DRC Article

UNTLifer · December 23, 2002

Mean Green go cold

12/22/2002

By Steve Wilson / For the Denton Record-Chronicle

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — North Texas became the latest in a long line of losers at the Eblen Center, suffering a 75-60 setback Saturday night to Tennessee Tech.

The Golden Eagles (5-4) stretched their home winning streak to 33 games — the second-longest current streak in the nation — with the victory.

"We didn’t talk at all about the streak coming into the game," UNT coach Johnny Jones said. "However, our young men knew that Tennessee Tech is very good at home. We knew that we were going to have to play great defense if we wanted to give ourselves a chance. We thought if we could jump on them early, we could take them out of their offense."

North Texas, one of the better offensive units in the Sun Belt, hit only nine baskets in the second half, including only two of 10 attempts from 3-point land.

After battling tenaciously to pull within two at 47-45 with 10:43 remaining in the game Saturday night, UNT was outscored 28-15 down the stretch.

The Mean Green took the early lead with Chris Davis opening game with a 3-pointer from deep in the corner. The two teams alternated baskets and when Leonard Hopkins nailed a jumper from the paint and Jerome Rogers hit a free throw, North Texas led by three at 21-18 with 6:15 remaining in the first half.

However, that’s when the Golden Eagle offense kicked into gear and Tennessee Tech outscored North Texas 17-5 over the remainder of the first period to put the Mean Green in a 35-26 hole at halftime.

"We came into the game wanting to trap the post and force (Damien) Kinloch and (Greg) Morgan to throw the ball back out," Jones said. "However, we didn’t do a good job of defending the post and that cost us. Their big men also hurt us on the offensive glass."

"Kinloch and Morgan are very good players and we knew we were going to have to stop them tonight," said Davis. "But they did a great job of making the plays when they had to."

The Mean Green opened the final 20 minutes of play with a zone defense that seemed to confuse the Golden Eagles as North Texas started to chip away at the Tennessee Tech advantage. A free throw by Will Smith made it 39-32 with 16:16 on the clock and when Davis converted two charity tosses of his own and Rogers nailed a 3-pointer from almost halfcourt, the Mean Green were within two at 47-45 with 10:43 on the clock.

Davis led the Mean Green with 17 points and six rebounds. He had one assist, two blocks and two steals. Hopkins added 11 points and only two rebounds, while Rogers chipped in with 10 points, three assists and three steals.

As a team, North Texas shot 39 percent from the field, hitting 19 of 48 shots. The Mean Green hit only 22 percent from long range, nailing four of 18 attempts. UNT was outrebounded 44-29.

The Golden Eagles were led in scoring by Antwyon Jones, who came off the bench to get 14 points and pull down 11 rebounds. Cameron Crisp added 13 points and four assists, while Kinloch chipped in with his third double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

Brent Jolly, who went over 1,000 points for his career, had 10 points, three assists and three steals.

As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 43 percent from the field. Tech nailed 27 of 62 attempts, including four of 12 shots from outside the arc.

Now, North Texas must put this game behind them as they hit the road

Sunday morning to Boulder, Colorado to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.

That game is slated for Monday night at 8 p.m.

"We’ve got to put this behind us because we’re going to play another very good team on Monday," Jones said. "Colorado is extremely talented and we’ve got to be ready to play."