MONROE, La. (AP) - Kolton Browning returned from a foot injury to throw for 324 yards and three touchdowns as Louisiana-Monroe defeated North Texas 42-16 Saturday to earn its first winning season as a Football Bowl Subdivision team.
Browning completed 25 of 34 passes for the Warhawks (7-4, 5-2 Sun Belt Conference), whose record is the program's best since going 9-3 in 1993.
Wide receiver Je'Ron Hamm caught seven of Browning's passes for a career-high 119 yards, including fourth-quarter touchdowns of 24 and 61 yards that stretched the lead to 35-10.
Brent Leonard had eight catches for 93 yards and a touchdown for the Warhawks, who had lost their previous two games after winning five straight.
Derek Thompson completed 27 of 43 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns for the Mean Green (4-7, 3-4), with Carlos Harris catching eight for 118 yards.
The teams combined for 985 yards total offense.
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| Scoring Summary |
| LAMON | Kolton Browning 1 yd run (Justin Manton kick) |
| NTEXAS | Zach Olen 29 yd FG |
| LAMON | Brent Leonard 7 yd pass from Kolton Browning (Justin Manton kick) |
| LAMON | Mitchell Bailey 7 yd run (Justin Manton kick) |
| NTEXAS | Andrew Power 4 yd pass from Derek Thompson (Zach Olen kick) |
| LAMON | Je'Ron Hamm 24 yd pass from Kolton Browning (Justin Manton kick) |
| LAMON | Je'Ron Hamm 61 yd pass from Kolton Browning (Justin Manton kick) |
| NTEXAS | Darnell Smith 15 yd pass from Derek Thompson (failed 2pt pass) |
| LAMON | DeVontae McNeal 54 yd run (Justin Manton kick) |
| Team Stats | ||
| NTEXAS | LAMON | |
| First Downs | 30 | 26 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 7-15 | 9-14 |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 3-4 | 1-2 |
| Plays-Net Yards | 82-467 | 71-518 |
| Rushes-Yds | 36-144 | 31-161 |
| Passing Yds | 323 | 357 |
| Kick Return Yds | 82 | 49 |
| Punt Return Yds | 0 | 12 |
| Passes | 28-46-2 | 30-40-1 |
| Punts | 4-165 | 2-61 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| Penalties-Yds | 3-31 | 5-37 |
| Time of Poss. | 32:51 | 27:9 |
| Individual Stats |
| RUSHING |
| NTEXAS: Brandin Byrd 21-77, Jeremy Brown 12-56, Derek Thompson 3-11 |
| LAMON: DeVontae McNeal 1-54, Mitchell Bailey 9-46, Tavarese Maye 1-22, Monterrell Washington 10-20, Kolton Browning 8-13, Cody Wells 1-7, Team 1--1 |
| PASSING |
| NTEXAS: Derek Thompson 27-43-322-2, Team 1-3-1-0 |
| LAMON: Kolton Browning 25-34-324-1, Cody Wells 5-6-33-0 |
| RECEIVING |
| NTEXAS: Carlos Harris 8-118, Darnell Smith 7-72, Ivan Delgado 6-81, Jeremy Brown 4-37, Brett Renger 1-10, Andrew Power 1-4, Brandin Byrd 1-1 |
| LAMON: Brent Leonard 8-93, Je'Ron Hamm 7-119, Tavarese Maye 7-71, Tony Cook 3-18, Rashon Ceasar 2-14, Cortney Davis 2-13, Keavon Milton 1-29 |
| Standings | |||
| Team | Standings | Conference | Overall |
| North Texas | 6th Sun Belt | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| Louisiana-Monroe | 2nd Sun Belt | 6-2 | 8-5 |