STATESBORO, Ga. – Jelani Hewitt collected 18 points, seven steals and four assists, and Georgia Southern outscored UT Arlington by 18 points in the second half en route to a 76-64 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball victory over the Mavs Thursday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

The win keeps the Eagles (21-7, 14-5) in the race for first place and the top seed in next week's Sun Belt Tournament in New Orleans. Georgia Southern closes the regular season at Georgia State Saturday in Georgia State Sports Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

Eric Ferguson, playing in his final home game and celebrating Senior Night along with Hewitt and five other seniors, tallied 15 points and nine rebounds. Fellow senior Trent Wiedeman had nine points and five boards, and freshman Mike Hughes added 16 points and five rebounds. Freshman Jake Allsmiller scored 10.

Jamel Outler led UT Arlington (16-13, 10-9) with 23 points, while Lonnie McClanahan contributed 14 points and nine assists. After shooting 63 percent in the first half, the Mavs connected on just 9-of-28 in the second period, and Georgia Southern forced 25 UT Arlington turnovers in the game.

The Eagles trailed by 11 points early in the second half but used a monstrous 28-7 run to take control of the contest. Hewitt scored eight points during the stretch, which was ignited by a Wiedeman dunk off a Ferguson feed, and Hughes added six points. A Kyle Doyle free throw gave the Eagles a 58-48 cushion with 8:08 remaining.

Outler stopped the run with a 3-pointer for the Mavs, but senior Curtis Diamond answered with a triple and the Eagles pushed the margin to 13 points on a Ferguson layup with 4:51 to play. UT Arlington whittled the deficit to 69-61 with 2:25 left, but Allsmiller nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with the shot clock winding down on the Eagle's next possession. Georgia Southern was never threatened the rest of the way.

The Mavericks scored the first eight points of the game and led 26-9 after a Kaelon Wilson 3-pointer with 12:36 left in the first period. UT Arlington made 11 of its first 13 shots and five of its first six 3-point attempts.

The Eagles responded with a 19-6 run to get back in the game and trailed 36-30 at halftime. Ferguson and Hughes each scored six points during the stretch. UT Arlington made 15-of-24 shots in the frame and held the Eagles to 31 percent from the floor, but the Mavs committed 11 turnovers to keep the Eagles in the contest.

All-session ticket books to this year's Sun Belt Basketball Championships March 11-15, in New Orleans are available for $99 at the Georgia Southern Ticket Office. Call 1-800-GSU-WINS!

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.