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University of North Texas
New Orleans
Mean Green Run Away From Privateers With Low Block Presence
2/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
NEW ORLEANS (2/11/10) - In its final appearance at New Orleans as Sun Belt foes, North Texas went to the paint and ran away with a 68-46 win over the Privateers on Thursday night.
The Privateers (7-18, 2-12 Sun Belt) will begin making the transition to Division III next season, and were outmatched in the lane by the Mean Green (16-8, 9-5 Sun Belt) at Lakefront Arena. NT forward Eric Tramiel scored 15 points and big-man George Odufuwa posted a game-high 13 rebounds.
It took 13 minutes for a UNO paint player to find the scorebook, and the NT combo held the Privateers big men to 4-of-28 shooting. NT out-rebounded UNO by a margin of 46-34.
With the paint tied up, Josh White had room to work his magic. The Baton Rouge, La., native led all scorers with 18 points and connected on 3-of-6 from 3-point. Tristan Thompson also reached double figures with 11 points.
North Texas led from wire to wire and led by as much as 25 points. An important victory for the Sun Belt standings, the Mean Green vaulted past Louisiana-Lafayette for second in the West Division - just a game behind Arkansas State for the lead.
A 3-pointer from Tramiel on the game's first possession set the mood for the Mean Green, who raced out to a 17-3 advantage. He reached double figures after just 10 minutes and ended the first half with 15.
The Privateers were adamant about keeping George Odufuwa off the score sheet early, sending double teams in the low block to battle the junior. Showing his passing savvy, Odufuwa simply found Josh White on the wing for a pair of 3-pointers and Tramiel down low for a pair of dunks.
But the paint is exactly where NT exerted its will on UNO. It took over 13 minutes for a Privateer forward to score, as the NT defense forced New Orleans to miss nine of its first 10 shots in the game. NT held a 25-16 edge on the glass in the first half, and led 39-21 at the break.
North Texas returns home to face Denver on Saturday night. Tip off from the Super Pit is slated for 7 p.m.
