Alzee Wiliams did all he could to get the North Texas Mean Green a win, but it wasn't enough.
Down by as many as 15, the Mean Green's rally fell short as Middle Tennessee hung on 68-66 at the Super Pit.
The Blue Raiders moved to 10-0 in the Sun Belt Conference while UNT dropped to 6-4.
Williams scored 29 points and Tony Mitchell had 16 with 11 rebounds. No one else had double figures for the Mean Green. Marcos Knight led Middle Tennessee with 19.
The Green led by as many as nine in the first half, but a dunk by Shawn Jones with 11 1/2 minutes to go in the half started a 14-0 run for the Raiders. Kerry Hammonds contributed seven of the next nine points, including a three to tie the game followed by the go-ahead layup. The Raiders ended the half on a 25-6 run to lead 36-26.
UNT was finding itself beaten at its own game. Middle Tennessee outscored the Green 30-22 in the paint, including 18-6 in the first half, and 21-15 off turnovers.
The Raiders then outscored the Green 15-10 in the first 13 1/2 minutes of the second half to lead 51-36, and they also led by 15 with 11:21 to play.
But UNT responded with a 17-3 run over the next four minutes to cut the lead to one, as Mitchell's free throws made it 58-57.
The Raiders, however, pushed the lead back to seven with four minutes left. UNT would cut the lead to two but would not get any closer.
Brandan Walton's three-pointer with eight seconds left missed along with Mitchell's putback attempt, and Hammonds' free throws put the game away. Williams' layup with a second left wasn't enough.
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