University of North Texas Athletics
UALR Pulls Away From Mean Green In OT, 88-80
1/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DENTON (1/16/03) -- After North Texas hit two free throws with one second left in regulation to tie the game, Arkansas-Little Rock out-scored the Mean Green 15-7 in overtime to claim a hard-fought 88-80 Sun Belt Conference victory at the Super Pit Thursday night.
Five Arkansas-Little Rock players scored in double figures to improve the Trojans to 11-6 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt. For North Texas, led by a game-high 25 points from Chris Davis, it was the Mean Green's second overtime game in their last three games. The loss drops the Mean Green to 6-9 and 1-2.
North Texas battled to a 34-25 lead in the first half and led throughout much of the second period before UALR grabbed the lead at 66-64 with 3:45 remaining. The Trojans retained the lead throughout the final minutes and led by 73-71 after Jibrahn Ike hit a free throw with four seconds on the clock.
North Texas inbounded the ball to freshman point guard Lance Boxell, who then passed down court to Michael DeGrate under the basket. DeGrate was fouled going up for the lay-up and connected on both free throws with 0:01 left despite a UALR time-out in between the two attempts.
In the overtime period, UALR battled to hold off the Mean Green after North Texas pulled to within a point at 81-80 with 47 seconds left. But Ike responded with a three-pointer and UALR's Tony Travis and Danny McCall each hit two free throws in the final seconds to widen the gap to the final 88-80.
Davis' 25 points fell two points shy of his season high and came on eight-of-18 shooting. He also led the Mean Green in rebounding with seven. Also in double figures for North Texas were DeGrate with a career-high 17 points and Jermaine Green with 15.
North Texas also dished out a season-high 21 assists in the game, with Davis, Lee Green and Boxell finishing with four each.
