Make-or-break stretch for NT men

MeanGreen61 · January 26, 2006

Make-or-break stretch for NT men approaches

Clogged division race heating up

By Michael Neglia

Staff Writer

January 26, 2006

The NT men’s basketball team has now proven that it can also win big games on the road.

With its 82-79 victory over Arkansas State on Saturday night, the Mean Green (11-6, 4-2 Sun Belt) moved into sole possession of second place in its division.

“We had a good win on the road against Arkansas State, and that gave us a lot of confidence coming home to play these games,” senior center Jeffrey Simpson said.

NT has two of its last three conference home games this week, when they plays Troy tonight and South Alabama on Saturday. South Alabama is first in the Mean Green’s division, while Troy is currently third.

“If we take care of business on Thursday, Saturday becomes an even bigger game for us,” coach Johnny Jones said. “It gives us an opportunity to be in first place in our division alone.”

If the Mean Green is to win this weekend, they will need another big performance from senior guard Isaac Hines, who has been averaging nearly 18 points per game over the past four contests.

“I’ve just been taking what they’ve been giving me,” Hines said of his recent offensive outburst. “Kendrick Davis and Lionel Brown are great shooters and they’ve [opposing defenses] been busy with them, so I just take what they give me.”

Troy comes into tonight’s contest on a three game winning streak, with impressive wins over Louisiana-Lafayette, Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. The Trojans’ margin of victory during the three games is 21 points.

“Troy’s a very good basketball team, their record is an indicator of that,” Jones said. “We’re going to have to be ready to play on Thursday.”

South Alabama has also been off to a strong start, as they are 4-1 in conference games, with the only loss being a 74-73 decision against Western Kentucky, who is first place in the Sun Belt East Division.

“We’re going to have to come out strong and play hard from the beginning,” Hines said. “We’re going to have to be focused all game, because they’re a tough team.”

Following this weekend, the Mean Green will finish conference play with six of its last seven games on the road.

“We need to win both of them [weekend games] and that will make the road that much better,” Hines said. “If we happen to lose at home, we’re going to make it even tougher on the road.”