Efrem “Butta” Johnson’s jump shot with 16 seconds left in regulation was rendered moot only seconds later as North Texas’ CJ Noland found just enough room to drop in his own mid-range jumper.

With two timeouts in his pocket, UAB head coach Andy Kennedy opted to let Eric Gaines carry it out on the final possession and rewarded his coach’s faith with three dribbles and a pass to a driving Yaxel Lendeborg for a game-tying slam.

The Blazers rallied from two separate double-digit deficits before securing an 82-79 overtime victory over North Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 31, at the Super Pit in Denton.

UAB (14-7, 6-2 AAC) entered the game at 137 in the NCAA NET rankings and earns a Quad-1 win over the Mean Green (59) after snapping their 17-game home winning streak.

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The Blazers shot 48.3 percent overall and were 5-of-16 on 3-pointers. They were also 21-of-24 at the free-throw line, all in the second half. UAB allowed the Mean Green to shoot 43.5 percent from the field but forced a four-plus minute scoring drought in each half to stay within arm’s length.

North Texas led by as many as 17 points in the first half and 12 points with 10:08 remaining in regulation.

Johnson scored a team-high 18 points, adding three rebounds and three assists, and hit a last-second three-pointer to trim the deficit below double digits, 35-26, entering the halftime break. He scored a key basket to tie the game with 16 seconds left in regulation and gave UAB its final lead on a three-pointer midway through the overtime session while clinching the win on a pair of free throws with six seconds left in the game.

Lendeborg posted his ninth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, and twice pulled the Blazers within a bucker in the final three minutes before tying the game and sending it to overtime on a last-second dunk.

Although he got off to a slow start, Gaines stuffed the sheet in finishing with 10 points, three rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. His steal with 26 seconds left in regulation resulted in a short jumper from Johnson and his assist allowed Lendeborg to send the game into overtime, where Gaines opened the period with his lone three-pointer of the game.

North Texas jumped out to an early 13-6 lead before building as much as a 17-point lead with 3:38 remaining in the period. The Blazers closed out the first half on a 10-2 run and used an 8-2 second-half run to pull within five points at the 14:41 mark of the second half.

The Mean Green stretched their lead back to double digits on a 12-5 run but UAB held North Texas without a field goal for 4:38 while clawing its way back to force overtime on Lendeborg’s last-second dunk.

Alejandro Vasquez finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals, and hit a clutch triple to cap a 6-0 run to pull within a point of the Mean Green inside the final five minutes of regulation. Javian Davis had 16 points and four rebounds and pounded the paint with a 6-of-7 showing from the field and a 4-of-4 performance at the line.

Daniel Ortiz added four points, followed by Christian Coleman with two points and three rebounds. Tony Toney scored a single point but came away with two crucial steals.

The Blazers finish off their two-game Texas road trip against SMU, Sunday, Feb. 4, at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CT on ESPN2.