DENTON, Texas - University of Denver men's basketball sophomore guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) scored a game-high 22 points, but North Texas edged Denver 64-59 at the Super Pit on Saturday night.

Freshman guard Chase Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) added 11 points, a career-high nine rebounds and a game-high three steals for the Pioneers (14-11, 7-7 SBC).

"We played extremely well and executed our game plan," head coach Joe Scott said. "There's no reason to hang our heads over this one or Thursday's game, since we played two of the best teams in our league on their home courts. We have to keep doing what we've been doing to make us a better team, and doing that will change the outcome, which is ultimately what we want."

Denver led 56-55 with 2:14 remaining, but the Mean Green (16-8, 9-5 SBC) outscored the Pioneers 9-3 in the final two minutes with all of UNT's points coming from guard Josh White, who led North Texas with 17 points, all of which came in the second half.

The Pioneers trailed until the 13:40 mark in the second half, when junior forward Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) made a pair of free throws to put DU up 35-34.

The teams battled over the next four minutes with the teams exchanging the lead until a pair of free throws by Stafford and a three-pointer by Chase Hallam put Denver in front 45-41 with 10:10 remaining.

The Mean Green's Eric Tramiel hit four free throws to reclaim the North Texas lead at 54-52 with 3:17 left in the game.

Four free throws by Stafford gave Denver a 56-55 edge with 2:14 remaining, but UNT's Josh White drilled a three-pointer 24 seconds later to take the lead back.

 After a pair of White free throws, Stafford drilled a three-pointer with 48 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one.

White converted four free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal the UNT victory.

Denver overcame early trouble shooting, ending the first half on a 10-2 run, including seven points by Stafford, but trailed 28-24 at the break.

The Pioneers return home to host Arkansas-Little Rock at Magness Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT.