Mean Green Beat ECU On Full-Court Pass, Layup

Coach Andy Mac · January 18

GREENVILLE, North Carolina – Robert Allen made a game-winning layup with 1.4 seconds remaining off a 80+ foot full-court inbound pass from Aaron Scott to seal the 60-59 victory over the East Carolina Pirates Wednesday night at the Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

The win is North Texas’ sixth straight and improves them to 4-0 in conference. The Mean Green are now 21-5 in road games since 2021.

“A perfect pass from Aaron (Scott) and a veteran composure catch and basket by Robert (Allen),” said head coach Ross Hodge. “Give coach (Michael) Schwartz and ECU a ton of credit. They did a great job at making things difficult for us today. But super proud of this group sticking together.”

With 5:11 left in the game, ECU’s RJ Felton sank a deep second-chance 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to give his Pirates the lead. ECU (9-9, 2-3) increased the lead to four with two minutes remaining.

Scott gave his Mean Green (11-5, 4-0) a shot of life with 1:48 remaining as he hit a corner 3-pointer to bring his team within one.

With 17 seconds left junior Rondel Walker came up clutch for UNT as he put in a third-chance layup in to give the Mean Green a one-point lead.

Felton gave the Pirates a one-point lead with 3.1 seconds after he drove right and pulled up with a desperation midrange shot towards the end of the shot clock.

With the East Carolina crowd ready to erupt in victorious pandemonium and UNT with no timeouts, Scott stepped behind the baseline and delivered a perfect pass to Allen in the opposite paint 80+ feet away for the win.

“It’s a play we work on a lot,” Scott said postgame. “We knew exactly what to do.”

The game-winning basket was just Allen’s second made field goal of the game as he finished with four points and 11 rebounds. Scott had 12 points, 5 rebounds and two assists. Jason Edwards led all scorers with 20 points. CJ Noland was also in double figures as he finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

UNT stays on the road as they travel to Charlotte to face the 49ers on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Mean Green Sports Network.

For more information on UNT men's basketball tickets, contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or at ticketoffice@unt.edu. Fans can visit the UNT Athletics Ticket Office located at Gate 2 of DATCU Stadium between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.