NT beats NC-Wilmington

[CMJ]

Great win for the program. The Seahawks have been a consistent tournament team(whether the NCAA or NIT) for several years now.

[risinggreen]

Nice win! We fell apart a little bit at the end but overall a very nice ballgame. Hope we're ready for the tests that are coming over the next couple of weeks. The Frogs looked better than expected against the Bobby Knight boys.

[Coach]

It was a fun game at the Super Pit. Calvin Watson scored 16 without hitting a 2 pointer. He was probably the player of the game. Mike Jones was playing very well defensively but got himself in foul trouble, or he would have had a very good stat line. We also hit our free throws tonight, which was something we struggled with last season. Quincy Williams looked pretty good tonight, even hitting a three just before half. Between him, Sturns, and Watson, the future looks good, I have to admit. Sturns had two just laser passes that were amazing. He is special to handle the ball, play defense, and pass like that, he is starting a good career. Tonight was a good win against a quality opponent and you can't help but be optmisitic with the way the team looked, especially the younger players. I also think that Jonny Jones loves this team because he has so many different types of players he can do what he wants out there.

On Johnny Jones, what a class act. I listened to the post game show on the way home, and he was very well spoken and professional and then concluded by thanking all the fans for coming out tonight. Very refreshing.

Edited November 24, 2004 by Coach

[MeanGreen61]

How was attendance ?

[Guest e-bone]

Good win over a good basketball program.

These young guys are playing really well and it is hard not to be optimistic about our chances in conference play, especially as our younger players get more experiance.

[marc_moffitt]

I am still excited and amazed at the amount of "energy" that our team is playing with. The UNC team played us pretty well, they do have some good players on their team. UNC definitely played us the hardest of any team so far at home, but I think that the Alabama game came a good time to show us where we needed some work.

In years past, I don't think that I have seen the team "click" with each other like this team does. They seem to have gotten to know each other's moves and instincts very well.

I agree with you Coach, that this team has so many different options that it can use in so many different combinations, it makes every game exciting.

Our seniors, as always, had a great night, and the future does look bright with the amount of talent that we have stacked up in reserve.

Congratulations to Coach Jones and his staff on a great game tonight.

[Harry]

Good win for Johnny and company. The matchup against Tubbs will be interesting to say the least.

[Gakusei]

Important to note is that as of yesterday (Monday) we were ranked #242 and NC-Wilmington was #91, according to Sagarin rankings. Going into the game, I said that we should win by 15 pts or so and I'm glad I was kinda close. Once this team irons out a few early season hiccups, they could very well be one of the best teams at NT in decades.

Attendance was a little over 1,600.

Edited November 24, 2004 by Gakusei

[Mad Hatter]

How was the Pit Crew?

[marc_moffitt]

The Pit Crew was outnumbered by UNC fans.

[Coach]

UNCW had a lot of fans there supporting a couple of players that never get to play close to home. One was from Dallas, he was their leading scorer and according an article posted by Scottie, 90 friends and family came to watch him. They were sitting to the right of the Pit Crew, and were really quiet I though considering how well their boy was doing. There was another group to the left of the student section that was there to support a player from Sugar Land. They didn't have near as many, I would guess about a dozen, but they were much more vocal, and I didn't mind seeing them go home upset at all.

We really need to bring out the green for the TCU game. That will be a big game for our program, especially with the way TCU throttled Texas Tech last night. Serious metroplex bragging rights on the line, and it's at our house.

No reason to miss this one...it's not on a weekday, it's a regional name rival, tickets are affordable, the concessions are MUCH improved thanks to Chuggy Bears, kids love Scrappy, guys love the dancers, everybody loves Space Jam, oh...and the team has some exciting players as well.

[Zeke]

I just made it into town as the 2nd half started. My first thought was how well the guys moved. They ran their offense better than any North Texas team I can remember. Being very patient and looking for the open man. Something that I think should be pointed out is the Mean Green's free throws down the stretch. We had only 1 or 2 fg's for the final five minutes that I can remember, but we shot a high percentage from the stripe that we just didn't hit last year (Watson did great from there).

I saw improvment out of Barnett. He looked to score first. This made the D respect him more and opened up looks for other players. I do think Quincy Williams needs the time on the bench right now to learn. At times he played like a freshman, while at other times it left me dreaming about what he might be able to become.

