DENTON, TX ? The University of Hartford men's basketball team lost to the University of North Texas, 105-97, in a shootout on Saturday afternoon at the Super Pit.

Hartford (4-6 overall) broke the school record with 17 three-pointers in the contest, though it wasn't enough to overcome 60 percent shooting by North Texas (6-2 overall). The Mean Green also shot 61 percent (14 of 23) from three-point range and 86 percent (31 of 36) from the free throw line.

Junior Warren McLendon and sophomore Joe Zeglinski each finished with 24 points apiece for the Hawks, tying a season high for the former and a career high for the latter. Zeglinski went 6 of 10 from three-point range while McLendon pulled down eight rebounds and shot 9 of 13 from the free throw line. Freshman Morgan Sabia also finished in double figures with 12 points, all from beyond the arc.

“North Texas is a very good basketball team, and they made the plays at the end that they needed to win the game,” said head coach Dan Leibovitz. “There are a number of positives we can take away from this game, but now we have to get back to work and get better as a unit.”

Hartford finished with a season-high 21 assists and a season-low 11 turnovers. The Hawks, who made 10 three-pointers in the first half, eclipsed the old record of 12 on a trey by Sabia five minutes into the second stanza.

Josh White led five players in double figures for North Texas with 24 points. Ben Bell and Tristan Thompson pitched in with 23 and 18, respectively.

Hartford opened the second half with a 47-45 lead but quickly fell behind when North Texas scored nine of the stanza's first 10 points. The Hawks answered with eight straight points and took the lead back on a three-pointer by Sabia at the 16:10 mark.

The lead flip-flopped several times and neither team led by more than three until Thompson made a pair of free throws to give the Mean Green a 76-71 edge with 9:31 remaining. North Texas increased the margin to nine (82-73) before the Hawks made another charge. Hartford used a 14-4 run over a four-minute stretch to shift the momentum, pulling ahead 87-86 on a pair of McLendon free throws with 4:34 to play. Senior Brian Glowiak hit a pair of three-pointers during the run while McLendon added four from the charity stripe.

The teams traded the lead on ensuing three-point shots, though North Texas took the lead for good on a bucket by Bell that made it 91-90 with 3:25 to go. The Mean Green outscored the Hawks 16-7 in the final 3:25 and missed only one of 12 free throw attempts.

Hartford returns home to host Monmouth on Tuesday, December 11 at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.