Smart, Draper lead North Texas past UTSA 80-62
DENTON, Texas (AP) Roosevelt Smart tossed in 22 points and DJ Draper came off the bench to score 18 on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range to guide North Texas to an 80-62 victory over UT-San Antonio on Thursday night.
The loss kept UT-San Antonio (17-13, 10-7) from pulling into a fourth-place tie with Marshall in Conference USA play. The top four teams earn first-round byes in the conference tourney. The Roadrunners close out conference play at Rice (7-23) on Saturday, while Marshall travels to first-place and 24th-ranked Middle Tennessee (24-5). The Roadrunners own the tiebreaker over the Thundering Herd by virtue of their 81-77 win in the only matchup between the teams this season.
The Mean Green (15-15, 8-9) swept UT-San Antonio after posting a 72-71 win in the first matchup and lead the all-time series 15-10.
Deon Lyle scored 15 to top the Roadrunners, who saw a three-game win streak end. Byron Frohnen, George Willborn III and Keaton Wallace all chipped in with 10 points.
North Texas shot 54.5 percent from the floor (30 of 55) and knocked down half of their 24 3-point attempts. UTSA made just 21 of 59 shots (36 percent) overall, but connected on 9 of 23 from distance (39 percent).
