DENTON, Texas | The Grambling State University men's basketball team led by two at the break and trailed by as many as 14 in the second half before falling to North Texas, 82-77, on Monday night at the Super Pit.
 
Grambling State (1-5), which picked up its first win last Saturday, led 38-36 at the half, but the Tigers surrendered a 23-2 run to begin the second half. Despite the huge run, Grambling State tied the game late at 72, and had a chance to tie the game as Anthony Gaston missed a 3-pointer with five seconds left. The Mean Green escaped the close call as Roosevelt Smart sank a pair of free throws with four seconds left to give North Texas the win.
 
Diontae Jones paced Grambling State with 16 points, on 6-of-11 shooting, team-high four 3-pointers and six rebounds. Ivy Smith, Jr., recorded 15 points, team-high seven assists and three boards, while Shirmane Thomas tallied 12 pints, on 5-of-6 shooting, and two rebounds.
 
Smart led North Texas (3-3) with 23 points, including 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, and three boards. A.J. Lawson added 12 points, three rebounds and two assists. Ryan Woolridge chipped in with 11 points, seven assists and three rebounds, while Jorden Duffey tallied 10 points and a pair of assists.
 
Turning Point
Grambling State built an 18-13 advantage after a Jason Perry-Murray free throw with 10:14 remaining in the first half, but North Texas answered and took a 21-19 lead after a 3-pointer by Roosevelt Smart with 8:24 left.
 
The two teams traded blows for the next seven minutes as Smart's jumper with 1:40 left tied the game at 34. The Tigers scored the next four points on buckets by Perry-Murray to take a 38-34 advantage with 1:14 remaining in the half, but the Mean Green cut the deficit to 38-36 after a Jorden Duffy to send Grambling State into the half with a two-point lead.
 
North Texas began the second half on a 23-2 run, capped by a Duffey 3-pointer to take a 59-40 advantage with 13 minutes remaining.
 
Grambling State trailed 68-52 after a Woolridge layup with 8:26 left, but Grambling State used an 18-4 run, capped by a Ivy Smith jumper to trim the margin to 72-70 with 4:11 remaining.
 
The Tigers tied the game at 72 after an Axel Mpoyo layup with 2:58 left, but the Mean Green scored the next four points by buckets by Smart and Woolridge to take a 76-72 lead with 2:12 remaining in the contest.
 
A Shirmane Thomas 3-pointer closed the gap to 77-75 with a little over a minute remaining, but the Mean Green was able to seal the game at the free-throw line.
 
Inside the Numbers
· Grambling State shot 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the floor and 93.3 percent (14-of-15) from the free-throw line.
· North Texas was 30-of-52 shooting (57.7 percent) and 16-of-20 (80.0 percent) from the charity stripe.
· The Tigers registered 29 points off 17 Mean Green turnovers, 26 points in the paint, 22 bench points and 20 second-chance points.
· The Mean Green recorded 46 points in the paint, 25 points off 14 Tiger turnovers, 17 bench points and 11 second-chance points.
· Grambling State finished with31 rebounds, including 16 on offensive glass.
· North Texas registered 28 rebounds, including 18 on the defensive end.
· There were six ties and 14 lead changes.
 
News & Notes
· Grambling State fell to 1-1 in games played in Texas this season.
· The matchup is the only one against a member of Conference USA.
· Win the win, North Texas improved to 3-0 all-time in the series.
· The Tigers completed the sixth of seven consecutive games to open the season.
 
Up Next
Grambling State will conclude its seven-game road trip on Friday with a trip to Atlanta, Ga., to take on Georgia Tech. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game can be seen live on ACC Network Extra.
 
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