untwillrise

This Time I have no excuses. We got beat.

UALR forward Jones-Jennings a terror in paint 11:37 PM CST on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 By Brett Vito/Staff Writer North Texas has faced taller frontcourt players this season. Quicker ones, too. But when it comes to collecting rebounds, there isn't anyone who can come close to matching Arkansas-Little Rock forward Rashad Jones-Jennings in the Sun Belt Conference, or anywhere else for that matter. The 6-8 senior comes into today’s game against the Mean Green leading the nation with an average of 12.7 rebounds a game. "He has great strength and a knack for the ball," UNT junior forward Quincy Williams said. "When you are big and have a knack for the ball, good things happen." That has been particularly true for Jones-Jennings against the Mean Green. He grabbed 19 rebounds in a win over UNT in the regular season last year and came back to score 17 points and pull down seven rebounds in a win over the Mean Green in the conference tournament. The Mean Green (11-3, 2-1 Sun Belt) is hoping to turn its fortunes today in the second half of a double header with the UNT women. The UALR men (7-8, 2-2) hold a 7-1 series lead over UNT since the Mean Green joined the Sun Belt for the 2000-01 season. "They have been a good team with good players the last few seasons," UNT head coach Johnny Jones said. "We have been right there with them in some tight games." UNT's hopes to break through for its first win over UALR since the 2003-04 season will rest in large part with a Williams, junior center Keith Wooden and sophomore center Justin Howerton. The Mean Green will use all three players against Jones-Jennings. Wooden watched from the sideline last season while sitting out as a transfer when the Mean Green played UALR and will get his first opportunity to face Jones-Jennings today. UNT is hoping that Wooden, who stands 6-9, and Howerton, a 6-10 sophomore who has gained experience since last season, will make a difference against Jones-Jennings. "We were not as physical in the post area in the past," Jones said. "This year we added a guy will help us to a better job of containing him in Keith. We can send three players against him and hope to get in his way enough that he does not have a record night getting rebounds against us." The key could be matching Jones-Jennings physical nature and aggressive approach under the basket. At 231 pounds, Jones-Jennings has the ability to push smaller players around. "He goes to the boards hard every time," Wooden said. "We have to put a body on him, keep him from getting to the basket, getting rebounds and easy baskets. I am a big body and can bang down low. It will be a good matchup." Containing Jones-Jennings could help the Mean Green extend a solid start to the season. UNT reached the 10-win plateau faster than any Mean Green team since the 1976-77 season this year. "It's a good measuring stick for us to play against a guy who is leading the country in rebounds," Williams said. "It will show us how far we have come." The UNT women will look to extend a streak of their own against UALR. The Mean Green (4-7, 1-0 Sun Belt) has won two of its last three, including its Sun Belt opener against New Orleans. UNT was scheduled to play Western Kentucky on Saturday, but the game was postponed after the Mean Green was unable to travel to Kentucky due to storms in the Dallas area. "I feel a lot better about the way we are playing," UNT head coach Tina Slinker said. "We are starting over in conference play and are 1-0." Junior guard Amanda Quattrocchi became a starter just before the Mean Green's recent streak and tied her career high with 11 points in UNT's win over Northwestern State in its last game. Sophomore guard Sanetra Jackson, UNT's leading scorer with an average of 12.6 points a game, injured her finger in practice on Wednesday and might not start against the Trojans. Freshman guard Kim Sitzmann is averaging 15.0 points a game for UALR (10-4, 3-1) and its head coach Joe Foley, who is looking for his 500 th career win today. Foley has a career record of 499-136, most of which he compiled at the NAIA and Division II levels. He is in his fourth season at UALR. BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

WKU pulls it off. Troy lost to both FUs then beat UALR by 12 and barely looses to WKU. Its hard to get a read on these teams.

im keepin an eye on it too. WKU up 3 with 3 secs in OT

You don't need to be very deep when you have an all-american on your team. Bo determains the fate of this team. He did not play all of last year so he might just be getting his legs back. All that said we will blow them out when we get them in the pit.

If you go to sunbeltsports.org you can see how we compare to ]other belt teams. Right now we are the highest scoring team. Kd's legs are fresh and Watson should be healthy. Even though everybody says that UALR is a good rebounding team, WE ARE BETTER. We should win all of our games leading up to the home stand vs. UWK and UNO.

This was the only win I cared about!

This is toooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UHH... beacause it rates the top mid-majors.... and we are a mid-major! Why does everybody complain about this poll?

After last year i thought Q was a bust, but now i think he is top 5 posts in the belt.

I am still not sold on or posts just yet. I am fastly turning around but they haven't played a good post team in a while. How they play against UALR shows me who they realy are.

The only game we have is at Denver.

This game UNT couldn't do anything against the three. First they had a small lineup in and Q had to gaurd a much faster player and then they were just htting crazy shots. Even though I love threes its not good when you don't have an offensive rebounder or defense.

