North Texas traveled to Bowling Green, Kentucky to begin the second half of the Sunbelt slate. Western Kentucky, as usual, was having a solid season and would be a stern test. We had a fantastic opening stanza as the guys in green built the early 6-0 lead up to 11. NT eventually took a nine point advantage into halftime. The second half also started off promisingly, and we held our lead until nearly the end. With around three minutes remaining an AJ Slaughter led comeback, nosed the Hilltoppers in front. Collin Dennis had a shot at the equalizer in the final seconds, but it rimmed out. WKU iced the 71-67 loss away at the stripe. It was a hard pill to deal with, considering we had controlled the play for most of the contest. Dominique Johnson, Josh White, and Eric Tramiel all had solid efforts, making the defeat sting even worse.

We next rolled into Mobile to take on South Alabama’s Jaguars. This time, USA had the good early start and we were left to adjust. The first half was mostly filled by the Jags getting a large lead, followed by us cutting the deficit, with USA putting together another run. In a way, we were fortunate to only be down three at the break. Eric Tramiel carried us as he posted a double double in that first stanza. USA lead nearly the entire second half, until a tip in by George Odufuwa with just over 90 seconds, put us in front. It looked like we were going to be able to steal the road victory, but USA hit a clutch shot, drew a charge, and then hit another shot on successive trips. Even so, Collin Dennis once again had a shot to tie the game, but it rimmed out and we lost another heartbreaker; 68-65.

The team returned home to Denton at 5-6 in the league and knew it needed a great stretch run. The next game versus ULL would show what we were capable of. From the opening tip the team stepped on the Cajuns throat and didn’t let them breathe. In the first half we shot nearly 70% from the floor and took a 28 point lead into intermission. We weren’t quite as lights out in the second half, but were never seriously threatened. NT coasted home with a 92-74 victory. Tristan Thompson lead four players in double figures with 24, Johnson dished out a career-high 7 dimes, and we played suffocating defense until the final few minutes. We figured if we could keep this momentum going, we’d be tough to defeat.

Up next was our nemesis from the Crescent City. This time, we wouldn’t let the Privateers work their voodoo on us. Once again, we jumped on our opponent and tried to put them out of their misery right away. Collin Dennis put up 11 first half points, leading the way as the Mean Green took a quick lead – eventually building it to 17 by the break. The second half began with more of the same as the lead eventually grew to 24 – mostly led by Tramiel 20 in the paint, before UNO showed a lot of heart. New Orleans slowly worked their way back into the game eventually cutting the lead down to nine. In the final moments we had to show our mettle from the stripe as they fouled us continuously, but we held on relatively easily by our standards. The 79-69 final put us back over 500 in league play and we began jockeying for seeding in Hot Springs.

NT next traveled to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to take on the Blue Raiders. This game was televised, so everyone with the Sunbelt package could see what we were capable of. The Mean Green had never won in their arena before, but that seemed to be motivation. NT exploded out of the gate like we had been doing at home – but to do so on the road was unexpected. By halftime, the lead was 19. McCoy had a true breakout game with 24, Josh put up 26 – and we did little wrong. By the end of the contest, the “Murph” had mostly emptied out as the authoritative 89-78 final did not truly represent how dominant we had been.

We returned home from the one game trip flying high. ULM visited, and for the first time in a few games – we did not punch them out early. Instead, we waited until the second half to put on the crushing run. After leading by 5 at intermission, NT shot 57% in the 2^nd half – led by McCoy’s 20. Adam McCoy was in the middle of one of the best recent stretches by any NT player. He had plenty of help in this game as we had 6 total players in double figures. With that kind of balance, we figured to be a tough out for anyone come conference tournament time. As the games progressed, our apparent seeding was improving – and if UALR went into a tailspin we had a remote chance of winning the Western Division.

Our shot to knock off UALR ourselves came in our next contest…Senior Night. Our four seniors all got the start and we held a lead after the first timeout. After that, we couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. We barely shot over 25% for the game even with McCoy putting up 15 points. In the final few minutes some late bombs by Tristan Thompson and McCoy got us close, but the 58-54 loss seemed much bigger than the margin indicated. Their defensive system has really shut us down in recent years, as they have been one of the most consistent Belt schools in regular season play.

