Tuesday, December 14
7 P.M. CT
University of North Texas
-63,00 CUSA
65
vs
55
Sam Houston
3-7,0-0WAC
1
2
F
Sam Houston
26
29
55
North Texas
36
29
65
Photo by: Zach Del Bello
Men's Basketball Wins Fourth Straight
12/14/2021 9:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DENTON — The North Texas men's basketball team "found a way" said head coach Grant McCasland after his team's 65-55 win over Sam Houston Tuesday night at the Super Pit.
The Mean Green (6-3) made the plays late to hold on to their once 20-point lead and win their fourth straight overall. Free throws and key defensive rebounds held off the Bearkats (3-7) who came within three points of UNT in the second half.
"It's not always going to be pretty," McCasland said. "But I'm proud of how our team took the punches and stayed tough and made the plays at the end. They killed us on the offensive glass but at the end of the game we grabbed defensive rebounds. And obviously a big part of the game was at the free throw line but there at the very end Thomas (Bell) and Tylor (Perry) stepped up and sank them."
UNT jumped out to a 23-3 lead Tuesday night after going on a 21-1 run shortly after the game started. Nine first half turnovers — a season-high — though allowed Sam Houston to creep back in to the where it only trailed by nine at halftime.
"They're a really physical team," Perry said. "They made us work really hard by pressing us and making us play a whole lot faster than we do. We want to grind it out and they had us all out of sorts with the press and physicality they played with."
But what separated North Texas from Sam Houston most notably on the box score Tuesday night was at the free throw line. The Bearkats were just 3-of-15 (20 percent) at the free throw line Tuesday night and 1-of-9 in the second half (11.1 percent). Meanwhile UNT made 18-of-27 (66.7 percent) and was 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) in the second half. In the final five minutes of the game, Perry and Bell combined to go 10-of-10 at the free throw line to seal the 10-point win.
Sophomore Abou Ousmane for the second straight game finished with a career-high 13 points. Bell led North Texas with 14 points and eight rebounds and Mardrez McBride contributed with 12 points all of which came in the first half on four 3-pointers.
The Mean Green are back in action Saturday afternoon when they travel to Wichita State to face the Shockers. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Mean Green Sports Network. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. CT.
The Mean Green (6-3) made the plays late to hold on to their once 20-point lead and win their fourth straight overall. Free throws and key defensive rebounds held off the Bearkats (3-7) who came within three points of UNT in the second half.
"It's not always going to be pretty," McCasland said. "But I'm proud of how our team took the punches and stayed tough and made the plays at the end. They killed us on the offensive glass but at the end of the game we grabbed defensive rebounds. And obviously a big part of the game was at the free throw line but there at the very end Thomas (Bell) and Tylor (Perry) stepped up and sank them."
UNT jumped out to a 23-3 lead Tuesday night after going on a 21-1 run shortly after the game started. Nine first half turnovers — a season-high — though allowed Sam Houston to creep back in to the where it only trailed by nine at halftime.
"They're a really physical team," Perry said. "They made us work really hard by pressing us and making us play a whole lot faster than we do. We want to grind it out and they had us all out of sorts with the press and physicality they played with."
But what separated North Texas from Sam Houston most notably on the box score Tuesday night was at the free throw line. The Bearkats were just 3-of-15 (20 percent) at the free throw line Tuesday night and 1-of-9 in the second half (11.1 percent). Meanwhile UNT made 18-of-27 (66.7 percent) and was 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) in the second half. In the final five minutes of the game, Perry and Bell combined to go 10-of-10 at the free throw line to seal the 10-point win.
Sophomore Abou Ousmane for the second straight game finished with a career-high 13 points. Bell led North Texas with 14 points and eight rebounds and Mardrez McBride contributed with 12 points all of which came in the first half on four 3-pointers.
The Mean Green are back in action Saturday afternoon when they travel to Wichita State to face the Shockers. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Mean Green Sports Network. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
SHSU
UNT
FG%
.403
.438
3FG%
.091
.217
FT%
.200
.667
RB
41
37
TO
13
14
STL
12
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Players Mentioned
Guard
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