North Texas' clutch shot knocks off Southeast

DENTON, Texas -- North Texas guard Calvin Watson spoiled Dainmon Gonner's homecoming with one clutch shot Wednesday night.

Gonner and the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team were locked in a back-and-forth game with the Mean Green when Watson hit a 3-point shot that gave North Texas the momentum it needed to pull away for a 69-62 win at The Super Pit.

The game was tied at 59-59 with 1minute, 1 second remaining when Watson hit the shot from the wing with a Southeast defender in his face.

"I felt like that was a really big basket for them," Southeast coach Gary Garner said. "It was a really tough shot. I thought our guy might block it or get a piece of it. He was falling away and out there quite a bit. It was anyone's game at that point."

North Texas (6-3) capitalized on the shot by hitting 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute to hang on for the win.

The Mean Green's clutch play in the final minutes was just part of a disappointing night for Gonner, who was a high school standout at Fort Worth Paschal. The senior finished with 17 points, just under his season average of 20.8 points a game, but hit just 5 of 20 shots from the field.

"I thought he was getting good shots," Garner said. "Maybe he was a little tight because he was coming back home. I thought they would start falling for him, but they never did."

Terrick Willoughby also scored 17 points for Southeast, which had three players score in double figures, including Brett Hale, who finished with 13 points.

Southeast (3-6) grabbed a 41-36 with 11:39 left in the game on a pair of free throws by Gonner, but could not hang on.

The Mean Green limited Southeast to 33 percent shooting for the game.

The solid defensive effort sparked the Mean Green, which came back to regain the lead at 46-44 on a short jump shot by Jeffrey Simpson with 7:54 left. North Texas built a five-point lead at 54-49 at the 4:47 mark.

Simpson scored 10 points and was one of four North Texas players who scored in double figures. Leonard Hopkins and Quincy Williams each scored 14 points to pace the Mean Green, which hit 18 of 20 free throws in the second half.

North Texas struggled to put Southeast away despite the balanced attack until Watson hit his 3-point shot that gave the Mean Green the momentum it needed to pull away for the win.

"I was thrilled to see that shot go through," Watson said. "I thought that would be a turning point in the game."