Mean Green rocks struggling Pioneers 11:16 AM CST on Sunday, December 31, 2006 By Brett Vito/Staff Writer Of all the teams in the Sun Belt Conference, Denver has probably gone through the toughest times this season. DRC/Gary Payne North Texas forward Keith Wooden (2) looks to drive to the basket against Denver's Adam Tanner during their Sun Belt Conference game on Saturday at the Super Pit. The Pioneers dropped 12 of their first 13 heading into a game against North Texas on Saturday, had to dodge a blizzard to get to Denton and played for a second straight night without head coach Terry Carroll, who has left the team due to an undisclosed illness. Those obstacles proved to be too much for Denver to overcome against red-hot North Texas, which raced past the Pioneers for a 91-79 win at the Super Pit. Junior forward Keith Wooden scored a career high 20 points to lead five Mean Green players who finished in double figures and junior forward Quincy Williams posted UNT’s first double-double of the year with 16 points and 12 rebounds. “I tell people all the time that guys are going to continue to fight,” UNT head coach Johnny Jones said. “These kids have substance, are very resilient and are going to continue to play. At some point they are going to get it together, knock down shots and win that next game. You have to guard against that.” UNT (11-3, 2-1) made sure it wouldn’t be the team Denver (1-13, 0-4) jumps up and surprises with one of its more complete offensive performances of the season. The Mean Green shot 62 percent from the field for the game and was especially efficient in the second half when UNT hit 70 percent of its shots and pulled away for its fourth straight win. “We feel like we have a lot of people on our team that can score,” Wooden said. “A lot of teams don’t have that luxury. When you look up at the scoreboard and you have four or five guys in double figures, it shows that we are playing as a team and no one is trying to be selfish.” UNT’s balanced scoring was particularly impressive because the Mean Green was without one of its top players for nearly the entire game. Senior guard Calvin Watson sprained his ankle in practice this week and played just one minute before taking the rest of the night off. Junior guard Michael Sturns helped fill the void by coming off the bench to lead UNT with 22 points. Wooden and Williams complemented Sturns’ scoring production on the perimeter by dominating under the basket. UNT finished with a 38-29 edge in rebounds. UNT’s power inside helped the Mean Green overcome Denver’s hot shooting from the outside. The Pioneers went 14-for-29 from beyond the 3-point arc. Denver was particularly effective in the first half when it hit eight 3-point shots and led by as many as seven points. Six different players hit a 3-point shot for the Pioneers before the break. “They shot it unbelievable in the first half,” Williams said. “We did everything we could just to stay close.” That strategy included getting the ball to senior guard Kendrick Davis, who hit back-to-back 3-point shots in a 9-0 run that gave UNT a 24-22 lead with 9:38 left before the break. The game remained close through the rest of the first half before DaShawn Walker hit Denver’s last 3-point shot before the break to give the Pioneers a 48-45 lead at intermission. UNT answered with a 16-6 run early in the second half and maintained control the rest of the way in a game that set the stage for a key Sun Belt road trip to Arkansas-Little Rock and Arkansas State next week. UNT will enter that stretch at full strength and playing at its best. Davis scored 18 points in just his second game back from a wrist injury that kept him out nine games and Wooden returned after a one-game suspension for violating team rules. Having both back proved to be critical against a Denver team that proved for at least a while that it is still dangerous, despite what has been a tough few weeks. “This was a very important game for us and our home opener in conference play,” Williams said. “We knew they had been in some close games. They were very hungry and very capable.” BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com. North Texas 91, Denver 79 DENVER (1-13, 0-4) — Porch 2-7 2-4 7, Cox 2-5 1-2 7, Tanner 3-7 3-5 11, Walker 9-16 5-5 27, Bullock 5-12 0-0 12, Timms 0-0 0-0 0, Wetrich 3-6 0-0 9, Jackson 2-10 0-0 4, Rohnert 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 26-64 13-18 79. NORTH TEXAS (11-3, 2-1) — Young 5-6 1-3 12, Williams 8-12 0-0 16, Howerton 0-1 0-0 0, Bell 1-4 0-0 3, Watson 0-0 0-0 0, Wooden 8-12 4-5 20, Sturns 10-18 1-2 22, Davis 6-8 2-4 18, Mangrum 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-61 8-14 91. Halftime — Denver 48-45. 3-point goals — Denver 14-29 (Porch 1-2, Cox 2-2, Tanner 2-5, Walker 4-7, Bullock 2-4, Wetrich 3-5, Jackson 0-4), UNT 7-13 (Young 1-1, Bell 1-3, Sturns 1-4, Davis 4-5). Fouled out — Porch, Wooden. Rebounds – Denver 29 (Jackson 7), UNT 38 (Williams 12). Assists — Denver 7 (Cox, Walker Wetrich 2), UNT 17 (Bell, Wooden 4). Total fouls — Denver 15, UNT 15. A — 1,880.

Now add a healthy Watson!!!!!!!!!!!!

It would have been worse but they were on fire! Good win Decent crowd. Im getting excited for those UNO and WKU games. I expect 7,000

If we are the number one seed I will find a way to get there. I think we will

Im not taking it seriously right now. Harold has been at both games and looked happy. And Wooden dressed out for the Bellhaven game. But if these situations continue past tonight then I will start to worry.

The Denver site has the game still being played as of yesterday.

Can coach Dodge buy his son a car when he graduates so that he can cruise around Denton in '08? Or is that a violation?

Being from that area you hear a lot about them. His teams are always among the best in the area. He does do a lot with limited talent levels.

Subjects like this need to stop. Just a few years ago the "University of North Texas Mean Green Eagles Albino Squirrels" was rejected by only a few votes. As one student, alum, or faculty memeber we are the UNT Eagles. But with our powers combined we form the Mean Green.

ok maybe I shouldn't had said hate! My bad on that one hes a cool cat. But I am only a year older then him so that kid crap doesn't work. When I have played with him he is the worst player on the team. Never did I say kick him off the team or don't let him play. I have been the only person on this board who has continually said that when he plays more he will get better. So if pointing out that he is not good hurts your feelings maybe 10-14 year old AAU is better for you.

Honestly I hate Howerton. Ever since I played with him and Stewart last year we could easilly see that Howerton is big and sorry.

I want to see a lot of Howerton and Jackson. I don't care if we only win by 5. I think that is the one thing that Howerton needs.