ARLINGTON – Shahada Wells poured in a season-high 31 points, and the UT Arlington men's basketball team received previously unseen performances from its deep roster as the Mavericks posted an impressive 91-86 win Friday night over Louisiana inside the College Park Center.
 
Wells scored 19 2nd-half points to lead a UTA attack which came at the Ragin' Cajuns from all angles as the Mavs – despite missing two starters and three players overall for the third-straight game – picked up their third-straight Sun Belt Conference win after opening league play 0-2.
 
Jordan Phillips registered a season-best 17 points off the bench, Sam Griffin tallied a crucial 14 and Patrick Mwamba reached double figures for the third-straight time with a career-high-tying 13 to aid in the UTA offensive output on a night which the Mavs shot 44 percent from the floor (28-64), but 48 percent (11-23) from the 3-point line.
 
However, it was Wells with yet another all-league performance. In addition to the 31 points – the first Mav to post 30+ since David Azore tallied 33 at Georgia Southern in 2019 – the Tyler Junior College product grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, issued a team-high-tying five assists and recorded two steals while shooting 10-11 from the free-throw line and reaching double-figure points for the 11th time in 12 opportunities this year.
 
Facing one of the most imposing interior threats in the nation in Louisiana's Theo Akwuba, UTA was unfazed as it turned in a program single-game record 12 blocks, led by a career-high seven from redshirt sophomore Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu – tied for the 3rd-most in the program record book.
 
The uber-athletic 6-foot-9 forward's presence made a significant impact at the rim against the Cajuns and Akwuba, who entered the contest with the 13th-best rebounding average in the nation, the 12th-most double-doubles and the 2nd-best blocks per game.
 
Furthermore, Akobundu-Ehiogu – playing in just his fifth game with UTA – pulled down a career-best six rebounds and finished a thunderous alley-oop to provide a spark to the Mavs.
 
Davis Steelman, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, secured the most rebounds in his career against a Division-I opponent with seven, in addition to dishing out a team-high-tying five assists – also his most ever versus a D-I foe.
 
Redshirt sophomore Mwamba, meanwhile, has now scored 10+ points in three-consecutive outings for the first time in his career. He also corralled seven rebounds in 23 minutes, which excluded some time sidelined with leg cramps in the 2nd half.
 
He re-entered the game and ultimately made some pivotal free throws down the stretch to help thwart a Louisiana comeback attempt.
 
The Cajuns had trimmed a 13-point 2nd-half deficit down to two, 72-70, with just under 3 minutes remaining, but Griffin rose up from beyond the 3-point line on back-to-back possessions and knocked down both attempts cold-blooded in-between a Cajun free throw to push the Mav lead back to seven, 78-71, with 2 minutes left and for all intents and purposes end the game. Mwamba hit his pair of free throws with 11 ticks remaining to ice things after Louisiana had crawled back within three.
 
As previously mentioned, the performance by the Mavs was even more impressive as they were shorthanded for the third-straight game. UTA was without Azore (11.4 points, 4.6 rebounds), Nicolas Elame (7.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3 assists) and Lazaro Rojas (4.4 points, 3.3 rebounds) due to injuries. Prior to being sidelined, that trio had accounted for nearly 25 percent of UTA's scoring on the season and almost 30 percent of its rebounding.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• UTA improves to 7-6 overall on the year and 3-2 in Sun Belt play, while Louisiana falls to 8-4 and 2-3.
• UTA shot 85.7 percent (24-28) from the free-throw line, tied for the 7th-best percentage in a game in program history (minimum 20 makes). The Mavs went 17-18 in the 2nd half.
• Phillips came within one point of matching his career high of 18 set last year at Little Rock.
• Grayson Carter finished with eight points for the Mavs.
• UTA's 47.8 percentage from the 3-point line (11-23) is its best versus a D-I opponent this year.
• Akwuba recorded his sixth double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Cedric Russell led the Ragin' Cajuns with 17 points; Dou Gueye had 13 and Jacobi Gordon added 10.
• Louisiana shot 44 percent (33-75) from the floor, 41 percent from 3 (9-22) but just 52 percent (11-21) from the free-throw line.
• After shooting 38 percent (13-34) from the floor in the 1st half, UTA connected at a 50-percent clip (15-30) in the 2nd.

PLAY-BY-PLAY SUMMARY
An exciting back-and-forth 1st half got off to a frenetic pace at both ends. Neither team led by more than four until UTA went on an 8-0 run in the closing minutes of the stanza to create a 39-32 advantage before settling for a 40-36 halftime lead.
 
Wells set the tone from the outset for the Mavs, knocking down his first three 3-point attempts before UTA put its depth on display as nine of its last 17 points in the half came off the bench from Phillips.
 
The first 20 minutes saw an incredible 15 lead changes and seven ties with both teams nearly equal in a number of key statistical categories.
 
An energized UTA club came out of the locker room and maintained that pace set in the opening period, and the Mavs methodically built their first double-digit lead of the night at 59-49 with 12 minutes to play following Wells layup to beat the shot clock.
 
The UTA lead eventually reached 13, 63-50, and remained in double figures with just under 9 minutes remaining, 67-56. However, Louisiana put together an extended 12-3 run to pull within two, 70-68, with less than 5 minutes showing.
 
It remained a two-point game inside of 3 minutes before Griffin's triples and clutch free-throw shooting by the Mavs sealed the contest.
 
THIS AND THAT

• This was UTA's first home game in 24 days as the Mavs had began conference play with four-straight road games for the second-consecutive season.
• Louisiana was picked 2nd in the Sun Belt West Division in the preseason poll, while UTA was slotted 3rd (Little Rock 1st).

NEXT UP
The two teams will be right back at it Saturday afternoon inside the College Park Center. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).