ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Erick Neal broke a late tie with a layup then added a steal, an assist and another basket as Texas-Arlington broke away to an 81-75 win on Saturday, knocking Arkansas State out of sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference.
Kevin Hervey led UT-Arlington with 19 points, Neal added 18 with nine assists and Jorge Bilbao poured in 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting.
Texas-Arlington (18-6, 8-3) faces a challenging week ahead, taking on Georgia State and Georgia Southern, each winners on Saturday to share the Sun Belt lead with Arkansas State at 9-3.
UT-Arlington led by 11 at the half, but Arkansas State battled back into a 70-70 tie when Deven Simms knocked down a jumper with 4:31 to play. The Red Wolves (18-7, 9-3) then missed a pair of 3-point attempts and Neal took over. He scored, stole the ball from Simms and passed ahead to Kaelon Wilson for a dunk, then scored a second layup. UT-Arlington made 5 of 6 foul shots in the final 1:10.
Rashad Lindsey led Arkansas State with 19 points.
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