DENTON, Texas - The Fresno State men's basketball team fell short 61-52 at the North Texas Mean Green on Saturday at The Super Pit.
Fresno State (1-3) consistently attacked the basket and primarily played a nine-man rotation while nearly erasing what was a 13-point deficit midway through the first half on the road against UNT (2-1) - the three-time defending C-USA champion.
Senior guard Jordan Campbell led the Bulldogs with 14 points. Jemarl Baker added 12 points and Isaih Moore chipped in 11 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds.
How It Happened
The Bulldogs built an early 10-7 lead when Anthony Holland drained a 3-pointer four minutes into the contest, but the Mean Green answered with a 16-0 run to go up 13 through the opening 10 minutes.
Fresno State was able to chip away at the UNT's lead over the final 10 minutes of the first half holding the Mean Green scoreless for the final 4:53 of the half.
The Bulldogs took advantage of keeping North Texas off the scoreboard going on a 10-0 run, jump started by a three-pointer from Baker, that trimmed the Mean Green's lead down from 31-18 to 31-28.
North Texas opened the second half on an 11-5 run to take a 42-33 lead with a field goal from Baker to break up the run.
The 'Dogs later used an 8-0 run - the final six points scored by Moore to pull back within one at 48-47 with 8:12 to play in the second half.
A jumper by Leo Colimerio nearly a minute later kept the 'Dogs within one at 50-49, but Fresno State only mustered three points in the final 7:14 of the contest to fall on the road to North Texas.
Notes
This was the third game in a six-game stretch of the Bulldogs exclusively playing KenPom Top 125 teams, who also all finished in the NET Top 150 at the end of last season.
This was the third all-time meeting between the programs and first meeting since 1977.
Fresno State outscored UNT 20-6 in the paint and outshot the Mean Green 43.2 percent to 34.8 percent from the field.
Fresno State has now limited its opponents to fewer than 70 points in 34 of its last 40 games, including all four games this season.
Up next
The Bulldogs head down to Anaheim this week to participate in the 2022 Paycom Wooden Legacy and open against Washington (3-1) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. PT.