DMN NT Men Win 79-69 over NMSU

OldTimer · January 9, 2005

UNT men beat New Mexico State, 79-69

01:04 AM CST on Sunday, January 9, 2005

From Wire Reports

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Leonard Hopkins scored 24 points and Calvin Watson added 23 to lead North Texas past New Mexico State, 79-69, on Saturday in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.

UNT ended a 10-game losing streak at New Mexico State, a skid that dated to Feb. 14, 1974.

New Mexico State coach Lou Henson missed the game after coming down with pneumonia Thursday. He was released from the hospital Saturday morning.

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University spokesman Tyler Dunkel said he did not know when Henson, who will be 73 Monday, would return to coaching. School officials said the coach is expected to make a full recovery.

"I feel much better, and I'm looking forward to going home and resting," Henson said in a statement Saturday. He thanked his doctors for catching the pneumonia quickly.

Henson fell ill shortly before practice Thursday and was hospitalized. He was stricken in September with viral encephalitis and had been scheduled to coach for the first time this season Saturday night.

The viral encephalitis, an acute inflammatory disease of the brain, caused paralysis in his right leg. He's unable to walk on his own because he has only slight movement in that leg, but he has been undergoing vigorous rehab in recent weeks. Henson said he and his wife, Mary, would honor their promise to buy tickets for all fans in a wheelchair who attended Saturday's game.

Henson is 21 wins short of becoming the fifth Division I coach with 800 career victories.

UNT led, 69-66, with 3:02 to play before pulling away behind four straight points from Hopkins. The Mean Green (8-4, 1-0) is off to its best start through 12 games since the 1994-95 season. NMSU fell to 4-9, 0-1.

NORTH TEXAS 79, NEW MEXICO STATE 69

NORTH TEXAS (8-4, 1-0)–Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Jones 1-2 2-2 4, Hopkins 9-17 5-6 24, Hines 2-5 0-1 5, Watson 6-9 9-9 23, Harris 2-4 0-1 4, Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0, Sturns 1-4 1-2 3, Thomas 2-5 4-4 8, Simpson 3-7 0-1 6.

NEW MEXICO ST. (4-9, 0-1)–Jones 1-6 2-2 4, Lawrence 2-11 3-6 7, Mitchell 6-13 0-0 14, Davis 0-2 3-4 3, Jenkins 6-10 4-4 21, John 5-13 2-5 13, Haynes 1-1 0-0 3, Alexander 2-7 0-0 4, Funston 0-1 0-0 0.

Halftime–N. Texas 35, New Mexico St. 31. Three-point goals–N. Texas 4-10 (Watson 2-3, Hines 1-3, Hopkins 1-3, Jones 0-1), New Mexico St. 9-19 (Jenkins 5-7, Mitchell 2-7, John 1-2, Haynes 1-1, Funston 0-1, Davis 0-1). Fouled out–Alexander. Rebounds–N. Texas 40 (Hopkins 7), New Mexico St. 39 (Jones 9, Lawrence 9). Assists–N. Texas 7 (Hines 4), New Mexico St. 14 (Jenkins 4). Total fouls–N. Texas 19, New Mexico St. 17. A–04,252.

risinggreen · January 9, 2005

Me thinks that Watson is turning into a bigtime player. He definitely seems to be getting better every game.

ADLER · January 9, 2005

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NMSU guard Josh Jenkins tries to drive past North Texas' Marqus Mitchell during Saturday night's game in the Pan Am Center. The Aggies lost, 79-69, in the Sun Belt opener for both teams. (Sun-News photo by Vladimir Chaloupka)

Los' Causes Sun-News

Poor shooting leads to league loss for Aggies

By Felix Chavez/Assistant Sports Editor

Jan 9, 2005, 12:01 am

The New Mexico State Aggies just couldn’t find the right formula Saturday night in the Sun Belt opener.

New Mexico State missed several layups, couldn’t overcome 53.6 percent shooting by North Texas in the second half and fell 79-69 at the Pan American Center.

The Aggies drop to 4-9 and 0-1 in league play, while North Texas is 8-4 on the season and 1-0 in league play.

“We had chances,” NMSU interim head coach Tony Stubblefield said. “We ran our offense and got some good looks at the basket. We have to take advantage of those opportunities.”

