The Denver Pioneers (15-5, 5-2) lost their tenuous grip on first place in the Sun Belt West Division as the North Texas Mean Green (12-8, 5-2) stunned them with a 75-74 overtime defeat. Denver entered the game having won fourth of their last five games, sharing first place in the West Division with the Ark.-Little Rock Trojans (9-12, 6-1) -- whose Saturday night win puts the Trojans in first.
Despite a strong efforts from F Royce O'Neale (21 pts, 8 reb) and G Brett Olson (15 pts, 3 ast), the Pioneers could not pull away in the end. Denver took a four-point lead into the second half, but nearly lost the game late until they managed to put together a 7-point run with less than 50 seconds on the clock -- tying that game at 66-66 at the end of regulation.
Unfortunately for the Pioneers, F Tony Mitchell (30 pts, 17 reb) and F Roger Franklin (18 pts, 10 reb) continued their dominant ways in overtime, when Franklin's final shot and a tip-in from G Alzee Williams gave the Mean Green the buzzer-beating 75-74 lead.
The Denver Pioneers basketball team will be back in action on Thursday, hosting the Arkansas St. Red Wolves.
For more, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. Head over to SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more on the 2011-2012 college hoops season.