UTA Holds Off ULM
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MONROE, Louisiana – The Mavericks entered Fant-Ewing Coliseum with a sense of purpose Thursday night. They left with a victory over the Sun Belt Conference leaders.
UT Arlington gutted out a clutch 61-57 win, getting a measure of payback for an overtime loss to the Warhawks earlier this month in Arlington.
“That was a tough win,” UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. “You could see the game going like our game at home. They started cutting into the lead and our guys got a little bit tight, but they made plays down the stretch.”
Sophomore guard Drew Charles led the Mavericks with 12 points, 10 coming in the first half. Senior guard Lonnie McClanahan added 11 points and freshman guard Erick Neal dished out a career-high tying six assists. Freshman forward Kevin Hervey grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
The Mavericks improved to 11-7 overall and 5-3 in league play, while ULM dropped to 12-7 and 6-2. UTA is 4-5 on the road this season. The Warhawks hadn’t lost on their floor this season before Thursday night.
The Mavericks struggled with shooting early, but stayed close thanks to their defense in the passing lanes. UTA took a 17-16 lead despite shooting 33.3 percent (7-21) up at that point. Six steals, including a pair from Hervey, were huge.
Neal, making his fourth consecutive start, made plays with and without the
ball in his hands. The Dallas Lincoln product knocked down two 3-pointers and had all of his six assists, including a fastbreak alley-oop to Brandon Williams from outside the 3-point line.
Charles scored 10 points in the opening half on 4-6 shooting, including 2-3 from beyond the arc. The SBC’s leading 3-pointer shooter hadn’t scored in double figures in his previous four games.
UT Arlington took as much as a 14-point lead late in the half and went into the locker room up 34-24. ULM leading scorer Tylor Ongwae had two points at the break, and the Warhawks were shooting 39.1 percent (9-23).
“Erick was phenomenal in that first half,” Cross said. “Our guys opened things up late in the first half. I thought our movement offensively was great, especially when they were going zone. We did a great job moving the ball around, finding open men, playing with speed and dissecting the zone.”
ULM closed within two possessions on several occasions in the second half, only to have the Mavericks regain some breathing room. Unlike the 76-73 loss on Jan. 8, UTA maintained its composure down the stretch.
Hervey’s 3-pointer from the corner with 1:16 remaining put the Mavericks up 59-52. ULM’s Nick Coppola answered with a 3-pointer and the Warhawks scored off a steal in the backcourt to make it 59-57 with 38 seconds left.
Junior guard Johnny Hill knocked down two free throws with 23.8 seconds left and the Mavericks held on.
