DRC..Buffs rough up UNT

[OldTimer]

Buffs rough up UNT

12/24/2002

By Tim MacMahon / Staff Writer

BOULDER, Colo. — North Texas coach Johnny Jones attempted to counter Colorado’s frontcourt power by playing a big lineup Monday night at the Coors Events Center.

AP

Colorado’s David Harrison drives to the basket against North Texas in Boulder, Colo., Monday.

"Well, as big as it gets for us," said Jones prior to tip-off.

It wasn’t big enough to prevent Buffaloes center David Harrison from dominating the undersized Mean Green. Harrison scored 29 points to lead Colorado to an 87-71 victory.

UNT (4-5) was able to limit Harrison’s touches by playing a sagging zone defense for most of the game. The Mean Green just couldn’t do much to stop the 7-foot sophomore once he got his hands on the ball.

Harrison made eight of 10 shots from the floor. He had three dunks — two of which turned into 3-point plays, including a highlight-reel breakaway jam on which he put his elbow inside the rim.

The success Harrison had at the free-throw line was somewhat of a surprise. A 50-percent shooter from the line entering the night, he made 13 of 17 attempts.

"He’s very tough to defend inside," Jones said of Harrison. "He’s even tougher when he goes to the line and knocks free throws down. He hasn’t been shooting free throws well, but it’s just one of those things that happen."

UNT’s three centers — 6-7 Will Smith, 6-9 Unjel Masters and 6-10 Justin Barnett — combined to score 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

"They didn’t have anybody to match my size," Harrison said. "But not many teams we play do."

Harrison shot more free throws than the entire Mean Green. Colorado went 29-of-38 from the line, while UNT was 14-of-16.

Swingman Chris Davis had 20 points and seven assists to lead the Mean Green. He also had seven turnovers, though several were because teammates failed to catch good passes.

Guard Leonard Hopkins, who came off the bench to allow UNT to open with the bigger lineup, added 13 points before limping off the floor late in the game. Hopkins underwent X-rays on his foot following the game, but the results were not available at press time.

Colorado (5-3) took control with a 12-0 run midway through the first half, with Harrison providing half of the points in the spurt. He had 19 points in the first 20 minutes, leading the Buffaloes to a 37-28 halftime lead.

"We turned the ball over a few times, and good teams capitalize on that," Davis said. "Once they went on that run, we could never get back in a rhythm. We’ve got to play smarter as a team and not make so many mistakes."

UNT cut the lead to six early in the second half, but Colorado responded with a run of 11 unanswered points and remained comfortably ahead the remainder of the game.

The Mean Green shot a season-low 34 percent from the floor.

"We’ve just got to do a better job of running through our offense and getting to our fourth and fifth options," Jones said. "We’re not being patient enough with the ball sometimes, and that’s when they have opportunities to make runs. That’s tough to recover from."

Briefly ...

UNT forward Michael DeGrate, who started for the third straight game, scored a season-high 12 points. ... UNT forward Jermaine Green was one point shy of his third double-double of the season. He had a game-high 10 rebounds. ... Colorado walk-on guard Trennis Jones, the nephew of the UNT coach, played the last minute of the game and had an assist.

TIM MACMAHON can be reached at 940-381-9572.