HONOLULU -- Zachary Simmons had a career-high 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting and Ryan Woolridge scored 22 to help North Texas beat Portland 78-73 on Saturday night at the Rainbow Classic.
Woolridge made 8 of 12 from the field, including two 3-pointers, and added seven rebounds and eight assists.
Simmons' dunk capped an 11-0 spurt that gave North Texas (3-0) a 14-4 lead and the Pilots trailed the rest of the way. The Mean Green twice led by 12 in the second half before a 3-point play by Josh McSwiggan trimmed Portland's deficit to 65-62 with 4:37 to play but it would get no closer.