FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — C.J. Noland helped lead No. 7 seed North Texas past Tulane on Thursday night with 23 points off of the bench in an 81-71 victory in the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Tulane plays second-seeded Florida Atlantic in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Noland also added five assists and three steals for the Mean Green (18-13). Rubin Jones added 15 points while going 4 of 12 from the floor, including 3 for 5 from 3-point range, and 4 for 4 from the foul line while he also had eight rebounds and five assists.
Robert Allen shot 6 of 10 from the field to finish with 13 points.
Sion James finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for the Green Wave (14-17). Collin Holloway added 13 points for Tulane. Kevin Cross also had nine points, nine rebounds and five assists. The loss is the eighth in a row for the Green Wave.
North Texas took the lead with 9:08 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Noland led their team in scoring with 12 points in the first half to help put them ahead 36-33 at the break. North Texas outscored Tulane in the second half by seven points, with Noland scoring a team-high 11 points after the break.