No. 4 Purdue Upset by No. 13 North Texas in NCAA Tournament 1st-Round Thriller

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

North Texas guard Javion Hamlet posted 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists as the No. 13 Mean Green upset the No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers 78-69 in overtime on Friday in the first round of the Division I men’s basketball NCAA tournament.

The Mean Green scored the first 11 points in the extra session, with senior forward Thomas Bell starting the run with a three-pointer to give North Texas the lead for good.

Hamlet later extended the lead to seven after some excellent work in the post:

Purdue’s first overtime points came with 28 seconds left after a Mason Gillis three-pointer, but the Boilermakers were unable to get within seven down the stretch.

Bell scored 16 points for North Texas, which won the first NCAA tournament game in the program’s history. Mean Green guard Mardrez McBride added 16 points.

Purdue guard Jaden Ivey paced all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-24 shooting. Junior forward Trevion Williams had 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

North Texas took an early 4-3 lead and never trailed for the remainder of the game.

However, Purdue kept the matchup close and tied it up at 57 with 3:24 remaining in regulation thanks to an Ivey jumper. A Williams steal and dunk and an Ivey layup capped the stretch. 

Ivey was fouled on the layup, but he missed the ensuing free throw.

A McBride two-point jumper gave North Texas the lead back. Bell then blocked a Williams shot attempt and finished on the other end with a layup to give his team a 61-57 edge with 1:29 left.

Williams then responded with back-to-back buckets on consecutive possessions, with the latter hoop tying the game at 61 with 24 seconds remaining in regulation.

North Texas had a chance to win the game at the buzzer after a great inbounds play, but guard James Reese’s long two-pointer hit the backboard and rim before falling to the floor.

The Mean Green regrouped in overtime, however, to move onto the second round.

The Boilermakers shot 36.2 percent from the field. Outside Williams and Ivey, Purdue players made just 8-of-30 field goals.

North Texas will now play the winner of Friday’s first-round matchup between No. 5 Villanova and No. 12 Winthrop. That second-round matchup will occur Sunday at a to-be-determined time.

Purdue’s season ends with the Boilermakers going 18-10.