SAN ANTONIO -- League champion North Texas used a second-half run to pull away from UTSA men's basketball and claim its record 15th straight win, 59-48 on Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
UTSA (9-21, 2-15 Conference USA) trailed by 11 at the half, limited to just five made shots, before Jacob Germany ripped off the first nine UTSA points of the second half as the Roadrunners cut the lead to three twice inside 15 minutes left on the clock. The Mean Green with a 10-2 run midway through the half – making four straight shots – to pull away from the Roadrunners and win their school-record 15th straight game.
A native of Kingston, Okla., Germany had a game-high 17 points with 10 rebounds on 7 of 16 from the field. It marked his 24th game in 30 outings in double figures and his ninth double-double of the year. He made seven of UTSA's 18 buckets in the game, including five of 13 in the second half.
Darius McNeill finished with 12 points and two rebounds, while Erik Czumbel added eight points.
UTSA shot 38 percent in the loss, with UNT shooting 44 percent. UTSA was 1 of 11 from deep and UNT finished 7 of 22. UNT won the battle of the boards, 35-29.
North Texas (23-4, 16-1 C-USA) – the league regular-season champion and a team receiving votes in the AP and Coaches Top-25 polls – was led by senior Thomas Bell, who had 16 points and seven rebounds to lead three in double figures.
UTSA will host Rice in its regular-season finale on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM.
Rubin Jones and Mardrez McBride opened the game with consecutive 3-pointers before UTSA got on the board with Lachlan Bofinger and Darius McNeill baskets in the paint.
McNeill gave UTSA a 7-6 lead with a step-back jumper before UNT ripped off seven straight, including a corner 3-pointer from Bell for a 13-7 lead with 11:34 left in the first.
Phoenix Ford and Germany each hit free throws to cut the lead to 13-9 but a UNT free throw and a basket from Bell for a 16-9 lead. McNeill nailed two at the line before Tylor Perry sank a wing 3-pointer for a 19-11 lead with 7:46 left.
The lead grew to 26-15 after a Bell hoop-and-harm with 3:07 left, with the lead going to 28-17 at the break. UTSA was 5 of 18 from the floor in the first half, with UNT shooting 42 percent and owning a 17-16 lead on the boards. Bell led all scorers with 11 points.
UTSA rode Germany out of the break, as the center had the first nine points for the Roadrunners of the second half, including three mid-range jumpers, a free throw and a post hook shot to cut the lead to 32-26 with 15:20 left.
Czumbel then hit a free throw and Deing drilled a foul-line jumper off the dribble to narrow the lead to 32-29. Czumbel answered a UNT 3-pointer with his own wing trey to narrow it to 35-32. McBride pushed the lead to five with 11:59 left in the second half.
Czumbel narrowed the lead to 39-34 with a tough basket on the block but Bell finished an and-1 for an eight point lead with 10 minutes left.
UNT pulled away with a 10-2 run midway through the half, making four straight buckets to extend to a double-digit lead, taking a 55-42 lead in the final 90 seconds.
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