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UT ARLINGTON (21-12) 71, LOUISIANA (27-6) 68
Sun Belt Conference Championships - Semifinals
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Lakefront Arena o New Orleans, La.

POSTGAME NOTES

• UTA improved to 21-12 on the season. UTA is 13-2 at home, 5-10 on the road and 3-0 in neutral site games. The Mavericks remain in New Orleans tomorrow for the 1 p.m. (CDT) Sun Belt Conference championship game against either Georgia State or Georgia Southern.

• Louisiana will enter either the NCAA Tournament (at-large) or National Invitational Tournament (automatic qualifier as the regular season champion) with a 27-6 overall record.

• For the fourth time this season, UTA's starting lineup consisted of forwards Nathan Hawkins and Julian Harris, center Johnny Hamilton and guards Kaelon Wilson and Erick Neal. Kevin Hervey was the first substitute off the bench.

• Senior forward Julian Harris earned his fifth career start against Louisiana. He has 92 career appearances at UTA.

• UTA will play in its first-ever Sun Belt Championship final and its fifth overall conference tournament championship game. The Mavericks went 0-1 in its one season in the Western Athletic Conference (losing 64-55 to New Mexico State in the final) and 1-3 in the Southland. UTA's only conference tournament title victory was an 82-79 win over Northwestern State in 2008.

• UTA will play in its first-ever Sun Belt Championship final and its fifth overall conference tournament championship game. The Mavericks went 0-1 in its one season in the Western Athletic Conference (losing 64-55 to New Mexico State in the final) and 1-3 in the Southland. UTA's only conference tournament title victory was an 82-79 win over Northwestern State in 2008.

• Senior guard Kaelon Wilson scored 17 points against Louisiana, giving him 1,181 career points. He surpassed Marquez Haynes (1,174 from 2008-10) for 15th on the program's all-time scoring list.

• UTA made 13 of its 16 free throw attempts against Louisiana for .813 percent. In yesterday's quarterfinal game, the Mavericks made .882 percent (15 of 17). The performances from the free throw line mark the first time this season UTA has surpassed 80 percent from the line in consecutive games.

• Senior forward Kevin Hervey scored 14 points to go with 11 rebounds against Louisiana, his program record-extending 38th double-double of his career and the 11th of the season.

• Senior guard Kaelon Wilson grabbed a season-high 8 rebounds against Louisiana and finished one minute shy of his career-high of 37 minutes played.