On December 13, UNT opened up Sun Belt conference play at home against Louisiana Monroe. The War Hawks came in scuffling, but it was a whole new season for them now, so we expected their best shot. In the first half we received it, as ULM hung right with us. Neither team led by more than five during the opening stanza. At intermission, the Mean Green clung to a tenuous 35-33 lead. Josh White opened the 2nd half with a trey and the floodgates opened for us. When all was said and done, we went on a 23-7 streak and our lead was a commanding 18 points with 10 minutes to go. From there, we worked our lead up to 21 on a Richard Thomas lay up with 7:07 remaining. Once leading comfortably, we coasted home for a 79-62 win. Tristan Thompson led four players (White, Odufuwa & Tramiel) in double figures with 20. It was a well balanced game that seemed to justify our lofty expectations.
Those good feelings were quickly dashed as FIU defeated us in our next contest. The student body was ready for Isaiah Thomas, but our team seemed asleep at the start as FIU built an early lead that they increased to 16. At the half the Golden Panthers held a 38-23 advantage. Coach Jones appeared to have lit a charge in the squad as we exploded with a quick 19-7 run to get back in the game. From there the contest stabilized, and FIU held the lead for most of the rest of regulation. In the waning seconds Josh White came up with a huge trey to tie the game and the patrons in the SuperPit got free basketball. In the OT the Panthers manhandled us and won going away 80-70. This was a bitter pill to swallow as FIU had been playing terribly in the non conference season and was rated near the bottom of the nation in the RPI.
We continued our home stand, but jumped back out of conference with our next two home games. Up first Southeastern Louisiana came calling. The Lions stuck with the Mean Green in the opening minutes, but about midway thru the first 20 minutes the Mean Green began to take control, mostly behind Tristan Thompson's hot shooting. By the break we had built a 43-29 advantage. The Lions stuck with us in the 2nd half, spending most of the stanza between 7-10 points behind - but could never get to within a couple of possessions. It was a hard fought game, but not one in which we were seriously threatened. After having a terrible outing against FIU, Eric Tramiel led the way with 19 (the usual four all being in double figures again) and he dominated the paint against an overmatched SELA frontline.
Next we welcomed in the Texas Southern Tigers. Eric Tramiel aggravated a wrist injury early and we had to play most of the game without him. The team was kind of lost at the start and TSU led nearly the entire first half, until a late run nosed us in front. Tristan and Collin Mangrum both were huge early keeping us in it. The Tigers regained the lead briefly early in the 2nd, but we quickly countered and led most of the way. However, nearly the entire stanza was within two possessions or less. Things began to look bleak when Odufuwa fouled out with less than a minute to go. With the game tied and the clock ticking down - Jacob Holmen (who had been struggling with his stroke and turnovers all evening) hit the game winner as we escaped 71-69. Also having an unusually big game was Shannon Shorter with a dozen. Tristan led all scorers with 21 as he continued to carry the scoring load in this stretch of December games.
NT moved back into Belt play on New Years Eve as we traveled up to Little Rock. The Trojans have really owned us since we joined the conference, and without Eric on the floor, this shaped up to be a real tough one. UALR took a quick five point lead out of the game, but we countered to grab a 17-14 advantage. Near the midpoint half the Trojans switched to a zone which threw us as UALR climbed back in it. Josh had a great game at the point setting up lots of dimes and we took a 45-37 advantage to the locker room. A fight nearly broke out on the outset of the 2nd half, which appeared to wake UALR up. By the 11 minute mark they had pulled to within three and the stretch would resemble the classic UALR/NT down to the wire affair. With time dwindling, and us trailing by 3, Tristan Thompson swished a gigantic trey and then Josh knocked one in as well to put us up 78-75 with 40 seconds to go. From there we managed to hold on for an 83-78 victory. Thompson and Odufuwa both put in 20+ points and White and Holmen had great passing games (Holmen recorded 7 assists with only one turnover). This put Coach Jones in rarified air, as he moved into sole possession of #2 all time in wins at NT (passing the legendary Coach Blakeley) and behind only Coach Shands.
We were starting to feel good after a three game win streak, but that was short lived as NT got crushed in Jonesboro. ASU jumped on us 12-2 at the outset and though we fought back in the first half, we never could pull even. Leading 32-22 at the half the Red Wolves stepped on our throat in the 2nd and punished us. The final was 71-56 and to be honest, it might not have been that close. Tristan Thompson had a nice game, (18 points) and Odufuwa held his own on the glass, but otherwise we were outclassed all night by a younger, hungrier team that was about to go on a torrid streak.
