NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Kaelon Wilson scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and No. 4 seed UTA upset top-seeded Louisiana 71-68 on Saturday in a Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinal.
The 2017 regular-season champion Mavericks (21-12) have won five straight and advanced to their first Sun Belt championship.
Louisiana (27-6) had its last lead, 68-67, with 1:54 to play. Wilson and Kevin Hervey made two free throws apiece while the Ragin' Cajuns missed their last four field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers in the last five seconds.
Erick Neal had 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting and five assists to lead UTA. He made his first nine shots and scored 37 points in the Mavericks' quarterfinal over Appalachian State. Hervey had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Johnny Hamilton chipped in with 12 points.
Frank Bartley IV scored 19 points and Justin Miller had 14 for LA. Bryce Washington and Malik Marquetti each added 11 points, with Washington grabbing 10 rebounds.
Louisiana Notes
• Bryce Washington has now played in 135 games which are tied for the second-most in program history.
• Bryce Washington’s one block pushed his career total to 86, the seventh most in Ragin’ Cajun history.
• Frank Bartley’s four three-pointers brought his career total to 147, which is tied for the ninth-most in program history.
• After scoring only nine points in the season opener, Frank Bartley finished the season scoring in double figures in the 31 straight games which he’s played, including 11 20-point contests.
• After averaging 25.5 points per game and 53.6 percent (15-28) from the field against UTA, Frank Bartley came up slightly short against the Mavericks today with 19 points on 5-13 shooting (38.5 percent).
UTA Notes
• Kevin Hervey’s 12 rebounds brought his season total to 278, the seventh-most in UTA history.
• Kevin Hervey registered his 11th double-double of the season.
• This is UTA's first Sun Belt Tournament championship game appearance since joining the conference in 2013-14.
• UTA won their 20th game of the season in which they have shot a better field goal percentage than their opponent.
• Louisiana’s seven turnovers were the lowest by an opponent this season.
Louisiana Quotes
Head Coach Bob Marlin
Opening Statement:
“Great basketball game. We played a team that won the league last year and was picked to win the league this year, and we were picked fifth, and beat the double figures the last two games we played them. They did a great job today and benefitted from some good breaks late in the game. We never got in a rhythm offensively. I felt like when we went up four, we had a chance to get a little bit of separation, but we missed a shot and missed a couple of block-outs as well and gave them some second opportunities. We fought back and I thought we had the game in control. From that standpoint it is disappointing, but I am proud of our team and what we accomplished this year. It’s the best record in school history, and we are not going to let a couple of bad breaks in the last minute take away from my love for this basketball team and what they have accomplished over the past year. I am proud of our seniors and they are devastated. We fought and I really like the way our guys competed.”
Jakeenan (Grant) didn’t play. How much did that impact the game?
“He wasn’t there so, it’s hard to say. But he is athletic, and the Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year in the league. Hamilton had some buckets early and scored 12 points, so maybe he could have done some of the same for us. It affected our rotation not having him out there.”
What was the difference in the comeback you guys had against them earlier in the season and today?
“We made shots at Arlington. Justin Miller was big for us and scored a lot, but we also made some shots. We shot too many early in the game and couldn’t get one in in the second half.”
Do you think the starters got a little winded with the lack of depth?
“I thought their guys were more tired than us. We fussed at our guys, I took Marcus (Stroman) out and put Cedric (Russell) in. Cedric is young and he’s learning to run the plays, but we wanted to go, we thought we had them on the ropes right there and felt like they were tired.”
Sophomore Forward Justin Miller
On the way that they answered every time you guys tied or took the lead.
“They are a good basketball team. They won the league last year and they have players on their side who can make the plays and at the end of the game, we just had to break away like we usually do at the end of the second half, and we just couldn’t get the stop.”
Talk about your mentality in the second half.
“Coach talked to us at halftime and said that a couple of guys could have big second halfs like we did in the season before we got here. I just felt like since JaKeenan (Grant) was out, I had to do what I had to do for the team.”
Senior Forward Bryce Washington
On the way that they answered every time you guys tied or took the lead.
“No, if you look at their roster, they have seven seniors and have a veteran team. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle from the jump. I think the biggest lead of the game was seven, eight. It was always a two-three possession game, and we work on that in practice a lot. Neal hit two timely shots, Hervey hit a tough shot with four seconds on the clock on the inbound – they stepped up. It was big and I felt like we contained them to a point, but they just hit timely shots and the x-factor was Kevin Wilson, so you’ve got to give credit where credit is due.”
Talk about the second-half intensity.
“I felt like we had intensity from the tip, but coming out of the second half, down three – we’ve been in this position before and just had to stay poised. It’s my job to keep everyone poised – it’s a game of runs.”
