UTA Basketball Season Ends With Loss
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NEW ORLEANS – The season ended for No. 6 UT Arlington with Friday night’s 91-85 loss to third-seeded UL Lafayette in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
The Mavericks finished their first season in the Sun Belt at 15-17 overall. UT Arlington went 9-9 in conference during the regular season to tie for fifth and reached the quarterfinals after Thursday’s first-round win over UL Monroe.
The Mavericks fought back from an early double-digit deficit and were within striking distance for much of the game, but the constantly-attacking Rajin’ Cajuns (21-11) did enough to finish off a three-game season sweep of UTA.
Four seniors – forward Brandon Edwards, and guards Reger Dowell, Shaquille White-Miller and Kyle McElvain – played their final games at UTA. Edwards scored 22 and grabbed 11 rebounds, Dowell added 25 points and White-Miller dished out six assists. Junior guard Jamel Outler paced the Mavericks with a career-high 26 points.
Dowell and Edwards each knocked down 3-pointer early, as the teams went into
the first media timeout tied 8-8. The Rajin’ Cajuns began to separate soon after, opening up a 25-13 lead to force a timeout out of UT Arlington coach Scott Cross.
Turnovers were an issue in the early deficit. The Mavericks began taking better care of the ball, clamping down defensively and shots started to fall. An 18-8 run fueled by Outler’s aggressiveness cut ULL’s lead to 40-39 with three minutes left in the half.
The Cajuns knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and went into the locker room up 46-41. Outler had 14 points at the break on 3-4 shooting, including 2-3 from beyond the arc, and 6-7 at the line. Edwards scored 11 and Dowell added nine points.
UL Lafayette extended its lead to 65-51 before the Mavericks responded with a 7-0 run going into a media timeout. The Cajuns scored the next five points out of the stoppage to go up 12 (70-58).
UT Arlington wasn’t done. A reverse layup from Outler made it 70-62 with eight minutes left. Edwards followed with a 3-pointer, leaving the Mavericks down just five points. UTA would get even closer in the final minute.
Outler drained a 3-pointer get within 85-78 with 53 seconds left. The Mavericks were down 85-80 after forcing a ULL turnover on the ensuing possession, followed by Dowell hitting two free throws with 29 seconds remaining.
Dowell nailed a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left, cutting the Cajuns’ lead to 87-83. That’s as close as UTA would get. UL Lafayette locked down its trip to the SBC semifinals at the line.
