DRC Article on Win Against ULL

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Men's basketball: Mean Green upends Ragin’ Cajuns

Jones, bench set up Rogers’ big finish

08:24 AM CST on Tuesday, February 24, 2004

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Jerome Rogers said earlier this week that he wanted to make sure the North Texas men’s basketball team went out with a bang in its final home game of the season.

Mission accomplished.

Rogers hit four free throws in the final 15 seconds and also came up with a key steal to lift the Mean Green to a 71-68 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in a stunning upset on Senior Night at the Super Pit.

UNT (12-13, 7-6) trailed by as many as 18 points late in the first half before coming back to knock off the top team in the Sun Belt Conference on Monday night.

"This is one of the best comebacks we have made since I have been here," UNT coach Johnny Jones said. "It ranks among the best wins we have had."

Rogers hit two free throws with 15 seconds left to give UNT a 69-68 lead. The senior then tipped a pass away from Ragin’ Cajuns guard Brian Hamilton with less than 10 seconds left.

Junior guard Leonard Hopkins grabbed the ball and passed it back to Rogers, who was fouled with three seconds left. Rogers then hit two free throws to ice the win.

Lafayette (15-8, 10-3) came into the game having already captured at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division title. A win would have earned the Ragin’ Cajuns the overall league title and the No. 1 seed in the league tournament.

Hopkins helped spoil Lafayette’s night by scoring all of his game-high 19 points in the second half. Rogers added 14 points while Michael Jones had 13.

"This was a big win for us," Rogers said. "It sends a message to the rest of the league that they better look out for us in the tournament."

UNT appeared to be an unlikely candidate to upset Lafayette after losing four of its last five games. The Mean Green’s chances seemed even bleaker after the team got off to a slow start in the first half.

UNT shot just 19.4 percent from the field and fell behind 37-23 at the break. UNT missed 20 of its first 23 shots from the field.

"We had to bring some energy to our game in the second half," Michael Jones said. "When I was over on the bench in the first half and we were down by 18 or whatever it was, I knew I had to come in and contribute."

That was just what Jones and a series of other UNT players did to help rally the Mean Green.

UNT went on an 11-1 run midway through the second half to pull to within 47-40 on a layup by Jones.

Lafayette responded with a 3-point basket by Brad Boyd, a shot that only stalled UNT’s comeback.

The Mean Green tied the game at 56 when senior forward Shawnson Johnson took an outlet pass, dribbled half the length of the court and threw down a dunk with 6:03 left.

UNT’s players attributed their run in part to its defense in the second half. Lafayette hit just 1-of-12 three-point shots after intermission.

"I thought we were more aggressive in the second half and started playing better defense," Hopkins said. "We were shutting off their passing lanes and started playing harder."

UNT’s defense helped UNT finally grab its first lead of the game when freshman guard Calvin Watson hit a 3-point shot from the wing to give the Mean Green a 59-56 advantage with 5:42 left.

The Mean Green pushed its lead to 65-56 with 3:31 left on a pair of free throws by Rogers.

The Mean Green appeared as if it might pull away, but went cold from the field. Lafayette went on a 12-2 run and regained the lead on Laurie Bridges’ layup with 41 seconds left.

UNT responded when Rogers drew a foul from Boyd on a drive to the basket and hit a pair of free throws to give the Mean Green a 69-68 lead.

"One of the things we wanted to do in the second half was drive and finish," Johnny Jones said.

UNT finished in fine fashion thanks to a few clutch plays by Rogers and Hopkins at the end of the game.

"You can never quit on the floor because anything can happen," Hopkins said. "If you have any competitiveness you, always feel like you can come back and win."