Boca Raton, FL (Sports Network) - A layup by Roger Franklin in the final
moments of the second half forced overtime where the North Texas Mean
Green held on to defeat the Florida Atlantic Owls, 61-59, in a Sun Belt
Conference thriller at FAU Arena.
Franklin tallied 12 points and seven boards for the Mean Green (8-12, 3-6
SBC), while Tony Mitchell recorded a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds.
Jordan Williams chipped in 14 points as North Texas won its first road game
of the season.
For the Owls (10-10, 5-4), Greg Gantt scored a team-high 22 points and
grabbed six rebounds. Stefan Moody scored 12 points but no one else reached
double-figures for FAU as it has its two-game winning streak snapped.
Despite North Texas starting out the game on a 15-3 run, FAU battled back to
fake just a 23-22 deficit at the break. The Owls' bench gave them a lift with
nine points in the opening 20 minutes. Williams and Mitchell scored 22 of
UNT's 23 first half points.
FAU opened-up the second half with an 8-2 run, but the Mean Green hung around
by hitting 50 percent of their field goal tries in the second half. Franklin
tied the score at 53 as time expired with his clutch lay-in.
P.J. Hardwick scored five of UNT's seven points in overtime to give the
visitors a 61-59 lead. Andre Mattison and Jackson Trapp both missed
potentially game-tying field goal tries in the closing seconds, which handed
the contest over to the visitors.
The Mean Green made 23-of-31 free-throws, while FAU made only 10-of-17 from
the foul line.
GAME NOTES:
The Sports Network