NEW ORLEANS – No. 4 UTA continued its impressive late-season run with a 67-58 victory over No. 3 Georgia Southern to advance to the title game of the 2019 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by First Bank and Trust.

The Mavericks (17-15, 12-6 Sun Belt) face Georgia State in Sunday’s championship game at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Brian Warren led all scorers with 21 points, connecting on nine of his 10 free throw attempts for UTA .
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.

Pacing the way for Georgia Southern (21-12, 12-6) was Quan Jackson with 16 points and four rebounds.

Picked to finish seconnd-to-last in the Sun Belt 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 17.9 ppg average.