LAFAYETTE, La. – In yet another hairpin-tight contest in a Sun Belt Conference season full of them for UT Arlington (10-14, 6-7 SBC), the Mavericks gutted out a thrilling 80-77 overtime win on the road Saturday against Louisiana (10-13, 5-8 SBC) inside the Cajundome.
 
In a game that featured 15 lead changes and 14 ties – all which came in the 2nd half and overtime with the exception of two ties – the two sides went blow-for-blow until the final whistle when UTA's defensive stand produced an airball on a potential game-tying 3-pointer from about 30 feet by Louisiana's Brayan Au.
 
UTA got in that position thanks to a pair of great plays at both ends of the court a few seconds prior. The first – and eventual game-winner – came when Jack Hoiberg found Shemar Wilson at the rim for a layup conversion to put the Mavericks in front, 78-77, with 26 seconds left. On the ensuing defensive possession, Nicolas Elame came up with the last of his career-high six steals, and subsequently made both free throws after being fouled to create the final 80-77 margin.
 
The end of regulation which forced what incredibly was UTA's fifth Sun Belt overtime game of the season already (six in total) was just as frenetic. Trailing 70-68, Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu cleaned up a contested David Azore attempt with 26 seconds remaining to tie the contest at 70-all.
 
On Louisiana's ensuing trip, UTA forced a turnover, giving the ball back to the Mavs with a chance to win the game with 16 seconds left. However, Patrick Mwamba's elbow jumper with eight seconds showing was short, and Azore had to race to the other end to swat a potential game-winning floater from Kobe Julien just before time expired on regulation.
 
Azore once again continued to bolster his Sun Belt Player of the Year resume by pouring in a game-high 25 points – right on his average in league play – while adding five rebounds, issuing three assists and registering two steals.
 
However, it was the spark of Nicolas Elame off the bench which keyed the Mavs' effort as the sophomore delivered 15 points, six steals, six rebounds and three assists en route to finishing as the only player on either team with a plus-minus of double digits (+10). His 15 points were the most against a Division-I opponent this year and most in any game since a 17-point performance versus Mary Hardin-Baylor in UTA's second game of the year on Nov. 13.
 
Those two helped UTA snap a three-game losing streak as the Mavs swept the season series from the Ragin' Cajuns for just the second time in program history (1981). The three-point margin of victory for UTA continued the aforementioned close theme of the conference season as all 13 league games for the Mavs have been decided by 12 points or less, 11 by single digits and eight by points or less.
 
BOX SCORE NUGGETS

• After being outscored in second-chance points in the 1st half, 13-3, UTA outscored Louisiana in that category in the 2nd half and overtime, 14-6.
• UTA forced Louisiana into 21 turnovers while committing just 11 of its own to finish with a critical 24-11 edge in points off turnovers.
• Javon Levi, Mwamba and Akobundu-Ehiogu all finished with six points. Levi added a game-best five assists and three rebounds, Akobundu-Ehiogu had four rebounds and a game-high two blocks and Mwamba had three rebounds.
• Shemar Wilson posted his second-straight game of eight points and also corralled four rebounds.
• Elame's six steals were one shy of tying for the 3rd-most thefts in single-game program history.
• Hoiberg finished with five points – his most since tallying nine against the Cajuns on Jan. 13.
• Akobundu-Ehiogu moved into sole possession of 4th place on the program's career blocked shots list with now 115 blocks in only 42 games with UTA.
• Jordan Brown recorded a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Cajuns. Kobe Julien added 19 points, while Theo Akwuba netted 14 and pulled down nine rebounds.
• UTA shot 41 percent (29-70) from the floor compared with 46 percent for Louisiana (26-57).
• UTA utilized its 12th-different starting lineup of the season: Hoiberg, Brandyn Talbot, Azore, Montez Young Jr. and Wilson. The dozen combinations are tied for the sixth-most lineups used in the country this season.
• A grad transfer from Michigan State, it was Hoiberg's first-collegiate start in now 64 career appearances.
• Levi had a streak of 113-straight starts snapped, dating back to Jan. 13, 2018, when he was with UTRGV.

GAME FLOW
Louisiana jumped out to a 12-6 start before UTA pulled back within one following a 5-0 run. However, the Cajuns methodically re-built a lead and extended their cushion to seven points on multiple occasions – the last of which came at 27-20 with inside of five minutes remaining.
 
Back-to-back triples from Levi and Azore within nine seconds of each other quickly moved the Mavs back to within one, 27-26, before tying the contest up at 29-all a few minutes later on a Levi to Akobundu-Ehiogu alley-oop connection.
 
That was the only tie of the opening 20 minutes as UTA never led and trailed at the halftime break, 33-29, after shooting 36 percent (11-31) from the floor compared with 41 percent (12-29) for Louisiana. The big difference came on the glass as the Cajuns finished with a 21-14 edge in rebounding, leading to the aforementional 13-3 edge in second-chance points for the hosts.
 
UTA stormed out of the halftime break and quickly took its first lead of the game, 40-37, on a Hoiberg 3-pointer just three-and-a-half minutes into the period to cap a brisk 8-0 run in just over 60 seconds.
 
Over the next 13 minutes, the lead changed hands 10 times and was the contest was tied on seven occasions as the game remained deadlocked at 63-63 with 3:35 left. The two sides again went back and forth before Akobundu-Ehiogu's overtime-forcing putback.
 
QUOTABLE
"It was a great win by our team on the road. We've been in a ton of these games; this being our fifth overtime game in conference. And we did it against a very talented team in Louisiana. We had some guys step up to make some big plays, and now we're looking forward to carrying the momentum into our final homestand next week."
 
– UTA Head Coach Greg Young
 
THIS AND THAT

• UTA's six Sun Belt wins have come by an average of 6.5 points; its seven Sun Belt losses have been by an average of 4.5 points.
• Combined with an 83-73 win last month in Arlington, this marked just the second time UTA has ever swept both regular-season meetings with the Cajuns (1981).

 
NEXT UP
UTA will return home for its final two home games of the season next week, beginning with a matchup against Little Rock on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
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