If ever there was a time when North Texas needed one of its veteran players to come up with a big night during the regular season, Saturday was it.

The Mean Green was forced to play without starting center and third-leading scorer Keith Wooden because of a pair of sprained ankles, while its top two scorers played despite having the flu.

UNT won its third straight game anyway, 72-65, over Sun Belt Conference West Division leader Louisiana-Lafayette at the Super Pit, thanks in large part to forward Quincy Williams. The senior finished just two off his career high with 18 points and made several key plays down the stretch for the Mean Green, which has overcome every obstacle in its path since dropping its first two confernece games.

The latest was a tight battle with ULL in which UNT (12-4, 3-2) didn’t take the lead for good until junior guard Collin Dennis hit a pair of free throws with 3:49 left.

“We didn’t have our full complement of players tonight, but we did what we have done all year long, have other guys step up and make plays,” UNT head coach Johnny Jones said. “We got great play from Quincy.”

Williams was nearly perfect on the night, hitting 7-of-8 shots from the field and four of his six free throws. He also grabbed seven rebounds and made several key plays down the stretch for the Mean Green, including pulling down a rebound with 45 seconds left and ULL (7-8, 4-2) still within striking distance at 68-65.

Williams hit a free throw to give UNT a four-point lead with 43 seconds left and also blocked a desperation jumper from Willie Lago with 24 seconds remaining to seal the Mean Green’s ninth straight win at the Super Pit this season.

“This was one of my better games,” Williams said. “I picked a good time to do it with big Keith out. The guys did a great job of getting me the ball inside.”

UNT was forced to go to Williams even more than normal because Dennis and freshman guard Josh White were both sick. White came into the game averaging 16.6 points a game, but finished with just seven against ULL. Dennis had 17 points despite being at less than 100 percent.

Dennis was averaging 13.5 points a game, while Wooden was posting 11.2.

“I woke up, felt it and thought it was nothing, just a cough,” Dennis said. “It hit me hard at shoot-around. I didn’t even want to get out of bed. They gave me a whole bunch of medicine. I said forget it. I can be sick tomorrow.”

Dennis didn’t want to miss a game between two of the hottest teams in the Sun Belt’s West Division. ULL won its first four conference games before dropping a game against Arkansas-Little Rock.

UALR (11-4, 3-1) is the last team in the SBC West with just one loss on the season.

UNT’s players credited getting a little closer to the top of the division standings largely to Williams.

“Quincy just keeps playing better and better every game,” Dennis said. “It was real physical tonight and they were getting a lot of offensive rebounds. Towards the end, Quincy just decided it was his ball and went and got it. He was efficient with his shots and was real big for us. We needed that with Keith out.”

ULL also played shorthanded. Key reserve guard Travis Bureau, who was averaging 8.0 points a game, was forced to sit out when ULL’s coaches signed off on the official book that did not include his name. Bureau has played the last eight games for the Ragin’ Cajuns after sitting out the first seven because ULL’s coaches had planned to redshirt him.

ULL would have been assessed a technical foul if Bureau entered the game. The Ragin’ Cajuns could never afford to take that technical foul in what was a close game throughout.

UNT guard Ben Bell capped a tight first half in dramatic fashion when he picked up a loose ball on the wing and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 35-35.

The Mean Green appeared to take control of the game when freshman forward Kedrick Hogans hit a free throw to give UNT a 56-46 lead at the 9:32 mark, but couldn’t close out ULL early. Ragin’ Cajuns guard Randell Daigle hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 62-62 with 4:22 left.

UNT regained the lead a short time later when Dennis hit his pair of free throws. Williams took over from there to help UNT win a game that felt like more than just a regular season tilt.

“It was a big game because they started out 4-0 in conference play,” Williams said. “We knew it would be a dogfight.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

North Texas 72, Louisiana-Lafayette 65

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (7-8, 4-2) – Gary 1-1 0-0 2, Milson 5-6 2-2 12, Daigle 5-10 2-2 17, Millsap 0-3 3-7 3, Gradnigo 4-11 0-0 8, Johnson 0-1 2-3 2, Dison 1-2 0-0 2, Bloom 2-4 0-1 6, Lago 2-6 0-3 5, D. Dees 1-3 3-4 5, S. Dees 0-0 0-0 0, Barksdale 0-0 0-0 0, Wallace 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 22-50 13-24 65.

NORTH TEXAS (12-4, 3-2) – Stewart 1-1 0-0 2, Williams 7-8 4-6 18, Bell 3-9 0-0 7, Dennis 4-10 8-9 17, White 2-7 3-4 7, McCoy 3-5 0-1 8, Willingham 0-0 1-2 1, Thompson 2-3 4-6 8, Hogans 0-0 1-2 1, Howerton 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 23-45 22-32 72.

Halftime – UNT 35, ULL 35. 3-point goals – ULL 8-20 (Daigle 5-10, Gradnigo 0-3, Bloom 2-4, Lago 1-3), UNT 4-9 (Bell 1-2, Dennis 1-3, White 0-1, McCoy 2-3). Fouled out – Daigle. Rebounds – ULL 27 (Milson, Millsap, Wallace 6), UNT 35 (Williams 7). Assists – ULL 11 (Daigle 4), UNT 11 (Bell 6). Total fouls – ULL 26, UNT 20. A – 3,453.