By: Alex Bustillo
@txsportsblog on Twitter
North Texas was coming off three straight losses to close the regular season and had to wait for their first round opponent to eliminate FIU in the first day of the Conference USA tournament. Turns out the Mean Green were more than ready to dominate against an inferior opponent in Middle Tennessee.
Both teams shot the ball extremely well from the three point line to start the game and that kept the Blue Raiders in it in the first half as they shot close to 60% on 7-12 shooting. Mean Green ended the first half on a 10-0 run after forcing some turnovers and converting from deep late to take a 45-36 halftime lead.
Coach Grant McCasland emphasized how important it was to share the basketball early and have Javion Hamlet be aggressive on the offensive end. Javion answered the bell, scoring 21 points, sharing to the tune of 11 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds. Thomas Bell added 19 points on 7-9 shooting and 4-4 from long range. When asked about the minutes for his starters, Coach McCasland said, "yes, it's winning time, it's March."
Middle Tennessee cooled off significantly in the second half shooting 7-24 and 1-9 from three. UNT out-rebounded Middle Tennessee 33-25 and were able to defend without fouling and extended their lead as the Blue Raiders at times went 5 minutes without converting a FG. North Texas outscored Middle Tennessee in the paint, 38-14.
North Texas finished the game shooting 55% from the field and 63% from deep to pull away late, 76-56, advancing to face ODU in the quarterfinals tomorrow night. Old Dominion finished the season with a three point loss to Western Kentucky on their way to a 2 seed in the East. Tomorrow night's game is a 9pm CST start time at The Star.
Comments