Thursday, February 13
Denton
7:00 PM
University of North Texas
-179,112 CUSA
81
vs
72
Charlotte
-1410,85 CUSA
1
2
F
Charlotte
29
43
72
North Texas
33
48
81
Photo by: Ben Stewart
Domination Down Low
2/13/2020 9:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DENTON — The first place North Texas men's basketball team stayed atop the league standings and improved to 11-2 in conference with a 81-72 win Thursday night over Charlotte in the Super Pit.
The Mean Green (17-9, 11-2 C-USA) outscored the 49ers (14-10, 8-5 C-USA) 46-18 in the paint and had five players score in double figures. Umoja Gibson led UNT with 20 points, his sixth game this year with 20 or more points.
North Texas, who had already clinched a spot in the top pod of Conference USA Bonus Play prior to Thursday, couldn't quite secure the No. 1 spot as Western Kentucky beat UTEP 67-62 on Thursday night, but a victory Saturday over Old Dominion will. Thursday, UNT beat a Charlotte team who they could see again in Bonus Play. The 49ers are in a tie for fourth-place after Thursday's results.
"Charlotte is a real good team, that has a great offense and sticks to its principles," said junior Zachary Simmons. "But we won the game in the paint."
Simmons helped UNT open the game on a 7-0 run and hold a lead for the entire first half as he made his first four field goal attempts all from inside the paint. He'd finish with 17 points and make a season-high eight field goal attempts, all from inside the paint. North Texas is now 9-1 on the year when Simmons makes five or more field goals. The one loss came at Dayton who is now ranked No. 6 in the nation. During his nearly three full seasons at North Texas, the Mean Green are 22-5 when Simmons makes five or more field goals.
"He's huge for us," said redshirt junior guard Javion Hamlet of Simmons. "We spaced (Charlotte) out and it opened up from there."
With 13 minutes left in the game, Charlotte took its first lead of the game after making one of its 13 3-pointers. The lead didn't last long, however, as back-to-back Jame Reese 3-pointers with just over 11 minutes to go tied the game at 50 and then gave the Mean Green the lead and stopped any 49ers run.
North Texas would extend its lead to as much as 10 before settling for the nine-point victory.
As usual, Hamlet took over the game late. He scored five points in the final four minutes but had three key assists as he finished with 15 points, five assists and zero turnovers Thursday. It was the point guard's sixth game in conference with zero turnovers, seventh on the year total.
Joining Hamlet in closing out the 49ers was Gibson. The redshirt sophomore scored nine points in the final five minutes, including a clutch layup which he was fouled on and converted the and-one opportunity at the free throw line.
"We have some really talented guards," Simmons said. "They're tough on opponents and tonight it showed.
The Mean Green will host defending C-USA champion Old Dominion on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT for what will be Senior Day and Alumni Day, though it won't be the final home game of the year. Saturday's game will be broadcasted on ESPNU and the Mean Green Sports Network. The Mean Green, who have ended a lot of droughts this year — beating LA Tech in Ruston for the first time since 1952, winning at Southern Miss for the first time since 1971 to name a couple — can end another drought on Saturday with what would be the program's first ever victory over ODU.
The Mean Green (17-9, 11-2 C-USA) outscored the 49ers (14-10, 8-5 C-USA) 46-18 in the paint and had five players score in double figures. Umoja Gibson led UNT with 20 points, his sixth game this year with 20 or more points.
North Texas, who had already clinched a spot in the top pod of Conference USA Bonus Play prior to Thursday, couldn't quite secure the No. 1 spot as Western Kentucky beat UTEP 67-62 on Thursday night, but a victory Saturday over Old Dominion will. Thursday, UNT beat a Charlotte team who they could see again in Bonus Play. The 49ers are in a tie for fourth-place after Thursday's results.
"Charlotte is a real good team, that has a great offense and sticks to its principles," said junior Zachary Simmons. "But we won the game in the paint."
Simmons helped UNT open the game on a 7-0 run and hold a lead for the entire first half as he made his first four field goal attempts all from inside the paint. He'd finish with 17 points and make a season-high eight field goal attempts, all from inside the paint. North Texas is now 9-1 on the year when Simmons makes five or more field goals. The one loss came at Dayton who is now ranked No. 6 in the nation. During his nearly three full seasons at North Texas, the Mean Green are 22-5 when Simmons makes five or more field goals.
"He's huge for us," said redshirt junior guard Javion Hamlet of Simmons. "We spaced (Charlotte) out and it opened up from there."
With 13 minutes left in the game, Charlotte took its first lead of the game after making one of its 13 3-pointers. The lead didn't last long, however, as back-to-back Jame Reese 3-pointers with just over 11 minutes to go tied the game at 50 and then gave the Mean Green the lead and stopped any 49ers run.
North Texas would extend its lead to as much as 10 before settling for the nine-point victory.
As usual, Hamlet took over the game late. He scored five points in the final four minutes but had three key assists as he finished with 15 points, five assists and zero turnovers Thursday. It was the point guard's sixth game in conference with zero turnovers, seventh on the year total.
Joining Hamlet in closing out the 49ers was Gibson. The redshirt sophomore scored nine points in the final five minutes, including a clutch layup which he was fouled on and converted the and-one opportunity at the free throw line.
"We have some really talented guards," Simmons said. "They're tough on opponents and tonight it showed.
The Mean Green will host defending C-USA champion Old Dominion on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT for what will be Senior Day and Alumni Day, though it won't be the final home game of the year. Saturday's game will be broadcasted on ESPNU and the Mean Green Sports Network. The Mean Green, who have ended a lot of droughts this year — beating LA Tech in Ruston for the first time since 1952, winning at Southern Miss for the first time since 1971 to name a couple — can end another drought on Saturday with what would be the program's first ever victory over ODU.
Team Stats
Charl
UNT
FG%
.479
.593
3FG%
.565
.389
FT%
.684
.625
RB
21
31
TO
12
8
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
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