Mean Green conquer Troy - Hit 15 treys

MeanGreen61 · January 27, 2006

Mean Green conquer Troy

UNT hits 15 treys in 84-77 victory

09:18 AM CST on Friday, January 27, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas guard Isaac Hines figured out early on Thursday night that Troy was willing to concede the Mean Green as many 3-point shots as they wanted to take.

UNT was only happy to oblige in an 84-77 win at the Super Pit.

The Trojans came out in a zone defense, packed the paint and dared the Mean Green to beat them from deep. The strategy failed when UNT knocked down 15 shots from behind the arc and won for the eighth time in their last 10 games.

The win, combined with South Alabama’s loss at Denver, moved the Mean Green into sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division standings. UNT (12-6, 5-2) will enter Saturday’s game against South Alabama (13-5, 4-2) with a half-game lead over the Jaguars in the standings.

“We are absolutely looking forward to it,” UNT guard Kendrick Davis said. “It will be a big game for us. We need everyone to come out because the fans have been big for us.”

The Mean Green set up their showdown with USA with one of the best nights in school history shooting the ball from deep. UNT’s 15 3-point baskets rank as the fourth-best total for a single game in Mean Green history.

UNT set the school record with 19 in a game against Mary Hardin-Baylor in the 1996-97 season. The Mean Green made 16 treys in a game twice, both in the 1997-98 season.

“Coach [Johnny] Jones told us that they’d probably come out in a 2-3 zone,” Hines said. “That got us a ton of open looks around the perimeter. We continued to run our offense and it paid off.”

Kendrick Davis proved to be particularly adept at taking advantage of UNT’s opportunities from behind the 3-point line. The junior guard went 6-of-13 from deep and scored a career high 27 points to lead a solid performance from the Mean Green’s starting backcourt trio that scored 50 points.

Junior guard Lionel Brown added 12 points, while Hines finished with 11.

Brown, Hines and backup guard Calvin Watson each made three 3-point field goals for UNT, which hit 15-of-32 shots from behind the arc.

“We have very capable guys shooting the three,” UNT coach Johnny Jones said. “That was evident tonight.”

UNT’s guards beat Troy (10-8, 3-3) at its own game. The Trojans came into the game leading the Sun Belt in with an average of 12.29 3-point shots made per game.

Jones said coming into the night that the Mean Green wanted to play to their strengths and not get caught up in running the floor with Troy, a team that thrives in the open court. UNT depended on its guards for scoring, but also got a solid night from its interior players. Jeffrey Simpson finished with eight points and 11 rebounds for UNT, which finished with a 50-33 advantage on rebounds.

“We did a good job on the boards tonight,” Jones said. “Harold Stewart may have gotten the two biggest rebounds late in the game.”

UNT jumped out to a 46-33 lead at halftime and extended its lead to 21 points on three occasions in the second half before Troy made a late push. The Trojans cut their deficit to 77-68 with 2:45 left and still had a chance to rally before the Mean Green made a series of key plays late.

Davis banked in a 3-point shot just before the shot clock buzzer with 2:06 left after Stewart grabbed an offensive rebound.

Those clutch plays put the game out of reach, even for a high-scoring Troy team that came into the night on a three-game winning streak that included wins over preseason Sun Belt division favorites Louisiana-Lafayette (West) and Western Kentucky (East).

“Troy was probably the hottest team in the conference,” Jones said. “We had success against them tonight because we were patient … We took what they gave us, which was the 3-point shot.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com

North Texas 84, Troy 77

Troy (10-8) — Sharp 4-8 1-2 9, Dixon 9-19 7-8 28, Jackson 2-9 5-6 10, Ramsey 2-7 0-0 6, Hazouri 0-5 0-1 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 1-5 3-3 5, Martin 4-7 0-0 12, Acker 3-8 0-1 7. Totals 25-68 16-21 77.

UNT (12-6) — Stewart 2-5 1-2 5, Simpson 4-8 0-0 8, Brown 3-5 3-4 12, Davis 8-17 5-8 27, Hines 4-7 0-0 11, Sturns 1-5 0-0 2, Edwards 0-1 1-2 1, Williams 4-6 1-3 9, Watson 3-8 0-0 9. Totals 29-62 11-19 84.

Halftime—UNT 46-33. 3-Point Goals—Troy 11-38 (Martin 4-6, Dixon 3-9, Ramsey 2-7, Acker 1-4, Jackson 1-5, Davis 0-1, Sharp 0-1, Hazouri 0-5), UNT 15-32 (Davis 6-13, Brown 3-5, Hines 3-6, Watson 3-6, Sturns 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Troy 33 (Acker 8), UNT 50 (Simpson 11). Assists—Troy 10 (Dixon 8), UNT 20 (Hines 6). Total Fouls—Troy 20, UNT 20. A—4,309.

Edited January 27, 2006 by MeanGreen61

Harry · January 27, 2006

Is there any question as to the value of Lionel Brown? Was a nice pickup that was in hindsight. He's back with the other JUCO guard next year. This year has been a blast but next year with the big boy looks to be awesome with a capital A baby!

IslandEagle · January 27, 2006

Is there any question as to the value of Lionel Brown? Was a nice pickup that was in hindsight. He's back with the other JUCO guard next year. This year has been a blast but next year with the big boy looks to be awesome with a capital A baby!
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Our JC point guard recruit, Bell, had an amazing 11 assists and added 12 points in San Jacinto's victory the other night. That will keep him safely as assist leader in Region 14.

Zeke · January 27, 2006

Is there any question as to the value of Lionel Brown? Was a nice pickup that was in hindsight. He's back with the other JUCO guard next year. This year has been a blast but next year with the big boy looks to be awesome with a capital A baby!
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Assuming the ASU transfer Wooden can pick up where Jeff Simpson has left off, next year looks great. Curtis Muse could be a good addition as well.

MeanGreen61 · January 27, 2006

Interesting quote from a January 25th article on the then upcoming North Texas/Troy game in the Dothan, Alabama newspaper.

“(Assistant coach) Ben Fletcher knows this league pretty well because he coached at Western Kentucky,” Maestri said. “He said North Texas might have the most talent in the league.”