University of North Texas Athletics
Last Second Free Throws End Mean Green's Season
3/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (3/7/03) Arkansas-Little Rock’s Mark Green hit two free throws with three seconds left to slip past North Texas 74-73 Friday night in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Michael DeGrate hit a baseline jumper to put the Mean Green ahead 73-72 with nine seconds remaining in the game. UALR then called a timeout before inbounding the ball to Green, who drove the length of the floor and drew a foul in the paint to set up his game-winning free throws. North Texas’ Jerome Rogers tried to take a final shot from just inside the free throw line, but the horn sounded before the junior guard could get it off.
The game marked the 12th last-minute outing of the season for North Texas, which finished 4-8 in those contests. The Mean Green finishes its season with a 7-21 record, while UALR advances to the Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals with an 18-11 mark.
The Mean Green held a 17-9 lead early, but in a game that saw 19 ties, North Texas and UALR went into halftime locked at 37-37. Neither team took more than a four-point lead in the second half.
Senior guard Chris Davis scored a team-high 20 points to lead four Mean Green players scoring in double figures. Rogers and freshman Ron Harris each scored 13, while DeGrate collected 10. For the fourth straight game, Will Smith led North Texas on the boards. The junior center pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds.
The Mean Green shot 42 percent from the field in comparison to UALR’s 39 percent, outrebounded the Trojans 40-35 and had one less turnover. However, UALR hit 21-of-25 free throws, while North Texas went 14-for-20 from the charity stripe.