The hard luck continued as NT traveled to ULL. The Cajuns took the early lead and built on the advantage throughout the first half. By the break we were down 34-22. In the second we kept trying to climb back into the game (cutting the lead to 3 at several points), but we could never hit the equalizer. Josh White hit a trey with 11.8 seconds to go to climb within 72-70, but two free throws by ULL put the game away. A cosmetic layup by Shannon Shorter made the Final 74-72 Cajuns. George Odufuwa led our attack with 15 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. White and Thomas both got 14 and Tristan also reached double figures. But playing without Tramiel and the early hole we dug ourselves, proved too much to overcome.
NT returned to Denton needing a win desperately. Fortunately for us, UNO was up next. Used to be the Privateers had a hex on us, but we had started to reverse that last season, and once they found out this year they were moving down to Division 3 shortly - they seemingly lost a lot of their will. Josh White had 21, Tristan Thompson had 18 - and won easily 71-57. The first half was close until the final five minutes, but once we started to get working margin, we quickly pushed the advantage up to 20. It was a great way to for us to "get well" before some of our more challenging contests.
The Mean Green traveled to Troy in their next outing. The Trojans were leading the East - so this was a good measuring stick for us to see how we were progressing. Troy got off to a quick start and led by a couple of buckets early. Eric Tramiel was back in the lineup (off the bench) after a four game absence and made a big impact with 11. Troy's 2-3 zone bothered us, as we shot under 40% from the field. However, the Trojans were having a difficult time figuring out our defense as well. We managed to take a 33-26 lead into intermission, and what would become a season long theme this proved pivotal as we were undefeated on the season holding the advantage at the break. Led by Tristan Thompson coming off the bench to provide a spark, our reserves dominated the game at times and held a 34-13 lead over Troy's. Josh White also poured in 18 points (including 3 from deep) as our two guards controlled the action. With the game still in doubt in the final minute, Tristan grabbed a huge steal to help preserve the lead. It wasn't a for sure thing until Brandon Hazzard's shot at the equalizer came short at the buzzer and we could breath easy with the 75-72 victory. This was a huge statement after our earlier struggles on the road and pulled us to within shouting distance of the Division leaders.
Arkansas State made their return trip to the SuperPit in our following contest. We got off to a decent start and led 16-12 early. However, ASU then went on a huge run and eventually went up 36-24. NT went on a bit of a run to climb to within 6 at the half. However, that was short lived as ASU went on another big run and were never seriously challenged in the second half. The closest we could get was 64-57; and even that didn't last long as ASU immediately knocked in a 3 to go back up by double figures. Despite yet another double double by Odufuwa (his 6th), and three other players in double figures we didn't play particularly well. Our shooting percentage was terrible (especially from beyond the arc) and we could do little to stop ASU's young guns. We had to think about trying to get the 3 seed after this game, since the West appeared to be a long shot at best.
It was back to the road for our next game. USA was also having an up and down season to this point, and it shaped up to be a struggle as both teams needed a win desperately to keep high seeding hopes alive. The Jags got off to a great start and led by 11 early. North Texas recovered, found another gear, and outscored USA 15-4 to go to the locker rooms tied at 38. In the 2nd half we rode Eric Tramiel as he carried us home with his offense and defense. Up four late, Tramiel blocked a 3 point attempt to seal the win. The final was 86-78 as we scored another big 'W' away from Denton. Tramiel was fantastic with 25 points and 13 boards. George Odufuwa also cleaned up in the front court as he got 16 & 16. Shorter, White, and Thompson all got into double figures as well.
We were now at the halfway point in league play. Our record stood at 5-4 (overall at 12-7) in the middle of the pack for seeding. Early losses had hurt significantly, but we were starting to become healthier. Our bench was still arguably the deepest in the conference - even with Richard Thomas becoming less and less of a cog, with his mind on his ailing father. Everything seemed to be pointing towards us making a run, though the streak that awaited us couldn't have been predicted.
Recap #1 for 2009-2010 Season
Written by Courtland
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
The North Texas basketball team entered the 2009-2010 campaign with high expectations. The previous season ended with a closely fought contest to WKU in the SBC Semifinals. That Hilltoppers team went onto the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament, so many felt we were very close to a breakthrough campaign ourselves. Coach Jones seemed to have been building towards this season, with a huge Junior class, as well as a true Senior leader in Eric Tramiel. The conference coaches seemed to agree with the overall consensus nabbing us as the favorite to win the West in the annual preseason poll. Despite this, the season didn't get off to a promising start as crucial reserve Kedrick Hogans was injured before a game was played and had to be red shirted. Dominique Johnson also was banged up and would be rested early.
The season opened on November 13th, 2009 against Cameron in the SuperPit. We seemed rusty at the outset as the visiting team got out to an 8-3 advantage. Eventually we worked ourselves back in the game and tied the game at 18. From there we cruised the rest of the first half building a 48-31 advantage at the break. In the second stanza we could never drop the hammer down on Cameron, as they closed to within 11 at one point. However we never were seriously threatened and won going away (80-62). Josh White led four players in double figures with 19 points. George Odufuwa had a highly memorable night as he poured in a dozen, and grabbed 24 rebounds - the most by a North Texas player since 1978.
