UNT senior forward George Odufuwa drives to the basket during the Sunbelt Conference Championship Tournament men's final game between University of North Texas and University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (Photo by Michael Clements)

 

UNT senior guard Tristan Thompson (14) takes a shot over UALR junior guard D'Andre Williams (10) . (Photo by Michael Clements)HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - In a Sun Belt Conference title game for the ages, Soloman Bozeman hit a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to lift UALR to a 64-63 win over UNT and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. In a game that featured 17 lead changes, Bozeman went the length of the court with seven seconds left in the game to make the game-winning shot.

The second half went back and forth as neither team led by more than five points until late. With the game tied at 52-52 and under five minutes left, the Mean Green (22-11) reeled off seven straight points, keyed by a 3-pointer from Shannon Shorter.

With the Mean Green leading 59-52 with 1:40 left in the game, UALR (19-16) used six straight free throws to cut the lead to a point at 59-58 with 48 seconds left.

Josh White would hit a clutch 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to play to put the Mean Green up 62-58 with 25 seconds left to play. UALR answered with a 3-pointer from Matt Mouzy with 17 seconds left to make it a one-point game at 62-61. A Tristan Thompson free throw with seven seconds left put UNT up by two points at 63-61 before the game-winning shot by Bozeman.

UNT scored the first five points of the game 60 seconds into the game. UALR responded with a 9-2 run to take a two-point lead at 9-7 with 15:03 left in the first half.

Thompson gave UNT a 23-19 edge with under five minutes to play in the first half with his second 3-pointer.

UALR answered with a 13-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 32-27 lead, but UNT scored the final five points to end the half as the game was tied at 32-32. The game featured seven lead changes in the first half.

UNT placed three players on the All-Tournament Team: Thompson, White and George Odufuwa. Bozeman was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.