DENTON (1/11/03) -- Denver held off a scrappy North Texas comeback try in the final seconds to pull out a 59-55 Sun Belt Conference at the Super Pit on Saturday afternoon.
The Mean Green (6-8, 1-1) got the ball with 39 seconds left and trailing by two points, but missed on two field goal attempts to either tie the score and take the lead. After Jerome Rogers' three-point attempt missed the mark, Denver's Dusty Wadlington grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Lee Green in a scramble for the ball..
Wadlington then connected on both ends of the one-and-one to give the Pioneers (10-6, 1-0) the final four-point cushion.
Denver lead throughout most of the game, including a 34-23 halftime lead. But North Texas, led by Chris Davis' 16 points and Jermaine Green's 12, battled back in the second period to tie the score at 46-46 with 6:30 remaining.
A free throw by Jermaine Green gave North Texas its first lead in the game moments later and a field goal by Rusty Chiles gave the Mean Green its largest lead in the game at 49-46 with 5:44 left.
Denver responded with a three-pointer by Wadlington to tie the game and Rodney Billups followed with two free throws to give the Pioneers the lead again.
After two Wadlington free throws gave Denver a 57-55 lead with 44 seconds remaining, North Texas twice missed shots on its next possession. First, Michael DeGrate couldn't connect on an eight-footer along the baseline, and after Davis rebounded, Rogers' three-point from the top of the key bounced off.
The game marks the start of a three-game home stand for the Mean Green. North Texas is scheduled to host Arkansas-Little Rock on Thursday at the Super Pit in a 7:00 p.m. Sun Belt contest, followed by Saturday's 7:00 p.m. meeting with Arkansas State.