What was the difference with the rebounding battle in the last couple of minutes?
“They got the big rebounds and that’s my fault. He wanted it more than me and that’s the worst part that hurts. That’s my job and that’s the one spark that could have had a difference in the game, and that’s not what a senior does. But that’s life and you learn from it.”
UTA Quotes
Head Coach Scott Cross
Opening Statement:
“Sure, well the good lord shined down on us today. These guys came out, they played extremely tough, they were locked in defensively, and it was a great team effort. We knew we were going to have to play one of our best games to beat Louisiana. They are as good of a team as we have played in the last three years. These guys right here beat some amazing teams in Ohio State, Memphis, Texas, St. Mary’s, and Louisiana is up there with the best of the best that we beat. So I have the ultimate respect for them. They were the conference champions. They did an unbelievable this year. Coach Marlin’s a great coach, but these guys stepped up. I felt like they were going to. We have eight seniors on this basketball team. I knew they don’t want, they don’t want their season to end, they want to continue to play and it is a testament to them because they made plays when it counted.”
You had some foul trouble in the second half, and had to go small. How big was it to get the three from DJ (Bryant) and the and-one from Julian (Harris) while they were out there getting those extra minutes?
“It’s huge for us. If we shot 100 three-point shots and counted how many they made, DJ would probably make the most. Unfortunately, DJ doesn’t have the same amount of confidence as some of our older guys. Kevin (Hervey) and Erick (Neal) just ooze confidence, but we have to tell DJ to shoot the ball. He and Julian are two of our tougher guys, so they are ready for any challenge, they are going to play great defense. We had confidence in DJ when he took that shot, and Julian, any hustle play that he makes is huge for us.”
How do you feel about not winning as much as you would like but still getting the final win?
“I think for me as a coach obviously you want to win a regular season championship. Our guys want to as well, but I don’t think that was their ultimate goal because they had accomplished that. It’s hard to keep the eight seniors motivated especially in practice on day to day bases. I think that is probably where we fell short. The league is so good. Louisiana is such a good basketball team, but I do feel like we have a ton of talent on our basketball team. I feel like when they are locked in I feel like we can play with just about anybody in the country. As Kevin mentioned Erick is our vocal leader. He was locked in just as much as I have ever seen any player for the last five or six games. He was really locked in. He is one of the most competitive, determined guys I have ever coached. ”
Senior, Forward, Kevin Hervey
Talking about the second half slack brings the team together:
“Yeah, well first off I just want to start off by saying, that Lafayette is a group of stand-up guys Bryce, Frank, Stowe. It has been a pleasure playing against them for four years. You know they are a tremendous team and it was a pleasure to play against them. But to answer your question, yes. Erick Neal is our vocal leader and he is our point guard, and as he goes we go. He is always on us about raising our level of intensity and that is a testament to him being a good leader and getting us scoring defensively. So I mean the way that we played defense today ultimately comes from him [Coach Cross] but it also starts with Erick and he got us going. Shout out to him. ”
Were you thinking about Louisiana trying to back you down while in foul trouble?
“He is a great player. We kept going back and forth the whole game talking; you know I kept encouraging him, telling him to stay aggressive. You know I was in foul trouble, and that is something that I need to work on, is my defense. Coach Cross is always on me about my defensive effort, so I can definitely improve that. I am glad that I have a chance to tomorrow, but I mean he is a very good player and he has a bright future.”
How do you feel about coming off of the bench?
“We don’t have very many players, but the guys who do play I think that we are all talented and we all contribute to the game. We have somewhat of a lull coming off of the bench I guess that you could say and Julian is talented enough to start and play with whoever the other team’s best player is. So I believe that having somebody who can bring a little energy off of the bench and somewhat of an offensive threat I think would kind of throw teams off a bit. All eight guys who play I believe in. Coming off of the bench or starting I don’t really care I am just trying to win.”
Senior, Guard, Kaelon Wilson
What did you see in relation to the two major rebounds that you got today?
“I have been a pretty good offensive rebounder, but Coach Cross for the game basically he is telling us to give it all that we got and that is all that I kept thinking the second half. I am dog tired but that could have potentially been my last college game so I had to give it all that I got, and I wanted it more. ”
What contributed to the success of the first half?
“We stayed together tonight, that was the main difference. We did not argue with each other, we didn’t get down on each other. We coached each other up and kept going. ”
How much did hustle plays decide the game?
“Coach preaches to us one play can determine the outcome of the game. So that one play, we don’t get that ball, I don’t get that rebound; they might go down and score. Then they get the next play, go down and score again so now we are down by one. So those two plays right there were huge for us because since we got those it was momentum.”