Rondel Walker recorded 14 points and three steals and North Texas led nearly the entire way while notching a 54-51 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday in nonconference play at Minneapolis.
The Mean Green (3-0) led by as many as 11 and held an 18-4 edge in points off turnovers.
Minnesota star Dawson Garcia played through a groin injury and had 24 points and eight rebounds. The Golden Gophers led for just 40 seconds.
Garcia scored on a putback with 30.7 seconds left to bring Minnesota within 52-51.
The Golden Gophers had a chance to take the lead but Lu’cye Patterson’s 3-point attempt was off the mark with eight seconds left.
Brenen Lorient’s ensuing basket put North Texas in front by three, and Patterson missed another 3-point try at the buzzer.
The Mean Green shot 37.7 percent from the field and were 5 of 17 (29.4 percent) from 3-point range.
The Golden Gophers hit just 31.3 percent from the field, including 6 of 23 (26.1 percent) from behind the arc.
After making just three baskets in the first half, the Golden Gophers sank three in the first 83 seconds of the second half. The 7-0 run cut their deficit to 23-21.
The Mean Green were up 38-32 after a tip-in by Grant Newell with 10:07 remaining.
However, Minnesota responded with 11 of the next 15 points. Brennan Rigsby drained a 3-pointer that narrowly beat the shot clock to give the Golden Gophers their only lead of the game — at 43-42 with 7:27 left in the contest.
Latrell Jossell nailed a trey 40 seconds later to put North Texas back on top. Walker added a 3-pointer and Johnathan Massie converted a layup to give the Mean Green a 50-43 lead with 4:30 to play.
Garcia made two free throws and Trey Edmonds’ putback brought Minnesota within 50-47 with 3:42 remaining.
North Texas shot just 26.9 percent (7 of 26) in the first half but never trailed while taking a 23-14 halftime lead.
The Golden Gophers were even colder from the field, making just 3 of 21 (14.3 percent) overall and 1 of 11 from 3-point range.
After a 3-pointer by Rigsby with 15:41 left in the half, the Golden Gophers missed 12 consecutive shots over a span of 12-plus minutes before Garcia scored on a putback to cut North Texas’ lead to 21-12 with 3:15 remaining before the break.