UTA has been a thorn in our side in recent years. Because of this, our early season game with the Mavs was significant to our fan base (if not the team itself). UTA got off to a good start and led throughout the first half as they forced us into 13 turnovers. Down 6 at the break JJ and the staff made some adjustments and we went on a quick 6-2 run to close to 42-40 forcing the Mavericks into a timeout. From there both teams traded leads thru the next couple of media timeouts before UTA seemingly took control, 76-69, with 4:57 remaining. The Mean Green responded with a 10-1 run and the two teams grinded out the last couple of minutes. Freshman Jacob Holmen hit one of two free throws with 15 seconds remaining and the game went to overtime as the Mavs missed a shot at the buzzer. In the overtime neither team could get ahead by much, and again it came down to a team needing a free throw to tie. This time with NT up one, there was a scrum on the floor and Josh White was called for a loose ball infraction. Mavs split their FT attempts and the game went to double OT. The second overtime was just as exhausting. The Mean Green briefly got a four point edge, but UTA fought back. Up one with 12.5 seconds left, transfer Shannon Shorter made one of two at the line giving us a 101-99 lead. UTA missed and we had a 101-99 victory.
Josh White was incredible with 35 points for the game. He seemingly willed us to the 'W' at times. Also giving us big minutes were the freshmen Alzee Williams and Holmen. Odufuwa had another double, double (he would have many as the season progressed) leading the squad once again with 11 boards. The only negative was DJ, who aggravated an injury and only played a few minutes. This victory felt good as we moved to 2-0 before traveling north to Stillwater.
Our three game series with OklahomaState had reached the rubber match. The initial two were memorable affairs (especially the first) and this one looked to be the same. We got off to a good start and led 8-6 early. The two teams stayed close throughout most of the first half. However, with NT leading 28-27, OSU went on a 17-5 run to close out the half. We countered well in the 2nd, at one point climbing to within 2, after a three pointer by Collin Mangrum. OSU's guards killed us though (especially James Anderson who finished with 25), and despite Eric Tramiel and George Odufuwa both having strong games, we lost 82-68.
NT next welcomed the Jackson State Tigers to the SuperPit. Once again Odufuwa and Tramiel led the way as our frontline superiority slowly wore down JSU. At the break we led by 7 and slowly inched the gap to 15. The Tigers made a run and closed to within four late. We recovered and held on for a fairly workman-like 68-58 victory. Richard Thomas joined Eric and George in double figures.
The Mean Green made a trip out to Boise, Idaho on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for our next game. Josh White, who had been shut down since the UTA game, had 23 points to lead the way as we battled the travel and the thin air. The game got off to a rough start for Odufuwa, as he was in early foul trouble, but Cam Spencer, Holmen, and Ben Knox all filled in admirably. Without his usual partner in crime, Tramiel still had a good game with 14 big points as he tried to counter BSU's Robert Arnold down low. Despite 16 first half points from White, we trailed by 1 at the break. In the second half NT was ahead by 5 when BoiseState went on an 11-2 streak and led thereafter. The final was 79-73, but it was a game that we really felt we should have won.
NT returned to Denton for a weekday matinee game against The University of the Southwest. North Texas controlled the game throughout despite an incredible game by Demetrius Evans of the Mustangs. Evans lit up the Mean Green for 40. Otherwise, NT played good defense. Josh White's 21 lead four players in double figures as we shot 56% from the field and won handily 91-62. It was a good confidence builder as we were traveling for one last pre conference trip before the games really started to mean something.
First up on the two game swing was Rice. The Owls roared out of the gate, grabbing a 15-6 lead. Dominique Johnson was inserted in the lineup and our fortunes changed. He spearheaded a 14-3 run and we took a 32-27 lead into the break. The second half was a true struggle as there were ten ties and lead changes. Neither team could get much separation as the game winded down. Trailing by three with less than five minutes to go, Collin Mangrum converted a huge 3-point play. From there Josh White took it home as he scored 11 of our final 12 (mostly from the charity stripe) to put the game away. After Rice missed on a pair of late free throws we had survived and their desperation three at the buzzer was only cosmetic. The final was 64-62 and things looked bright once again in Mean Green Nation. Unfortunately, the news was not all good. DJ, despite having a team high 15, was injured and knocked out for the season. Thankfully, he was granted a medical red shirt, but our depth at PG really took a hit. Josh would have to shoulder even more responsibility from here on out.
