La-Monroe beats UT-Arlington 82-71 in Sun Belt semifinal

NEW ORLEANS (AP) DeMondre Harvey had a career-high 21 points and Louisiana-Monroe advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament final with an 82-71 victory over Texas-Arlington on Saturday.

The second-seeded Warhawks (20-12) conceded the first 12 points of the game but responded with a 27-6 run and led the rest of the way. UL-Monroe faces top-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock (28-4) on Sunday.

Harvey was 9 of 9 from the floor with seven rebounds. Majok Deng had 18 points and Justin Roberson added 16 and eight assists for Louisiana-Monroe, which shot 50 percent from the floor, and 48 percent on 13-of-27 shooting from long range.

Jalen Jones scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Mavericks (23-10).

Erick Neal's layup pulled Texas-Arlington to 59-50 with 10 minutes left, but they got no closer.

Louisiana-Monroe has won 10 straight for the first time since the 1993-94 season, and its first back-to-back 20-win seasons since 1989-91.