Mean Green, Edwards Stifles Tulane In 70-56 Win

Jonnyeagle · January 6

DENTON – Behind a 37-point performance by Jason Edwards where he made his first eight 3-point shots, the UNT men’s basketball team beat Tulane 70-56 at the Super Pit Saturday afternoon while also missing two of its starters.

The Mean Green (9-5, 2-0) who were without senior point guard Rubin Jones and junior sharpshooter John Buggs III due to injury on Saturday held the league’s No. 1 scoring offense Green Wave (10-4, 1-1) to a season low 56 points. It’s 33 points below their season average and 10 points less than anyone else has held them this year.

The win is the Mean Green’s fourth straight and 15th straight at home. Marking its longest home winning streak since 2011. The win improves them to 2-0 in conference and comes on short rest as they played at Wichita State Thursday night — they beat the Shockers 74-62.

“We know when we stick together and play as a team we can do a lot,” said senior Robert Allen who grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds Saturday. “We pride ourselves on defense and I think the key to having a strong defense is playing together and we did that today.”

North Texas led by as many as 16 points on Saturday and held the explosive Tulane offense to just 5-of-18 shooting from 3 and 37.3 percent shooting overall. Tulane entered Saturday averaging over 75 possessions per game. The Mean Green limited them to just 60 on Saturday.

Offensively, UNT was led by the newcomer Edwards who poured in a career-high 37 points versus Tulane. He scored 22 in the first half to lead his team to a 10-point halftime lead.

Edwards was unconscious from deep on Saturday. The 6-foot guard sank his first eight 3-point shots before finally missing a corner 3-pointer with 7:24 remaining in the game. He finished the game 8-of-10 from deep and 10-of-15 from the floor overall. He added a season-high nine free throws as well.

The 37 points Edwards scored on Saturday is the most by a UNT player this season and the most since Abou Ousmane scored 37 at UTSA last year. His eight made 3-pointers are the most by a Mean Green player since Roosevelt Smart made 10 at Rice on Jan. 23, 2018.

“In reality even when I miss I believe I’m hot,” Edwards said laughing. “But after I hit those first couple, I knew it was going to be a good game.”

“When we play together and are focused on winning as a team and for each other, we can do anything,” he added.

Newcomer CJ Noland added 14 points, most coming late in the game to seal victory. UNT junior Aaron Scott had his second double-double of the year as he finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

UNT has a week of before they play again. The Mean Green host Temple on Jan. 13 at the Super Pit. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 5 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPNU and the Mean Green Sports Network, presented by Learfield.

For more information on UNT men's basketball tickets, contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or at ticketoffice@unt.edu. Fans can visit the UNT Athletics Ticket Office located at Gate 2 of DATCU Stadium between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.