Georgia State ends UT-Arlington’s NCAA dreams once again in Sun Belt title game

The UT-Arlington men’s basketball team won’t be in the Big Dance.

UTA couldn’t keep pace with Georgia State in the Sun Belt championship on Sunday, ending the Mavericks dreams of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. Georgia State won the game, 73-64, and the conference tournament for the second straight season.

Georgia State knocked out UTA in the title game last season.

Still, the Mavericks (17-15) had a solid season in Chris Ogden’s debut year. UTA has won five of its final six games, including a 67-58 victory over Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt semifinals.

On Sunday, UTA managed to shoot just 35 percent from the field and 21 percent from 3-point range. Junior guard Edric Dennis had a team-leading 12 points, while fellow junior Brian Warren finished with 11 points.

The Mavericks jumped out to an early lead, but Georgia State had a 13-1 run midway through the first half to take the lead. UTA trailed the rest of the way.

The Mavs opened the second half with a scoring drought, making their first basket at the 14:46-mark. But that sparked an 8-0 run to pulled UTA to within 43-38 with 13:43 left.

UTA had another 8-0 run later in the half to make it a 64-60 game with 2:10 left, but Georgia State made 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

UTA will go into next season searching for its first NCAA Tournament berth in more than a decade. The Mavs went in 2008 under Scott Cross, the school’s winningest coach who was fired last season.