North Texas tops Denver 63-56 in Sun Belt semis

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) -Tristan Thompson scored 19 points, and North Texas defeated Denver 63-56 in the Sun Belt Conference semifinals Monday night.

George Odufuwa added 16 points and Josh White had 14 for the Mean Green (23-8), who will face top-seeded Troy in the title game Tuesday.

Nate Rohnert led the Pioneers (19-13) with 16 points. Chase Hallam scored 13, and Brian Stafford had 12.

After trailing by eight at halftime, Denver cut the margin to 45-42 with 8:20 left and 46-45 with 6:48 to play. Both times the Pioneers missed shots that would have tied the score or given them the lead.

Denver led 13-6 early but went cold at the 13:41 mark of the first half. The Pioneers did not score for seven minutes as the Mean Green built a 20-16 lead. North Texas was up 31-23 at halftime and never lost the lead.