Hamlet, North Texas beat W. Kentucky, win C-USA Tournament

<p>FRISCO, Texas &mdash; Javion Hamlet scored six of his 20 points after regulation, including the <a href="https://twitter.com/MeanGreenMBB/status/1370952591123824640">go-ahead basket</a> with 13.9 seconds left, and North Texas beat Western Kentucky 61-57 in overtime on Saturday night to win the Conference USA Tournament title game. </p>
<p>The Mean Green (17-9) earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament, their first since winning the Sun Belt Conference tournament in 2010. </p>
<p>Mardrez McBride added 13 points and Zachary Simmons 12 for North Texas. </p>
<p>WKU’s Jordan Rawls hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring in OT and there were three lead changes and three ties before Hamlet’s left-handed runner in the lane made it 59-57. Thomas Bell blocked a potential tying layup attempt by Taveion Hollingsworth with four seconds left before James Reese made two free throws to cap the scoring. </p>
<p>Josh Anderson scored 14 points and Charles Bassey added 13 points and 11 rebounds for WKU (20-7). </p>
<p>The Mean Green jumped to a 17-0 lead about five minutes into the game as WKU missed its first eight shots, and McBride hit a 3-pointer to give the Mean Green a 10-point lead with 15 minutes left in the second half. But Anderson answered with a jumper before Bassey scored nine straight points to spark a 19-2 run that gave WKU a 48-41 lead — its first of the game — about 12 minutes later after Anderson capped the spurt with six consecutive points. </p>
<p>The Hilltoppers, who fell to 23-7 all-time against North Texas, used a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by McBride to close regulation and force OT. </p>
<p>Western Kentucky has lost each of the last three C-USA title games, falling to Marshall in 2018 and Old Dominion in 2019. The 2020 conference tournament was canceled after the first round due to the coronavirus pandemic. </p>
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