DMN.Frogs unleash Big 3, 3's on NT

OldTimer · December 11, 2002

Frogs unleash Big Three, 3s on UNT

12/11/2002

By TIM MacMAHON / The Dallas Morning News

DENTON ? TCU's version of the Big Three was too much for North Texas.

Forward Bingo Merriex and guards Junior Blount and Corey Santee scored all but eight of TCU's points in the second half of an 87-80 win Tuesday night at the Super Pit to spoil North Texas' home opener.

Blount led all scorers with 24 points, with 21 coming in the second half. Santee had 16 of his 22 in the second half, and Merriex 13 of his 20. They combined to make 14 of 22 shots from the floor ? including seven of 11 shots from 3-point range ? after the score was tied at 29 at the half.

"We made sure we came out with a little more fire in the second half," Santee said. "We all got in a little rhythm and got a little momentum going."

Merriex hit a couple of 3-pointers to spark a 10-0 spurt early in the second half that gave the Horned Frogs the lead for good. The Mean Green (3-3) whittled the lead to two and had a chance to tie, but guard Leonard Hopkins blew a layup.

Santee responded by knocking down a 3-pointer to start another stretch of 10 unanswered points by TCU (4-2). Like the run earlier in the half, every point was scored by Blount, Merriex or Santee.

"Down the stretch, I really liked what our team did," TCU coach Neil Dougherty said. "They were finding the right people and making shots to create a little bit of the gap."

Said UNT swingman Chris Davis: "Every time we made a little run, they'd knock down a big 3. That's the sign of a good team."

Forward Jermaine Green led UNT with 22 points and nine rebounds. Davis broke out of a season-long slump by scoring all 19 of his points in the second half. But guards Leonard Hopkins and Jerome Rogers, the other two players UNT counts on to produce points, combined to make five of 22 shots from the floor.

A sloppy first half ended in a tie after Green and Merriex swapped 3-pointers on the final two possessions. Merriex, who entered the game shooting 17 percent beyond the arc this season, hit his shot at the buzzer to steal any momentum the Mean Green had after scoring seven straight points.

"I've been struggling from the field," Merriex said, "and that was a big confidence builder for me."

The second half was much more indicative of the fast-paced style both teams prefer to play, but UNT couldn't keep up with TCU despite scoring 51 points after halftime.

The Frogs scored 58 points in the final 20 minutes on 55-percent shooting.

"After the first half, I went over and asked [uNT coach Johnny Jones] if he could take the lids off the basket," Dougherty joked. "I guess he did, because that game speeded up in a hurry."