We now turned our focus on getting the 4^th seed for the Belt Tournament. We traveled to ASU for a rematch of the earlier 3OT classic. This game would not be nearly as competitive. Eric Tramiel got us off to a fast start and from there Adam McCoy took over. The senior eventually totally 29 points as we put the Red Wolves to bed by half. Dom and Josh also had solid efforts. The second half we basically toyed with ASU (final 91-82), as we prepared for the final game in the regular season.  There was a 3 way tie for the 4^th seed, with Denver just a game back. The seeding for half the conference came down to the last regular season game.

Only one Sunbelt school had won in Denver leading into the finale. The mile high air, plus the patient system the Pioneers run is murder on the lungs. This figured to be a real battle on paper. Adam McCoy didn’t get the memo though, as once again the senior guard exploded – this time for 26. He hit five treys – including one from nearly half court. He also threw down one of the more emphatic dunks of the season. Eric Tramiel also had a big game, recording yet another double double effort. Dominique was really becoming a solid point – running our offense smoothly. After winning six of our last seven – we were a solid dark horse pick to win the conference tournament.

After a season of wild momentum swings, the guys had really found each other by seasons end. Our 11-7 conference mark was the best for a JJ led squad. NT had at least six viable scoring options that could score 15 or more on a given night. We may not have been the favorite heading into the conference tourney – but many of the top contenders feared us.

It was now time to begin Sunbelt play. On December 18th the Mean Green traveled to Lafayette to meet the Ragin’ Cajuns. The squad jumped on ULL early 8-2, and then near the end of the half exploded to take a 23-10 lead. The Cajuns whittled that advantage down to a bucket early in the second stanza. Another huge run (16-2) effectively put the game away and we coasted to the 78-64 victory. Tristan Thompson put up 27 huge points leading the way, but Josh White and Eric Tramiel also got into double figures. After this game, spirits were truly buoyed. Near disaster was just around the corner.

NT continued the road swing down into New Orleans to take on the Privateers. Once more UNO gave us fits as Kyndall Dykes notched 25 points in the 71-66 defeat. Josh had 19 and Dominique Johnson put up a bakers dozen, but shooting woes did us in. The first half especially was brutal as NT barely made 30% of its field goal attempts. Meanwhile the Privateers shot over 50% for the game. The contest broke our four game win streak and took some of the luster off the ULL game for many.

The Mean Green returned back to the friendly confines of the SuperPit where our metroplex nemesis UT-Arlington was awaiting us. They have owned us in recent years and this time was no different. Despite shooting poorly once again, we had a four point lead at intermission. UTA shot a sizzling 56% from the field for the game and eventually widened out a close contest to 11 with four minutes remaining. We made a final push coming to within 78-75 with seven seconds left, but Dom missed a 3 and UTA hit free throws to pout the game out of reach for the 80-75 final score. Josh White spearheaded our free throw shooting which was a sparkling 12 of 13 for the game. Collin Dennis led the Mean Green with 21 as he carried us in the 2nd half, but it was not enough.

NT ended 2008 on New Years Eve with a tilt against Middle Tennessee. MTSU was the preseason favorite to win the league, and despite a rocky non conference performance, was starting to round into form. Once again we had trouble from the floor in the first half, but held a tenuous one point lead at intermission. Tristan Thompson and Collin Mangrum each had 19 points – most of which was in the second stanza. Late in the game MTSU held a two point advantage, but a key lay up by Tramiel sent the game into overtime. In the extra session MTSU converted two 3 point plays and we never recovered, eventually losing 89-80.

Another road trip commenced – this time to the state of Arkansas. First up were the Razorbacks who we played in Little Rock. An Alltel Arena crowd of 15,687 came out for the game and saw the Mean Green grab an early 16-13 advantage. Arkansas took the lead soon after; before NT exploded with 15-0 run, which gave us a lead going into the half. The Razorbacks were led by Michael Washington’s 34 big ones, as he led a 2nd half effort that put us away 86-75. It was a good effort by the Mean Green as we dropped in 9 treys, but it wasn’t enough.

