Smart, North Texas shoot down Rice, 85-78

Jan 13, 2018, 10:48 pm

HOUSTON -- Roosevelt Smart knocked down a school record nine 3-pointers and posted a career-high 39 points as North Texas shot past Rice, 85-78 in a Conference USA battle Saturday.

Smart hit a pair of treys in the first half and the Mean Green trailed by two, 37-35 at intermission.

Coming out of halftime Smart nailed back-to-back 3s in the first minute to put North Texas up, 41-37 and drained five in the first 10 minutes of the second half. His ninth trey put North Texas up 80-74 with under two minutes left.

North Texas (10-8, 3-2) hit a school record 17 3-pointers and tied a school record with 31 attempts. The team came into the contest ranked No. 3 in the conference in 3-point field goals made, averaging 7.8 per game. The Mean Green now has 150 made 3s in 18 games. Smart now has 64 made 3s this season, chasing the school record of 90.

Smart hit 10 of 21 shots from the field, including 9 of 16 from distance, and was 10 of 12 from the free throw line. D.J. Draper hit 6 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 23 points.

Connor Cashaw finished with 30 points to lead Rice (4-14, 1-4).