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University of North Texas
Arkansas State
Mean Green Outlasts Arkansas State In Triple OT, 86-83
1/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
Game Notes & Quotes
DENTON, Texas (1/10/09) In the longest game ever played at The Super Pit, the Mean Green men’s basketball team snapped a five-game losing streak with a thrilling 86-83 triple-overtime victory over Arkansas State Saturday evening.
The last time the Mean Green played 55 minutes of basketball in Denton was in 1980 in a 90-84 loss to Southeast Louisiana.
After the Mean Green struggled the entire night with free throws (19-of-35), Josh White sank the biggest two of the night with 10 seconds remaining in triple overtime to give North Texas the cushion they needed to close out the victory. The Mean Green outscored Arkansas State 9-6 in the third overtime period. Tristan Thompson had a team-high 24 points, including 8-of-9 at the free throw line.
North Texas (9-7, 2-3) now trails the all-time series with Arkansas State (11-5, 3-2) 16-14, but has taken the last five against the Red Wolves.
Dominique Johnson looked to be the hero in double overtime, nailing two three-pointers to give the Mean Green a four-point lead midway through the period. However, Johnson missed two free throws and the Red Wolves tied the game on free throws, sending North Texas into a third overtime
In the first overtime both teams tried to trump each another with one amazing shot after another. In the final minute there were five baskets made, but the most important one was Josh White’s layup with one second left to tie the game 71-71.
Leading 58-57 with 23 seconds left in regulation, White split a pair of free throws to leave open an opportunity for Arkansas State. Donald Boone took advantage, draining a jumper at the top of the key to tie the game 59-59. White had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation but his running layup came up short as time expired, sending the game into overtime.
The biggest sequence of regulation came with 1:22 left in the game when Johnson lost the ball and Arkansas State had a golden opportunity to take the lead. However, Shawn Morgan missed an open court layup and then North Texas’ Kedrick Hogans emphatically rejected Yima Chia-Kur’s follow up attempt, leading to a clutch Tristan Thompson three-pointer to give the Mean Green the 58-55 lead.
North Texas faced their biggest deficit of the evening when they fell behind 47-36 with 12:44 left in the second half as the Red Wolves consistently went to work inside the paint. The Mean Green responded to the adversity, going on 9-1 run capped off by a Johnson three-pointer at the 9:54 mark to pull the Mean Green to within two points.
The Red Wolves jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game after Donald Boone scored five quick points and Arkansas State took advantage of three North Texas turnovers.
North Texas managed to stay close in the first half despite going 0-for-7 from three-point land and converting only 4-of-12 from the free throw line. Tramiel scored six points in the first half and helped the Mean Green battle back to take a 20-19 lead with a layup at the 5:18 mark. However, the Red Wolves closed the first half on a 10-6 run to capture a 29-26 lead at halftime.
The Mean Green will look to carry over their momentum on Thursday, Jan. 15 when they host Denver at 7 p.m. at The Super Pit.
