MIAMI - Early in North Texas' game against Florida International on Thursday, it seemed as if Brandan Walton might have one of those nights when nothing would go right.
The junior is one of UNT's best 3-point shooters and launched four in the first half. Not a single one fell.
By the end of UNT's 68-61 win at U.S. Century Bank Arena, those misses were nothing but a memory.
Walton hit three of his four attempts from deep after the break, all of which came in a personal 11-point run that sparked a 15-2 surge by the Mean Green. That run turned what was a close game into an easy win for UNT.
"The first half I was not knocking down shots, but my teammates kept telling me that I am a shooter and to keep shooting them," Walton said. "When the second half came, they got me some open looks and I was able to knock them down."
UNT picked up a key road win largely because of Walton's run. The Mean Green (14-10, 7-4 Sun Belt) is still in the thick of the race for the conference's West Division title and a first-round bye in the conference tournament next month.
UNT lost its last game at home to overall Sun Belt leader Middle Tennessee before bouncing back in the opener of a two-game road trip that will conclude with a game at Florida Atlantic on Saturday.
"It's a great win anytime you can win on the road, or get a win period," UNT head coach Johnny Jones said. "We didn't execute our best tonight, but we did a couple of things we needed to do. We did an excellent job on the glass and did an excellent job contesting their shots."
UNT finished with a 44-30 edge on the boards, thanks in large part to Tony Mitchell. The freshman forward led UNT with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Alzee Williams added 16 points while Walton finished with 15.
Phil Taylor scored 16 points to pace FIU (7-16, 4-7).
UNT led 26-23 at halftime after scoring the last four points of the half, thanks in part to a heads-up defensive play in the final seconds by Walton.
Walton cut in front of a Taylor pass and had a clear lane to the basket. Walton drew a flagrant foul from Taylor, who hammered him at the basket, and hit one of two free throws with 1.7 seconds left.
The game was that close largely because Taylor hit three 3-pointers in the early going. UNT came back to hold FIU to just two buckets from beyond the 3-point arc the rest of the game.
"We had to guard the 3-point line and do a better job of containing the basketball," Jones said. "In the second half, we did a good job of containing them and getting to their shooters."
Walton managed three treys in a span of 2:56 in the second half during his run. UNT led just 47-46 when Walton hit his first three. He quickly added two more, then scored on a layup and hit two free throws. He scored 11 straight points in the game before DeJuan Wright hit a layup for FIU. Walton scored 13 straight points for UNT.
Williams tacked on a pair of free throws at the end of UNT's run to put the Mean Green up 62-48.
"I had to get the burden off my back," Walton said of his early misses. "Once I got that first one, I had a lot of confidence. My teammates helped keep me positive."
Walton's teammates say they know that a run like the one he put together against FIU is always just a shot away.
"Brandan is an excellent shooter," Mitchell said. "What people don't know is that he can also drive to the hole. Once he gets it going like that, we just have to keep feeding him."
The key to the run was that Walton got several good looks when FIU settled into a zone defense to try to take Mitchell out of play.
"Brandan has been our highest-percentage shooter from out there," Jones said. "We just have to make sure that we are patient in taking those shots. He took some early in the [shot] clock in the first half. We told him that they would be available later in the clock. He had some good looks in the second half and knocked them down. He was more confident after he made his first one."
BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com
NORTH TEXAS 68, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 61
NORTH TEXAS (14-10, 7-4) - Holmen 1-5 0-0 3, Walton 4-12 4-6 15, Williams 5-11 6-8 16, Mitchell 7-9 3-7 17, Franklin 0-3 4-4 4, Robinson 1-1 0-0 2, Norris 0-2 0-0 0, Hogans 0-0 0-0 0, Stojiljkovic 4-5 0-0 8, Hall 1-3 0-0 3, Edwards 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-51 17-25 68.
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL (7-16, 4-7) - Ferguson 2-11 2-4 6, Taylor 5-14 2-2 16, Wright 5-14 3-4 13, Dierickx 1-4 0-0 2, Allen 2-9 3-3 7, Nunez 1-2 0-0 2, Hill 3-3 0-0 6, Miro 0-0 0-0 0, Bell 3-4 0-0 6, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Wozniak 1-2 0-0 3, De La Rosa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-64 10-13 61.
Halftime - UNT 26-23. 3-point goals - UNT 5-15 (Holmen 1-2, Walton 3-8, Williams 0-1, Mitchell 0-1, Norris 0-1, Hall 1-2). FIU 5-22 (Ferguson 0-1, Taylor 4-9, Wright 0-3, Allen 0-6, Nunez 0-1, Wozniak 1-2). Rebounds - UNT 44 (Mitchell 12), FIU 30 (Ferguson 8). Assists - UNT 18 (Walton, Williams 4), FIU 7 (Wright 5). Total fouls - UNT 12, FIU 17. A - 798.
