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LAFAYETTE, La. - With a win in the quarterfinals over UL-Monroe, North Texas (21-10, 10-8) has advanced to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the first time in its seven years in the league. Tipoff against Middle Tennessee is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST and can be seen on ESPN’s Full Court Package or heard on the Mean Green Radio Network.
A webcast is also available on the Sun Belt website.
By beating the Warhawks, North Texas picked up its 21st win on the year, only one shy of the school record 22 set in 1977-78 and 1975-76. The 21 wins ties for the third most in school history with the 1976-77 team.
North Texas overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to beat the Warhawks, by far the largest of the season. Prior to the Louisiana-Monroe game, the largest halftime deficit overcome by the Mean Green this season was five points against UALR in February. NT’s 12-point halftime deficit is the second largest against a Sun Belt opponent this year, and the third largest overall. North Texas trailed Arkansas State by 17 in January, and Nebraska by 19 back in November.
Quincy Williams recorded his sixth double-double of the season against the Warhawks. The junior poured in 14 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth career double-double, and his fifth of the last 11 games. Williams ranks third in the conference with a 58.3 field goal percentage.
Harold Stewart notched his first career double-double in the win over Louisiana-Monroe. The sophomore reached double figures for only the third time this season, but managed at least 10 points in each of North Texas’ Sun Belt Tournament contests. Stewart tied a career-high with 16 points to go with 11 rebounds against the Warhawks. Stewart had 10 points against Louisiana-Lafayette in the first round of the tournament.
Calvin Watson became North Texas’ single season three-point champ in the win over Louisiana-Monroe. The senior hit a trio of threes to give him 82 for his career, which passed Chad Elstun for the lead. Watson was already the all-time leader with 200 three-pointers in his illustrious career.
Watson is only two points away from the program’s top-10 list in career-points. The senior has 1,205 points in his career, just shy of David Miller’s 1,207. Watson has 485 points this year, only 15 points from becoming the 25th 500-point season in school history.
With the win over Louisiana-Monroe, Johnny Jones tied Jimmy Gales for third in school history with 84 career wins. Jones in his sixth season at North Texas can pass Gales, who led the Mean Green from 1986-93 (seven years). Jones (48.8 percent) ranks second only in school history to Bill Blakeley (61.2) in winning percentage among coaches with 150 career games.
