UTA men bounced on road while women win in OT

Sophomore guard D’Marcus Simonds had seven dunks, including one in the final minute, to lead Georgia State to an 81-75 victory over UT Arlington in a Sun Belt Conference game Thursday night in Atlanta.

The 6-foot-3 Simonds tallied 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as Georgia State (15-6, 6-2) won its sixth straight game by erasing a 30-28 halftime deficit with a 53-point second half.

UTA (13-9, 4-5) got 22 points and 13 rebounds from senior center Kevin Hervey while Kaelon Wilson notched 21 points and eight rebounds. A third UTA senior, guard Erick Neal, contributed 12 points – on a 4-of-14 night from 3-point range – and eight assists.

UTA stays on the road for Saturday’s 4 p.m. Sun Belt game at Georgia Southern.

UTA women 81, Georgia State 76: Senior center Rebekah VanDijk scored 27 points and hauled in 17 rebounds to lead UTA to an 81-76 overtime victory against Georgia State in a Sun Belt Conference game in Atlanta.

UTA (11-9, 5-4 Sun Belt) trailed by one with nine seconds left in regulation, but a steal from Laurynn McGowen resulted in two free throws and a one-point lead at 70-69.

Georgia State (5-14, 1-7) drew a foul from VanDijk on the other end with 1.7 seconds left but Juliet James only made one of two shots, sending the game to overtime.

With 2:27 left in the extra period Georgia State led 73-72. But UTA scored the next nine points to put the game away.

VanDijk had a monster first half, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to record her 44th-career double-double. In the game, VanDijk became the fifth player in UTA history to record 1,500 points.

McGowen added a career-high 20 points, including the two free-throws to send the Mavs into OT.

The Lady Mavs continue their road trip Saturday when they take on Georgia Southern at 11 a.m.

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 10:20 PM with the headline "UTA men bounced on road while women win in OT."