UTA Defeats Louisiana

ARLINGTON, Texas – Jalen Jones stepped back to drill a 3-pointer with 9.5 seconds in overtime to complete a monumental comeback, lifting UT Arlington past Louisiana 84-83 Thursday night at College Park Center.

The Mavericks extended their winning streak to four, improving to 18-7 overall and 9-5 in the Sun Belt. UTA inched closer to the second-place Ragin’ Cajuns (14-10, 10-5) in the league standings.

Jones led the Mavs with 23 points on 7-13 shooting, including 4-6 on 3-point attempts. The junior guard had the ball in his hands with UL up 83-81 with the clock winding down. Jones was inside the arc before taking two steps back and letting it fly, giving UTA its first lead since 9-8.

Kaelon Wilson scored 20 and added a 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Erick Neal had 19 points and six assists before fouling out in OT. Drew Charles scored 10 and had a key steal that led to Jones’ layup sending the game into the extra session tied 72-72.

The Mavs were down as many as 15 points in the first half and were still trailing by 11 with 5 1/2 minutes left in regulation. Neal’s 3-pointer made it a five-point deficit (69-64) with four minutes left. UTA was

down 72-70 on Wilson’s driving layup with 1:46 remaining.

Shawn Long led the Cajuns with game highs in points (28) and rebounds (18). Kasey Shepard scored 16, Jay Wright had 13 points and Johnathan Stove has 12.

UTA made up ground after trailing 13 at the half by shooting 47.4 percent (18-38) in the second half and overtime. The Mavs held UL to 38.7-percent shooting (12-31) after halftime.

The Mavericks played from behind for the majority of the first half. After UTA took a 9-8 lead, the Cajuns reeled off an 11-3 run to open up a 19-12 edge. UL would lead by as much as 15 points and took a 42-29 advantage into the locker room.

The Mavs couldn’t buy a basket in the first half, especially in close. UTA missed several shots from point-blank range on its way to 25-percent shooting through 20 minutes. Louisiana was shooting 45.7 percent at the break.

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