DENTON, Texas — University of Denver freshman guard Royce O’Neale had 21 points, eight rebounds and five steals, but the Pioneers were edged 75-74 by a buzzer-beater in overtime at The Super Pit on Saturday night.
“I’m disappointed because we executed so well down the stretch but came up one rebound short at the end,” Pioneers coach Joe Scott said. “We have to bounce back from this and use it to make us better.”
The Pioneers (15-5, 5-2 Sun Belt Conference) took a one-point lead on a backdoor layup by senior forward Justin Coughlin with 13 seconds left in overtime.
Denver’s defense forced the Mean Green’s Roger Franklin into a quick shot that was off the mark, but teammate Alzee Williams tapped the ball in just before the buzzer, giving the victory to North Texas (12-8, 5-2).
The Pioneers trailed by seven points with 52 seconds to go in regulation when O’Neale drilled a three-pointer. Then, Chase Hallam hit the first of two free throws, with the second going out of bounds to the Pioneers, and freshman guard Brett Olson scored a driving layup — and hit the bonus to tie it at 66-66.
Olson scored 15 points, and senior guard Brian Stafford chipped in 11 points.
