University of North Texas Athletics
Hopkins Leads Mean Green Past Middle Tennessee, 69-64
2/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DENTON, TX (2/12/04) - Junior guard Leonard Hopkins scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, including two free throws down the stretch, to lead the Mean Green to a 69-64 victory against Middle Tennesse on Thursday evening in the Super Pit.
With the victory, North Texas (11-11) remained tied for second with New Orleans in the West Division of the Sun Belt with a 6-4 conference mark, its best ever record through 10 games in the league. The Mean Green tied the series with Middle Tennessee at 2-2 and extended its home mark to 8-3 at the Super Pit, its best record at home through 11 games since the 2001-02 team was 8-3 as well.
After leading by as much as 12 at the start of the second half, the Mean Green let its lead slip to four, 66-62, after back-to-back three-pointers by the Blue Raiders with 1:22 left in the game. After Rogers made 1-of-2 free throws for NT, Steven Jackson made a basket to bring Middle Tennesse within three, 67-64, with 55 seconds remaining on the clock. The Blue Raiders had not been within three points of the lead since the first half.
North Texas was not able to convert on its next possession, handing the ball back to the Blue Raiders with 21.4 seconds left. The Mean Green defense forced Mike Dean, who led MT with a game-high 26 points, to take a missed three-pointer with a hand in his face. After being fouled, Hopkins sealed the win for the Mean Green with two baskets from the line.
Hopkins was 8-of-18 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line. The junior guard has scored in double figures the last eight games and has made 46 of his last 50 free throws.
"I thought this was a great team effort tonight," said North Texas head coach Johnny Jones. "Marqus Mitchell came in and did a good job against a great player in Mike Dean. He forced Dean to take some tough shots. I thought our overall defense was good. We were able to contain Tommy Gunn and limit his production. Our bench played well tonight also. This was a very tough defensive game for both teams. We only shot 39 percent for the game, while Middle Tennessee shot 34 percent. Our help defense was very strong tonight."
Michael DeGrate posted a double-double for the Mean Green with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The senior led the squad at halftime with nine points. Rogers and Mitchell joined DeGrate in double figures with 10 points each. Both players were 3-of-5 from behind the arc.
"Our goal now is to be in the (Sun Belt) tournament," said NT guard Marqus Mitchell. "We knew if we lost tonight, we couldn’t lose any more this season. We’re just trying to get our foot in the door at the tournament."
