DRC Mens BB looking to end 3 game skid

[OldTimer]

Men;s basketball: Mean Green looking to end three-game skid

UNT tied for second with Denver

08:28 AM CST on Thursday, February 9, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

A season that started out looking like an opportunity for North Texas to break out has taken a downturn heading into the Mean Green’s game against Middle Tennessee tonight at the Super Pit.

UNT has lost three straight games and a player, a slide that began after the Mean Green ran out to a 5-2 start in Sun Belt Conference play.

UNT’s skid has dropped the Mean Green (12-9, 5-5) from first into a tie for second place in the Sun Belt West Division. UNT will look to protect that spot tonight in its last Sun Belt home game of the season.

The Mean Green will play their last four Sun Belt games on the road.

“We have to focus on our next game,” UNT coach Johnny Jones said. “We have been in first or second place for quite some time. We can’t think about where a win will put us in conference or how many games we are up. If we play well, those things will take care of themselves.”

The Mean Green are in a tight race for second place in the West with Denver (5-5) and New Orleans (4-6).

The Mean Green will look to move up in the conference standings tonight without Michael Sturns. The sophomore guard was dismissed from the team on Tuesday for what the school described in a press release as “not conforming to team standards.”

Jones declined to comment further on the situation surrounding the departure of Sturns, who was UNT’s third-leading scorer with an average of 9.7 points a game.

The Mean Green played their first game without Sturns on Saturday against UNO. UNT lost a seven-point lead in the final 7:10 and dropped their third straight game 75-74.

Privateers guard Jamie McNeilly scored the last four points and won the game with a jumper with 4.3 seconds left.

“We played well, executed, shot the ball fairly well and made plays,” Jones said. “We were in position to win. … They had a guy take a desperation shot that fell in.”

Turning the tide could be a challenge against MTSU, which has won its last three games. Junior guard Adam Vogelsberg is averaging 12.1 points a game and is one of three players averaging double figures for the Blue Raiders (11-9, 4-4).

Kendrick Davis is averaging 17.3 points a game to pace UNT.

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