UTA Falls At ULM

MONROE, Louisiana – Erick Neal’s historic performance carried UT Arlington in the second half Thursday night at Fant-Ewing Center, but the Mavericks came up short in a 99-88 loss to ULM.

UTA dropped to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in the Sun Belt after its second loss in a row. The Warhawks (9-11, 5-4) remained undefeated at home at 8-0.

Neal etched his name in UTA’s record books with the program’s first-ever triple-double. The sophomore point guard from Dallas Lincoln did the majority of his damage after halftime, and finished with a career-highs in points (27), rebounds (10) and assists (12).

Neal’s exploits were overshadowed by ULM forward Majok Deng, who also awoke after the break. The 6-foot-10 senior scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half. After missing all four of his 3-point tries in the first half, Deng hit 7 of 8 from beyond the arc over the last 20 minutes.

Neal shot 10-14 from the floor, including 5-7 on 3-point attempts. Jalen Jones scored 18 for UTA, Kennedy Eubanks had 17 points and Kaelon Wilson had 10 points off the bench. Jorge Bilbao grabbed nine rebounds despite suffering from a stomach virus earlier in the day.

The Mavericks opened the game hot from deep, nailing their first four 3-pointers on their way to a 19-10 lead. Neal had six points during the early spurt on a 3-pointer and three-point play.

ULM would warm up as UTA went cold. The Warhawks surged ahead with a 10-0 run and would take as much as a nine-point lead late in the first half.

The Mavs would go into halftime down 43-36. Eubanks had 13 points at the half.