LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Bryant Mbamalu scored 19 points and Louisiana-Lafayette held off a late rally to beat North Texas 64-62 on Wednesday night.
Louisiana-Lafayette (11-11, 5-3 Sun Belt Conference) had a one-point lead at the break, 28-27, and expanded that lead to 62-52 with 4:32 left. However, the Mean Green refused to go away, cutting the lead to 64-62 behind five straight points from Tony Mitchell and free throws from Roger Franklin.
North Texas (12-9, 5-3) had the ball with 11.6 seconds left but a 3-pointer by Mitchell came up short and Franklin’s last second shot at the buzzer on the rebound missed as well.
Neither team shot particularly well, as Louisiana-Lafayette went 22 of 59 and North Texas 22 of 58.
North Texas held a slight 41-40 rebounding edge but was outscored 26-22 in the paint and 14-12 on second-chance points.
Franklin led North Texas with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
