North Texas edges Troy 66-63 for Sun Belt bid

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) -Josh White's shot from near the free-throw line with 22 seconds remaining gave North Texas a 66-63 win over Troy on Tuesday night in the Sun Belt tournament championship game.

Troy (20-12) rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half, but the 5-foot-10 White's shot broke a 63-63 tie and sent the Mean Green (24-8) to the NCAA tournament.

Brandon Hazzard drove to the basket trying to tie it in the final seconds, but Shannon Shorter blocked the shot and it went out of bounds off Troy. White was fouled with 2.9 seconds remaining and made one free throw. After he missed his second attempt, Troy's Michael Vogler tried a desperation shot from midcourt that wasn't close.

Second-seeded North Texas has won 11 straight games and snapped a seven-game winning streak for top-seeded Troy.