University of North Texas Athletics
Davis, Green Lead UNT To Opening-Round Win Over FIU
3/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
(3/1/02) The win, North Texas’ first-ever SBC Tournament victory, sends the Mean Green up against nationally-ranked Western Kentucky (25-3), the No. 1 seed in the East Division, in a second-round game Saturday night at Lakefront Arena at 9 p.m.
“I’m very proud of the team and their performance,” said North Texas head coach Johnny Jones. “We came out very aggressive and Chris was on. That helped and allowed us to separate ourselves from them. And we were able to sustain the lead.”
Davis, the Sun Belt’s leading scorer and a unanimous all-conference pick, connected on 10 of 14 field goals and went eight of 11 at the free throw line to match his season-best of 32 points which he also scored against Houston. Four of his field goals were three-pointers, leading the Mean Green in a nine-for-18 effort from behind the three-point line.
Green shot seven of 13 from the floor while Leonard Hopkins hit three three-pointers to also finish in double figures with 11 points.
“I wanted to come out and be aggressive and take my shots,” said Davis. “I took them, they went in and that set the tone for my teammates.”
The Mean Green, now 15-13 overall, also assured themselves of a winning record this season.
“We wanted to come out and play well because they had beaten us when we played in Denton,” said Davis, referring to FIU’s 79-78 overtime win at the Super Pit back on Jan. 10. “We came here to win and we did.”
Thanks the hot shooting of Davis in the first half, when he hit five of seven field goals and had 17 points by halftime, the Mean Green gained control of the game early and never let up. North Texas led 46-32 by halftime and the Golden Panthers never got closer than 11 points in the second half.
North Texas, which out-rebounded FIU by a 37-30 margin, also got a solid performance from senior guard Kenneth Mangrum. Mangrum finished with eight points and led the MeanGreen with seven rebounds. Two other players ended with six rebounds, including Green and Unjel Masters.
