MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Jason Jones scored 16 points off the bench and Middle Tennessee State defeated North Texas 78-71 on Thursday night.
The Blue Raiders (6-9, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) shot 50 percent from the field in the second half (13 of 26) in snapping the Mean Green's 13-game Sun Belt winning streak and six-game streak overall.
Shawn Jones added 15 points and Trevor Ottley added 10 for Middle Tennessee.
The Blue Raiders trailed by as many as eight early and 16-13 with 11:16 left in the first half. They then went on a 10-6 run to take a 26-19 lead on Jason Jones' layup with 6:21 left until halftime.
North Texas (13-3, 2-1), which shot 28.6 percent in the first half (6 of 21) closed the gap to 68-66 with 3:57 left in the game on Shannon Shorter's two free throws, but couldn't get closer.
Josh White scored 15 points and Tristan Thompson 14 for the Mean Green.
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