UT Arlington Gets By Cajuns in Overtime, 84-83

Jalen Jones' hit a three point basket with :13 left in overtime to give UT Arlington a come from behind 84-83 win over Louisiana Thursday night at the College Park Center in Arlington.

Jones' game winner came 12 seconds after a Bryce Washington layup on an assist from Jay Wright had given the Cajuns a two point lead.  Shawn Long's three point attempt was no good with :03 remaining.

"Give Jones credit on the shot.  He was guarded and hit a step back three," Louisiana coach Bob Marlin said.  "Then we just didn't do a good job on the last possession," Marlin said.  "We needed to take the ball to the hole and instead settled for a three point shot from our post player.  We had to use our timeout earlier so we were a little hamstrung there."

Jones' shot gave UTA (18-7, 9-5 Sun Belt) its first lead since the first four minutes of the game.  Jones' 23 points led the Mavericks, while Kaelon Wilson added 20.  Erick Neal scored 19 before fouling out and Drew Charles added 10.

Shawn Long scored 28 points for the Cajuns and hauled in 18 rebounds, but made just 7-16 free throws as the Cajuns finished 17-29 from the charity stripe.  Kasey Shepherd has 16 points while Jay Wright added 13 and Johnathon Stove had 12 before fouling out.

"We just missed too many free throws tonight," Marlin said.  Shawn got off to a slow start at the line and just didn't find a rhythm."

The Cajuns (14-10, 10-5) led by 13 points at halftime and still had an eleven point lead with 5:32 to play after a three point basket by Hayward Register.  But after that basket, the Cajuns went just 1-5 from the field, 2-6 from the three throw line and turned the ball over four times.  UTA scored the final six points of regulation including a shot inside by Jones that tied the game at 72 with :37 remaining in regulation.

Nick Pallas blocked Jay Wright's drive to the basket, but the Cajuns guard saved the ball off a UTA player with :05 left, giving the Cajuns one more chance in regulation.  But Shepherd's driving one hander off the glass went off the rim, setting up the extra five minute period.

The four turnovers were part of a season high 18 for the Cajuns, who were outscored 17-0 in points off turnovers int he second half.

The Cajuns led by four points in the extra period after Long's three pointer from the corner gave the visitors a 78-74 lead with 3:03 to play and after Pallas made two free throws, Wright answered with a pair of his own for an 80-76 lead.  But Charles hit a triple and after Long hit 1-2 free throws, Wilson's tip in tied the game.

The Cajuns built a 42-29 halftime lead by holding UTA to just 25% shooting (8-32) in the first half and just 3-11 beyond the arc.  The Cajuns, meanwhile, shot 45.7% (16-35) and made 7-16 from beyond the arc in the first half.  UTA shot 50% in the second half while the Cajuns shot 41.7%.

Louisiana will head to San Marcos, Texas where they will play Texas State at 4:30pm Saturday.