DENTON (2/17/05) Senior Leonard Hopkins hit the game-winning basket with under a second remaining to give the North Texas men’s basketball team a 68-66 victory against Denver on Saturday night at the Super Pit.
The Mean Green (13-11, 5-7) knocked Denver (15-9, 9-3) out of first place in the Sun Belt West Division, while North Texas remained tied for fourth. The Mean Green's 13 wins tie last year’s season total.
Denver’s Erik Benzel hit a three to tie the game, 66-66, with 33 seconds on the clock before Hopkins hit an 18-foot jumper with under a second remaining. Denver's Rodney Billups gave the Pioneers one last chance with a full-court inbounds pass that was tipped underneath the basket, but fell off the side of the rim at the buzzer.
The second half featured 12 ties between the Mean Green and the Pioneers with neither team leading by more than two points for the majority of the final 20 minutes. The Pioneers took a 6-2 run at the start of the second period to grab a six-point lead, 38-32, and then Ron Harris put North Texas ahead by three, 66-63, with 42 seconds left in the game.
Hopkins led the Mean Green with 18 points and has now scored in double figures in all 24 games this season. Sophomore Calvin Watson scored 10-of-his-12 points in the second half, including his one three-pointer of the game which put North Texas up for good, 64-63, with 2:22 on the clock.
Harris came off the bench to score a season-high 16 points. Harris led all scorers at half with 10 points. The Mean Green bench outscored Denver’s, 25-6. North Texas also held the edge in rebounds, 42-28. Junior Isaac Hines led the Mean Green with eight rebounds. The point guard is NT’s leading rebounder this season with a 6.3 average.
North Texas takes to the road for a Saturday matchup with Louisiana-Lafayette. Tipoff is set for 7 pm.
