Drc Nt Men Cruises

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Men's basketball: North Texas cruises

Mean Green easily beats Arkansas State

12:17 AM CST on Thursday, March 6, 2008

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Adam McCoy wasn’t around last season for North Texas’ first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1988.

If the junior guard keeps playing the way he did on Wednesday, he could get his opportunity soon enough. McCoy was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and scored a season-high 21 points for the sixth-seeded Mean Green, which cruised to an 85-63 win over 11th-seeded Arkansas State in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament at the Super Pit.

“When you are playing tournament games, I always talk about surviving and advancing,” UNT head coach Johnny Jones said. “The only thing we can control right now is the 40 minutes we are promised in our next game. We have to seize the moment, and that is what our guys did tonight.”

That was especially true of McCoy, who hit all five of his 3-point attempts in a rematch of last season’s Sun Belt Tournament finals.

“It took a while to adjust to coach Jones and the way he pushes me,” McCoy said. “Now that I have adjusted the sky is the limit.”

McCoy’s performance helped the Mean Green (20-10) advance to the quarterfinals where UNT will face Western Kentucky 9 p.m. Sunday at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala., where the remainder of the tournament will be played.

WKU will be a little more aware of McCoy after his breakout performance against ASU (10-20). The junior guard scored 13 points in the Mean Green’s season opener before going 21 games without reaching double figures.

McCoy posted 14 points in a loss to Louisiana-Lafayette last week and took advantage of a chance to build on that performance when Collin Dennis had an off night, scoring nine points on 2-of-8 shooting.

“We got a huge lift from Adam,” Jones said. “This was his best game of the season. He is coming around at the right time for us.”

McCoy scored five of his points during a 10-2 run in the first half that put UNT up 33-24. He capped the run with a 3-pointer that helped the Mean Green pull out to a 38-31 lead at the break.

“McCoy coming off the bench and not missing a shot caught us off guard,” ASU guard Adrian Banks said. “We didn’t expect him to score like that.”

McCoy was one of four UNT players who scored in double figures. Senior forward Keith Wooden scored 14 points, while senior guard Ben Bell and freshman guard Josh White each had 12. Junior forward Harold Stewart also played a key role for the Mean Green, coming off the bench to score nine points and pull down nine rebounds.

Banks scored 17 points, while fellow guard Ryan Wedel added 14. No other ASU player finished in double figures.

UNT wore down ASU, who had four players who logged at least 29 minutes. The Mean Green ran waves of players at the Indians and led by as many as 25 late in the second half while taking the first step towards repeating as Sun Belt Tournament champions.

“It’s win or go home, and I don’t want to go home yet,” Stewart said. “I want to make it as far as I can.”

UNT reached a milestone while extending its season, posting its second straight 20-win campaign. The Mean Green also set a school record with their 15th home win of the season.

“Twenty wins in consecutive seasons is a compliment to not only the team but the entire program,” Jones said. “These young men work extremely hard and the fruits of their labor are beginning to show on the court.”

McCoy has seen the fruits of UNT’s performance last season ever since he joined the Mean Green before the season began.

“The guys have been showing me their rings,” McCoy said. “It really motivated me. I wanted to go get a ring, too.”

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

North Texas 85, Arkansas State 63

ARKANSAS STATE (10-20) – Morgan 1-4 2-4 4, Gant 4-7 1-2 9, Chia-Kur 3-9 2-2 8, Banks 4-10 6-7 17, Wedel 5-13 2-2 14, Farmer 0-0 0-2 0, Nutt 0-2 1-2 1, Handy 2-2 0-1 4, Koggu 2-3 0-1 4, Lance 1-2 0-1 2, Keaton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 14-24 63

NORTH TEXAS (20-10) – Williams 2-4 0-2 , Wooden 6-11 2-2 14, Bell 5-6 1-3 12, Dennis 2-8 5-8 9, White 4-8 2-2 12, McCoy 8-8 0-0 21, Horne 1-1 0-0 2, Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Stewart 1-2 7-8 9, Hogans 0-0 0-0 0, Montague 0-0 0-0 0, Howerton 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 30-51 17-25 85.

Halftime – UNT 38-31. 3-point goals – ASU 5-20 (Chia-Kur 0-5, Banks 3-7, Wedel 2-4, Nutt 0-2, Lance 0-1, Keaton 0-1), UNT 8-12 (Bell 1-2, Dennis 0-2, White 2-2, McCoy 5-5, Thompson 0-1). Fouled out – Morgan. Rebounds – ASU 26 (Morgan 5), UNT 37 (Wooden, Stewart 9). Assists – ASU 5 (Chia-Kur 2), UNT 12 (Bell 6). Total fouls – ASU 22, UNT 19. A – 4,631.