North Texas Daily

Scott Sidway / Staff Writer

The Mean Green men’s basketball team defeated Florida Atlantic University 79-72 on the road Thursday night, picking up its third straight victory. It’s North Texas’ (12-13, 6-7) longest win streak since it opened the season.

“You want to be playing your best basketball at this time of year, and my guys showed a lot of maturity tonight,” head coach Tony Benford said.

North Texas was efficient on offense by shooting 63 percent from the field for the game despite senior guard Jordan Williams having an off night with only nine points. Senior forward Colin Voss picked up the slack and had a career high 22 points on 70 percent shooting and a perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line.

“I was feeling pretty good,” Voss said. “Once that first one went in, that gives you some confidence. So I just kept being aggressive, and shots were falling.”

Both teams were neck and neck through a majority of the first half, with neither team leading by more than four points until the closing minutes. With 5:21 left in the half, the Mean Green went on a 13-3 run to take a 38-31 lead into the break.

Voss sparked the run by going to the charity stripe three times and sinking all six of his free throws, finishing the first half with 12 points. As a team, North Texas shot 68 percent in the opening frame.

North Texas continued to control the game throughout the second half, never letting FAU get within more than five points of the lead. Voss and freshman forward Jeremy Combs continued to pour on points, with Combs finishing second on the team with 16 for the game.

“Me and Colin always just work together and work hard in the post,” Combs said. “But today, every seam we were going in.”

The two forwards helped the Mean Green win the rebounding battle, combining for 13 of the team’s 34 rebounds. North Texas outrebounded the Owls by 10 and also won the battle at the free throw line, going 13 for 17 compared to only 5 for 11 for FAU.

The Mean Green is now tied with Florida International University for ninth place in the Conference USA standings and will travel to Miami on Saturday to play FIU and potentially move up. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.