NEW ORLEANS – The No. 2-seeded UTA men's basketball team picked up a 67-58 win over Georgia Southern in their semifinal matchup of the Sun Belt Championship on Saturday at the Lakefront Arena. The Mavs improve to 17-15 on the year and advance to the SBC championship game to face No. 1 seed Georgia State Sunday afternoon on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. CT with a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Brian Warren poured in a game-high 21 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Warren also added four assists and three rebounds. Andres Ibarguen grabbed seven boards and added 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting. Patrick Mwamba chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds, while Edric Dennis finished with eight points.

Picked to finish 2nd-to-last in the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Poll, the Mavericks controlled most of the first half and took a 30-22 lead into the locker room at the intermission. The Mavs held Georgia Southern to just 26.7 percent (8-of-30) shooting from the floor and 0-of-9 from behind the arc and were also able to keep the 2019 Sun Belt Player of the Year Tookie Brown in check, holding the senior to just 2 points (0-of-5 FG) in the opening 20 minutes.

Georgia Southern did not go away quietly in the second half as they scratched and clawed their way back into the game, eventually taking a 58-57 lead with 5:07 left in regulation. That would be the final points the Eagles would score the rest of the night, as the Mavericks closed the game on a 10-0 run to secure the huge win.

UTA's defense was solid all night as the Mavs forced Georgia Southern into 15 turnovers and held the Eagles to just 36.7 percent (22-of-60) shooting on the night. The Mavericks also held Brown to just eight points, nine points below his 17.9ppg average.

POSTGAME NOTES
Mwamba reached double-figure points for the first time since the season opener when he scored 13 against UT Tyler; his 10 points were the most against a D-I opponent this year … UTA held Georgia Southern – which came in averaging 83 points per game – to a season-low 58 points (previous: 64) … Ibarguen's 6-6 effort from the field is tied for the 9th-most makes in a game without a miss in program history … in three games this year, UTA has held Sun Belt Player of the Year Tookie Brown to a combined 23 points … Warren eclipsed 20 points for the eighth time this year … this will be the second-straight year UTA will play Georgia State in the Sun Belt Tournament Final (74-61 Panthers' win last season).

POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Chris Ogden
Opening Statement:
"I was really pleased with our effort. (I) thought both teams came out really playing hard early on, and the game got going. Not a lot of stops. Both teams were tired, but I thought we caught our win then settled into the game and started playing more under control. The game got tight there in the second half, but give our guys credit, they really stayed calm. They thought back on situations we have been in and just made big plays, big free throws, and some huge defensive rebounds there at the end for us."
 
On if the game plan was to limit Tookie Brown:
"Yeah, I mean that was the start of it. We know how good of a player he is. He deserved the Player of the Year honors he received. So our game plan started right there with controlling him because of how much he does for their team and getting other guys involved. We did a good job with that. Multiple guys. But yeah, that was the start of our game plan."
 
On the weaknesses he saw in Tookie Brown's game to exploit:
"None. He missed some shots. To be honest with you, it looked like a stretch there he was going to take it over but he missed some shots. I'm sure that was some fatigue from the night before, but there really are no weaknesses in his game. He is such a great facilitator and distributor -- that it wasn't just about his scoring. You look at his scoring, and that wasn't stopping him. You look at what he does for other people. So as much as we could keep the ball out of his hands; that was more what it was about that his points."
 
On the quick turnaround for tomorrow's game:
"It starts now. Usually we have a 12-hour rule, but today we don't. We are right back to it. Guys are already starting to fuel up, get rested, get off their feet. We'll dive right in. Quick turnaround, but we've done these. We've done quick turnarounds. So we'll be ready."
 
Brian Warren, Jr., G
On how important it was to stay poised and continue to fight
"It was pretty big. We've been in situations before with a lot of high low possessions. We knew that we were going to keep fighting through it."
 
On getting out the slump from field shooting
"I knew they would fall eventually, but I just kept playing hard. I had some good looks, they just weren't falling."
 
Andres Ibarguen Jr., F
On coming into the game and dropping 12 points:
"Everything was plain. We've been preparing for this and being mentally aggressive. We were ready for the fight. We executed and got the baskets that we really needed."