In our last game before heading into conference, we traveled to College Station to take on a Texas A&M team that was ranked in the Top 20. We opened up well as Eric Tramiel scored our first 9 points and we led by a bucket. We managed to keep the advantage throughout most of the opening stanza until a late 18-2 Aggie run broke the game open and A&M had a 40-25 lead at intermission. Our team responded with a gutsy 2nd half as we never let the Aggies get comfortable. Our 3's weren't falling, but we held our own in the paint. Despite our shooting woes, when Junior Richard Thomas knocked in a trey with under four minutes to go, we had shaved the lead to 8. We could get no closer and the Aggies held on 75-65.
Heading into conference season we stood at 5-3. We would jump out of conference for games later in the season -- but Sunbelt play was upon us and it looked as though we were getting things figured out. Some setbacks were waiting on us just beyond the horizon.
'08-09 Season Recap Part 4
Written by Courtland
Friday, 11 September 2009
North Texas opened the Sunbelt Tournament with a home contest against the Florida Atlantic Owls.As the 4 seed we drew the 13 – and therefore it was supposed to be an easy match up.Early on FAU stuck within striking distance, but two surges – both led in part by massive dunks (one by Odufuwa the other McCoy) gave the Mean Green a comfortable 11 point lead at intermission.Mike Jarvis got his team rejuvenated at the break and the Owls slowly whittled the deficit down.Late in the game FAU pulled within a bucket, but a huge board by Eric Tramiel led to some game icing free throws by Dominique Johnson and we prevailed 79-73.The game was won in no small measure by our shooting from the charity stripe as we connected on 29-35 for the evening.Josh White was also huge with 23 (and Tramiel added 21 himself).We traveled to Hot Springs with a lot of confidence.
Waiting for us in Arkansas was Middle Tennessee.After having split the two games in conference action, no one really knew what to expect for the rubber match.North Texas jumped on the Blue Raiders early 7-2 and never trailed.Throughout the first half NT methodically built its lead.We were extremely aggressive, which paid off in numerous free throw attempts. Once again our excellent shooting from the line helped tremendously (we hit our first 20).Josh once more came up large, with 27.Tristan Thompson was our second threat in this game as he dropped in 19.NT led by double digits throughout most of the stanza, until a late charge by MTSU cut the lead to 6 with under a minute to go.But NT closed out the 88-79 victory at the stripe.This game marked our 20th victory of the season, only the seventh time in school history that we achieved that plateau.It also set up a semifinal with league heavyweight Western Kentucky in what looked to be a classic.
In our first match up with the Hilltoppers, we led through most of the contest before WKU nipped us at the tail end. So we went in with a lot of confidence that we could beat Western.Things got started poorly as the Toppers got out to a 9-2 lead.However we quickly responded with an 11-4 run of our own, tying the game at 13.From there the two teams stayed close, until a 13-0 run by the Mean Green pushed us out to an 8 point advantage.Not only was our long range shooting working, but Harold Stewart was keying our defense AND offense in the paint as an injury hampered Tramiel played few minutes.By intermission WKU had clawed back to three.The battle was joined once more.The second stanza stayed close throughout.The Toppers eventually built a 5 point lead (perhaps helped by Collin Dennis, our best lockdown defender being injured early in the half) with around six minutes left but the Mean Green forced two straight turnovers and tied the game at 58.Then, as pulses quickened on both benches, AJ Slaughter once again made the difference.On consecutive trips down the floor he nailed treys pushing WKU’s lead to 6.The lead grew, but Adam McCoy lit up the scoreboard in the final few minutes as we put a late scare in the Toppers. But their free throws iced their 77-70 victory.
One could argue that in some ways this might have been the best team Coach Jones has had.We didn’t win the conference race, but we had more wins in league play than any of his previous ones.They also found a way to win the majority of their league road games.We also had six players that scored 20 or more in at least one game. Historically NT passed the 1000th victory in program history.
We lost four key seniors to the squad.Justin Howerton while never a full time contributor had several memorable games in his career – including against WKU in the 2007 Sunbelt tournament.Collin Dennis had a tremendous Junior campaign and though he had major ups and downs in his Senior season still had some great games.He was also our best defender on the perimeter, proving instrumental in our last defensive stand against NMSU early in the year.Adam McCoy was perhaps one of the most explosive players who has ever suited up for the Mean Green.We only saw glimpses of his potential until late this year, where he looked all-world.Nonetheless some of his late season heroics will be talked about for years to come.Finally Harold Stewart – always a favorite of mine.He was the ultimate glue guy, rarely putting up scoring numbers.But if you needed someone to go after that loose ball, hack an opposing player, or take the key charge, he was your man.He DID have some truly fantastic offensive performances, especially in the 2007 Sunbelt Tournament where he keyed 2 of our victories (especially the epic overtime game against ULM).Stewart and Howerton also went down as the all-time winningest players in program history.
As we look ahead to the ’09-’10 season expectations are high.This appears like it could be a truly historic year for NT basketball provided we have few injuries.Our squad is stacked with junior and senior contributors.The season opener against Cameron can’t come soon enough for this fan.
