Men's Basketball

Box Score

DENTON, Texas (2/4/10) - Five North Texas players scored in double-figures, including team-high 17 points from Eric Tramiel, to help the Mean Green snap FAU's five-game win streak in an 86-69 victory Thursday evening at The Super Pit.

The Mean Green had one of their best shooting nights of the season, shooting a staggering 64 percent from the field and also held a big advantage in rebounds, 37-21. Along with Tramiel, junior forward George Odufwa had another solid game by scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds, falling one board short of a fifth straight double-double.

Tristan Thompson was also very efficient Thursday by scoring 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and freshman guard Alzee Williams had the best game of his career with 12 points off the bench on a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor.

North Texas now leads the all-time series 4-1 over FAU and has won five of their last eight games overall.

FAU, who was led in scoring by Greg Gantt's 18 points, came out of halftime a different team and managed to trim North Texas' 18-point halftime lead down to seven within the first six minutes.

In need of a spark the Mean Green turned once again to Tramiel, who this time delivered on the defensive end with a big block that turned into a transition three-point play for Thompson and gave the Mean Green a 54-44 lead and put an end to the Owls run.

North Texas (14-8, 7-5) had perhaps their best offensive first half of the season, shooting 64.5 percent from the field en route to a 45-27 halftime lead. Tramiel got the Mean Green going early by scoring 11 of the team's first 13 points in the game's opening seven minutes with most of the damage coming inside.

After a Tramiel layup gave North Texas a 13-9 lead, the Mean Green continued to pound the ball inside and went on an 11-2 run to build a 24-11 advantage, forcing FAU into a timeout. North Texas also closed the half strong by going on a 9-0 run into the locker room, of which included a monstrous fastbreak slam from Tramiel that came off a Shannon Shorter steal.

As a team North Texas scored 30 of their 45 first half points in the paint and outrebounded the Owls 23-9. Along with Tramiel, Shorter gave the Mean Green a boost in the first half with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. Williams also provided a spark by scoring a season-high six points on 3-of-3 shooting.

FAU (12-11, 8-4) was led in the first half by Gantt, who scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.

The Mean Green will hit the hardwood again on Saturday, Feb. 6 when they travel to Miami to take on the FIU Golden Panthers. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.