Final Stats

By Art Garcia | @ArtGarcia92

STATESBORO, Georgia - UT Arlington couldn't hold on to a 17-point first-half lead in Thursday night's 76-64 loss to Georgia Southern at Hanner Fieldhouse.

The Mavericks dropped to 16-13 overall and 10-9 in the Sun Belt Conference with one league game remaining in the regular season. The Eagles (21-7) remained tied for first in the conference at 14-5.

UTA was done in by turnovers in the second half, which fueled a momentum-changing run by Georgia State. The Mavericks gave up the ball 14 times after halftime, leading to 18 points from the Eagles.

"Turnovers absolutely killed us all night long, especially in the second half when we weren't shooting the ball quite as well as in the first half," UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. "We played really well offensively in the first half minus those turnovers. Defensively we were solid, but we couldn't keep them off the boards. They made us pay."

Senior guard Jamel Outler led the Mavericks with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 8 from beyond the 3-point arc. Outler tried to keep UTA within striking distance down the stretch, but the Eagles didn't fold.

Senior guard Lonnie McClanahan nearly picked up his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and nine assists. He also had seven of the Mavericks' 25 turnovers.

The game couldn't have started much better for the Mavericks, as stops plus open looks allowed UTA to open up a big lead. The Eagles called timeout less than two minutes in after falling behind 8-0.

Outler was especially hot and active in the early going, knocking down three 3-pointers and adding a breakaway layup as the Mavs went up 23-7. UTA took its biggest lead (26-7) on a 3-pointer from freshman guard Kaelon Wilson.

Georgia Southern was able to chip away at the 17-point deficit, getting within four (32-28) late in the first half. Sophomore forward Jorge Bilbao's layup gave UTA a 36-30 edge going into the locker room.

McClanahan had 12 points and six assists at the break, while Outler scored 11. The Mavericks made 11 of their first 13 shots, and were shooting 62.5 percent (15-24) at the half.

The Eagles were shooting just 31.4 percent (11-35) but helped make up for it by outscoring UTA 8-2 off turnovers and 9-0 in second-chance points.

UT Arlington scored the first five points of the second half to push ahead 41-30. As the Eagles began their comeback, the Mavericks helped the cause by getting sloppy with the ball.

Georgia Southern tied the game for the first time (47-47) on a three-point play at the 13:03 mark. A fastbreak layup off a turnover - UTA had eight in the first eight minutes of the second half - gave the Eagles their first lead. Georgia Southern wouldn't trail again.

Jelani Hewitt led the Eagles with 18 points.

NOTES: UTA dropped to 7-8 on road with its third straight away loss. ... UTA and Georgia Southern spit the season series, each winning on its home court.

UP NEXT: At Appalachian State, Saturday, 2:30 p.m. CT.