Mean Green's Hot Shooting Continues Against Centenary

Box Score

DENTON (12/20/07) Powered by a huge first half, the North Texas men’s basketball team blew past Centenary, 76-54, on Thursday night at the Super Pit.

The Mean Green tied the third-best 10-game start in school history with an 8-2 record. NT improved to 6-0 at home and trails the series with the Gentleman, 11-10. Centenary falls to 7-5.

For the second straight game, four Mean Green players scored in double figures. Dez Willingham led all scorers and tied a season high with 14 points. Keith Wooden and Collin Dennis posted double-figure numbers for the second consecutive game with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Tristan Thompson scored in double digits for the fourth time with 10 points.

The Mean Green continued to have a hot hand shooting from the field. North Texas shot over 48 percent from the field for the third straight game. Against Centenary, NT was 27-for-56 for the game and shot 63.3 percent from the field in the first half.

Willingham led the explosive North Texas offense from the start, scoring eight of NT’s first 14 points to put the Mean Green ahead, 14-4. The closest Centenary came to the North Texas lead was five points, 17-12, before the Mean Green went on a 24-6 run.

Quincy Williams scored four unanswered points towards the end of the run with a dunk and then got around a Centenary defender on a breakaway for a layup. Willingham capped the run with his fourth three-pointer of the night to extend NT’s lead to 41-18 with 3:33 left in the first half.

In the first half, Willingham was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from three-point range.

North Texas held Centenary to 24 points at the half, the fewest points allowed since the Cameron game. The Mean Green held Cameron to 21 points in the first period. NT also controlled the boards, 21-10.

Williams led the Mean Green on the boards with nine rebounds. He contributed nine points on the offensive side. With its 41-30 advantage on the boards, North Texas has out-rebounded every opponent this year.

The Centenary defense tightened up in the second half, holding the Mean Green to 29 points. The Gentleman outscored the Mean Green in the second half by one point, 30-29.

North Texas opens conference play on the road with a match-up against Denver on Saturday, Dec. 22 at 5 pm.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Collin Dennis

Tristan Thompson

Quincy Williams

Dez Willingham

Keith Wooden

Upcoming Events

University of North Texas Athletics