The Aggies chased North Texas all night long and led only 3-0 and 5-3 on the night. North Texas was up 35-31 at the break and kept a tedious lead in the second half.

New Mexico State tied or pulled within three points several times in the second half, but never caught the Mean Green, which won in Las Cruces for the first time since 1974.

“We couldn’t sustain the effort for 40 minutes,” Aggie guard Mike Mitchell said. “We have to keep working to try and be consistent.”

The Aggies trailed just 69-66 with 3:02 left after a Trevor Lawrence follow and got the ball back 19 seconds later after Duane John took a charge. But the Aggies made two critical turnovers in the next minutes and never recovered. Meanwhile, North Texas hit eight free throws in the final 1:40 to pull out the win. Senior guard Leonard Hopkins keyed the late charge with four points and a key steal.

“I just tried to step up my play and be a leader,” Hopkins said. “This was a big win for us. Our chemistry and effort is great. This is the best chemistry we’ve had as a team in a long time.”

Hopkins and fellow guard Calvin Watson paced the Mean Green with 24 and 23 points respectively. Hopkins had 13 points in the second half, while Watson had 23. Watson was 9 for 9 from the free throw line, while North Texas hit 21 of 26 as a team.

The Aggies shot just 35.9 percent from the field, despite hitting 9 of 19 from the 3-point line. New Mexico State’s starting forwards, Jeff Jones and Trevor Lawrence, made just 3 of 17 combined from the field.

“We have to convert when we get chances,” Stubblefield said. “North Texas played some good defense in the paint, but good teams take advantage of some opportunities.”

The Aggies were led by freshman guard Josh Jenkins and junior guard Mike Mitchell. Jenkins scored 21 points, 16 of which came in the second half, while Mitchell had 14. Junior wing Duane John added 13. Jenkins helped keep the Aggies in the game in the second half with clutch shooting. He hit four 3-pointers in the second half and made all four of his free throws.

“We just have to keep finding ways to get better and find consistency, and if we do, we’ll be more successful,” Jenkins said.

The Mean Green got 11 points each from Watson and Hopkins to lead by four at the break. The Aggies were led by Mitchell’s 10 and John’s nine at the break.

“We are giving a great effort and it’s nice to come on the road against a difficult opponent and get the win,” North Texas coach Johnny Jones said. “We made some big shots in the second half and came up big on defense at times. Our bench also gave us a great effort.”

The Aggies are back in action Monday against Tulsa at 7:05 p.m.

Felix Chavez can be reached at fchavez@lcsun-news.com

BOX SCORE

North Texas 79, N. Mexico St. 69

North Texas (8-4)

Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Jones 1-2 2-2 4, Hopkins 9-17 5-6 24, Hines 2-5 0-1 5, Watson 6-9 9-9 23, Harris 2-4 0-1 4, Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0, Sturns 1-4 1-2 3, Thomas 2-5 4-4 8, Simpson 3-7 0-1 6.

N. Mexico St. (4-9)

Jones 1-6 2-2 4, Lawrence 2-11 3-6 7, Mitchell 6-13 0-0 14, Davis 0-2 3-4 3, Jenkins 6-10 4-4 21, John 5-13 2-5 13, Haynes 1-1 0-0 3, Alexander 2-7 0-0 4, Funston 0-1 0-0 0.

Halftime—North Texas 35, N. Mexico St. 31. 3-Point goals—N. Texas 4-10 (Watson 2-3, Hines 1-3, Hopkins 1-3, Jones 0-1), New Mexico St. 9-19 (Jenkins 5-7, Mitchell 2-7, John 1-2, Haynes 1-1, Funston 0-1, Davis 0-1). Fouled out—Alexander. Rebounds—North Texas 40 (Hopkins 7), N. Mexico St. 39 (Jones 9, Lawrence 9). Assists—North Texas 7 (Hines 4), N. Mexico St. 14 (Jenkins 4). Total fouls—North Texas 19, N. Mexico St. 17. A—04,252.

ADLER · January 9, 2005

Here's a great stat of the night. Due to the smothering defense of the North Texas post players, the Aggys two starting post players — Trevor Lawrence (6-foot-11) and Jeff Jones (6-8) — shot a combined 3-for-17 Saturday.

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