ARLINGTON, Texas — Meghan Dunn made two free throws with 8.7 seconds left in overtime, and a replay review waved off UT Arlington’s last-second basket, giving the South Alabama women a 73-72 win Saturday. The Jaguars men rallied to take a second-half lead but lost 73-65 to the Mavericks.
Women Win in Overtime
UT Arlington believed it had earned its first conference victory when Malaika Green scored on a putback after an offensive rebound at the end of overtime. A review showed the shot came just after the final buzzer.
Dunn and Breanna Hall each scored 21 points to lead South Alabama. Dunn tied her career high, shooting 6 of 14 from the field and making all six of her free throws. Hall set a career high on 6-of-13 shooting, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range, and also set a career best with five steals.
Brittany Webb added 11 points and a career-high seven assists. Ronneka Robertson had 10 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing a second straight double-double, and Rachel Cumbo scored nine points, all on 3-pointers.
South Alabama improved to 6-11 overall and 4-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. UT Arlington fell to 1-17 and 0-7.
Men Fall After Second-Half Rally
The South Alabama men trailed by eight at halftime after shooting 28.1 percent in the first half, though they never trailed by more than 10.
A 15-5 run early in the second half put the Jaguars in front, with back-to-back 3-pointers from Ken Williams and Barrington Stevens III giving them a 46-45 lead. UT Arlington answered with seven straight points before South Alabama scored the next seven, the last four by Augustine Rubit, to go up 53-52 with 7:34 to play.
The Mavericks then went on a 7-0 run to take the lead for good. Freshman Isaiah Maston hit a 3-pointer, but UT Arlington’s Lonnie McClanahan scored the next five points to push the lead to eight with just over three minutes remaining. The Mavericks made 7 of 8 free throws in the final 33.4 seconds.
Antoine Allen led South Alabama with 18 points before fouling out. Rubit had 14 points and eight rebounds, Stevens scored 14 and Williams added 10. Mychal Ammons had a team-high 11 rebounds with six points.
Reger Dowell scored 21 points for UT Arlington, including four consecutive 3-pointers after entering the game.
Graves: “Great Resolve”
“In the second half, when we were down, I thought we showed great resolve for one of the few times this year in being able to come back from a deficit,” South Alabama head coach Matthew Graves said. “We took the lead and kept fighting but with about six or seven minutes to go, I thought they turned it up a notch and we went about six straight possessions without a stop, and that’s the end result.”
South Alabama fell to 7-13 overall and 1-6 in the Sun Belt. UT Arlington won its third straight game to improve to 9-10 and 4-3.
The Jaguars play at conference-leading Georgia State on Thursday at 6 p.m.
