Warhawks called timeout with 1:17 to play. The teams traded misses and ULM called another timeout with 16.9 seconds remaining. Mack misfired on a 3-pointer from the corner to send the game into overtime.
