| Recap for 2009-2010 Season; Part2 |
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| Written by Courtland | |
| Thursday, 10 June 2010 | |
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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.
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