Overall a great game. I will be able to make it Saturday and I plan on going home just as happy then as I did Tuesday.

Gak, you said UNCW was #91. What is Lamar ranked?

[rcade]

Good win for the Green. I'm hoping it's a sign of things to come.

The game story from the Wilmington Star in North Carolina focuses on the disappointment of their player from DFW:

North Texas tops Seahawks

DENTON, TEXAS | Mitch Laue sat on a green-and-white folding chair inside a silent visiting locker room with his jersey off and his elbows resting on his knees. He wasn’t crying, but his eyes were a cranberry shade of red and his voice quivered when he spoke.

A career-high 18 points couldn’t soften the disappointment that came with UNC-Wilmington’s 76-69 defeat at North Texas. The 28 minutes he played (also his most while wearing a Seahawks jersey) weren’t as much a testament to his ability to recover from a sprained ankle as they were merely the time he logged in a defeat.

For Laue, a Dallas native who had finally come home, Tuesday’s game was the long-awaited chance of a proper homecoming he felt slipped away.

“The points aren’t anything to me if we don’t win,” said Laue, who had about 90 friends and family members among the announced crowd of 1,621 at the Super Pit. “All my family was here. We just didn’t come out with it and it doesn’t feel as good as it should.”

Things felt bad for the Seahawks from the start.

After spotting UNCW (1-1) the first points of the game (a 3-pointer by Laue), North Texas went on a 13-3 run to take a 13-6 lead. The Seahawks trailed by as many as 11 points before clawing back to 35-30 when Halston Lane scored with 16 seconds left in the half.

North Texas’ Quincy Williams answered that bucket, however, with a 3-pointer from the top of the key shortly before the halftime buzzer sounded.

The Mean Green (2-1) maintained its hot hand from behind the arc to start the second half by draining 3-pointers on each of its first two possessions to extend its lead to 44-30.

It worked with a double-digit advantage for nearly the rest of the game.

“The disappointing thing is I told my guy that this is an athletic group, a talented group,” UNCW coach Brad Brownell said. “They’ve got potent weapons and have pretty good experience. If you let them get on a roll, they’re a team that plays with great momentum. They can be very tough.”

UNCW crept back to within double digits just twice after halftime, the first coming when Taylor Lay hit a short jumper to make it 74-66 with :40.6 remaining to cap off a 7-0 Seahawks run. North Texas – which went 21-for-25 at the free-throw line – hit two foul shots after that to quell UNCW’s momentum, making Ed Spencer’s 3-pointer just seconds before time expired a moot basket.

Spencer’s shot ended a furious final four minutes for the Seahawks, who trailed by 16 late in the game before having to settle for the final seven-point margin.

Calvin Watson scored 16 points – including 10 in the decisive first half – to lead North Texas, which was playing its third game in five days.

“We didn’t play with a lot of toughness,” Laue said. “We started coming back at the end, but it was too late. They just outtoughed us from the beginning.”

Laue didn’t fidget much when he spoke. Things had started off well with him hitting that opening basket and he even scored seven consecutive points to fuel that late UNCW spurt. But he wasn’t thinking about that.

He kept those hands clasped together and seemed focused on his breathing until he finally reached down to untie his shoes. The tape that wrapped around his ankles would have to wait a few minutes.

“I just wanted to win,” Laue said evenly. “I’ve always wanted to play (here). My little sister’s here, she’s never seen me play. There’s a lot of people that I had 90 people here I get to come out, I get to see them afterwards. But I just wanted to win for them.”

He exited the locker room a few minutes later. Now dressed in his blue UNCW warm-up suit with a white towel slung over his shoulder he made his way up the Super Pit steps.

Halfway up hugs, not points, began to soften the disappointment.

Scott Hamilton: 343-2034

scott.hamilton@starnewsonline.com

Edited November 24, 2004 by rcade

[Gakusei]

Zeke: I'm not sure what they werre ranked as of Monday since the rankings have been updated. North Texas is now at #191 and Lamar is at #167. This is a game that we should win by 20 points or more, imo.

Going through the schedule at the beginning of the year, the only losses I penned in were Alabama and Texas. I think the rest of the games on our schedule should be W's and are ours to lose.