Reece Robinson made a pair of free throws with 9 seconds left to force overtime, and then his North Texas teammates dominated in the extra frame to defeat the Eastern Washington men's basketball team 79-71 on Tuesday at the Super Pit in Denton, Texas.
The Eagles (1-6) led by as many as seven points in the second half before the Mean Green clawed back and tied it late. Robinson scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime; Je'Shawn Stevenson led all scorers with 26 points for North Texas (5-2).
Alton Hamilton IV led the Eagles with 16 points, two shy of his season-high. The junior transfer made 5 of 8 shots - including both his 3-point attempts - and 4 of 5 at the free-throw line. Redshirt senior Isaiah Moses added 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
The Eagles shot 40% (25 of 63) and made 6 of 21 3-point shots, outrebounding the Mean Green 42-38. They also had 32 points in the paint and matched a season-high with eight steals.
Eastern held North Texas to 43% shooting, the second lowest percentage by an Eagles' opponent this year. But North Texas built an advantage at the free-throw line, where it was 20-of 30 and Eastern was 15-of-19. Both Hamilton and EWU forward Kiree Huie (10 points) fouled out.
The Eagles don't play again until Dec. 3 at Denver. Their next home game is Dec. 6 against Kansas City. Four of their six losses this year have come by eight points or fewer, and two have come in overtime.