Combs has 5th double-double, North Texas beats Rice 85-74

DENTON, Texas (AP) Jeremy Combs had his fifth double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds to help North Texas beat Rice 85-74 on Saturday.

North Texas trailed only once, 5-4, but went on a 9-0 run for a 13-5 lead and used an 18-3 spurt to go up 31-13. Rice went on a 9-0 run late in the half to help cut its deficit to 33-22 at halftime. The Owls were just 6-of-33 shooting (18 percent) in the half.

Eric Katenda scored seven straight North Texas points, including a pair of dunks, to make it 55-33 with 13 minutes left.

Katenda finished with a career-high 18 points in his second start this season for North Texas (7-9, 2-1 Conference USA). Deckie Johnson added 19 points and Ja'Michael Brown 12.

Marcus Evans led Rice (5-11, 0-3) with 28 points. Egor Koulechov made all 10 of his free-throw attempts and scored 14 points.