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University of North Texas
LSU
Mean Green Routs LSU
12/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
BATON ROUGE, La. - North Texas' Johnny Jones couldn't have scripted his homecoming any better. In his first return to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as the NT head coach, the former LSU point guard and his Mean Green routed the Tigers, 75-55.
The Mean Green (10-2) led by as many as 24 in its first win over an SEC opponent in 24 tries. Josh White, a Baton Rouge native, paced NT with 19 points as North Texas held LSU (7-5) to 36.5 percent shooting.
Jones helped the Tigers go to the Final Four as a freshman in 1981, and later did the same as an assistant coach in 1986. In his 10th year at North Texas, Jones spent 13 years as an LSU assistant under the legendary Dale Brown.
The win will go down as one of Jones' signature wins, along with the 2007 and 2010 Sun Belt Tournament title game victories. The last time NT won on the road against a "big-six" conference opponent came in the 1991-92 season-opener at Texas Tech.
"I'm extremely proud of our guys," Jones said. "I think this is a testament to what our team has accomplished over the last few years. The SEC is a tough league, and they've been to Final Fours in this gym. We beat a quality basketball team in LSU tonight."
Tristan Thompson also reached double figures for NT with 14 points, while George Odufuwa and Dominique Johnson both scored 11.
A Shannon Shorter 3-pointer put NT up 5-2 just over two minutes into the match, and a contested Ben Knox baseline layup held that lead at 7-4 just a minute later.
On fire early, NT was shooting 53.8 percent from the floor over the first 10 minutes thanks in large part to White. The senior splashed home two runners off the right block to ignite the NT crowd behind the Mean Green bench.
Another Louisiana native, New Orleans' Kedrick Hogans, controlled the glass in the early going. He grabbed five boards in the game's opening 10 minutes, which allowed a Dominique Johnson layup to put the Mean Green ahead 21-16.
George Odufuwa ensured that the rout was on late in the half, as NT outscored the Tigers 16-2 over the final six minutes of the first. "Mr. Double-Double" hit NT's final three buckets and the Mean Green went into the break on top, 42-26.
NT only stretched that lead in the second half thanks to a 40-28 edge in points in the paint.
North Texas returns to action after the Christmas break against Oklahoma Panhandle State. Tip off from the Super Pit on Dec. 28 is slated for 7 p.m.