Our following game was also in Little Rock – this time against UALR. As is typical with recent battles with Little Rock – it was a nail biter. The 78-77 overtime loss was devastating in many ways. For the 5th game in a row we lost a contest we felt was winnable. This time NT jumped out to an early lead & led at halftime. UALR grabbed the advantage in the 2nd, but Eric Tramiel's 21 led NT - as we never let the Trojans get away. Josh White hit a big three, plus the harm, to draw us within a point late in regulation. After Tramiel gave us the lead shortly thereafter, UALR tied the game sending to OT. In the extra session, we jumped out to a six point lead but frittered it away. Then with the game tied at 78 and 1.9 seconds to go UALR’s Steven Moore drew a foul and hit one of two for the winning margin. This marked our 5th straight defeat and exasperation was setting in.

We returned home to Denton knowing that the season was on the brink of unraveling completely. The Arkansas State Red Wolves came calling, in what was arguably the most exciting game of our season. After a relatively standard first half, ASU led at 29-26 at intermission. ASU put a run on us early in the 2nd and suddenly we were down 11 with just under thirteen minutes remaining. NT responded with a 9-1 run capped by a Johnson trey. From there we eventually managed to grab the lead, and in a loose ball scrum Tristan Thompson hit a huge shot to give us a 58-55 lead with 1:22 to go. However the game was far from over, as ASU tied the game at 59 with fewer than 20 seconds to go (after Josh only went 1 of 2 at the stripe in a opportunity to try and ice the game). In overtime both teams tried to knock each other out, but a late lay up by Josh moved the game into a 2nd OT. In Double overtime, Dominique drilled a couple of gigantic treys and seemed to give us an insurmountable lead – however free throw shooting (which was a problem for us all game as we barely hit over 50%) came back to bite us and the game moved into a 3rd overtime. Finally in the 3rd extra session, Josh White put the game away for us at the stripe - as we survived 86-83 in a game for the ages. It tied a 1984 contest with SW Louisiana as the longest game in SuperPit history.

Our next game in Denton might have been even more remarkable. Denver dominated the first half in every conceivable way, building a 21 point lead at one point. Down 17 at halftime, to a school that hadn’t won a true road game in years, was a stunner. In the second half an early 21-7 run by the Mean Green vaulted us back into the contest (and brought the SuperPit crowd to its feet), but Denver wouldn’t back down. They kept us at bay until just under 5 minutes when we took our first lead. Collin Dennis led the way with 14, but Dom’s 8 point burst in just over a minute late in the game put us over the top. Once we grabbed the lead we didn’t relinquish it, and held on for a 69-62 win.

After the last two dramatic games, the following game against FAU proved to be remarkably “normal.” After feeling each out in the opening minutes, NT got a nine point margin led by Eric Tramiel’s 14 first half points (on his way to 19). FAU used a big run to tie the game at 47 with about ten minutes remaining, but NT then had a 10-0 run of its own that effectively put the game away. NT won comfortably 69-60. In addition to Tramiel; Dennis and Johnson also ended up in double figures on the night. Additonally, Tramiel pulled down 13 boards – in what would be the first of many double doubles in the weeks to come.

Up next was a trip to Miami to challenge to the FIU Panthers. Our guards didn’t seem to make the trip at times, as we struggled from the perimeter. However Odufuwa, Kedrick Hogans, and Tramiel heeded the call as they each had big games. Eric especially came up with huge with 22 points, 15 boards, and one authoritative dunk that changed the momentum of the game with about 12 minutes remaining. Before that, FIU had gotten the better of it, afterwards we controlled the game, eventually holding on for an 80-75 victory. It was a huge road victory and our 4th straight overall. The five game losing streak seemed behind us.

NT returned to Denton to take on Troy. Troy and NT had been the two hottest schools in the conference in recent weeks; so many teams watched our game with interest. The first half was a nip and tuck affair, which the Trojans led by 1 after twenty minutes. Once again we had trouble shooting from the perimeter and our guys on the inside had to do a lot of work. Odufuwa pulled down 18 boards and Eric Tramiel led the scoring with 19. We had a 67-63 lead after an Adam McCoy led run (he went 5-10 from the behind the arc the rest of the team 2-16), but Troy wasn’t done and ended the game 14-2 charge. The final was 77-69 and hurt our momentum as the first half of league play ended.

Midway thru the Sunbelt slate we stood at 5-4(12-8 overall) and behind UALR. We still had designs on winning the West, but those were becoming dimmer by the day as UALR refused to lose. Our early strength had been our backcourt, but now the interior was carrying us. We sensed if both worked simultaneously we’d be tough to beat. The remainder of the season would bare that out.