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Saturday, January 8
Denton
5 PM CT
University of North Texas
-94,21 CUSA
70
vs
63
Middle Tennessee
-96,02 CUSA
1
2
F
Middle Tenn.
33
30
63
North Texas
36
34
70
Photo by: Luke Della
Mean Green Beat Middle Tennessee, 70-63
1/8/2022 7:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DENTON — The North Texas men's basketball team beat Middle Tennessee Saturday afternoon from the Super Pit 70-63 behind a season-high 25 points by newcomer Tylor Perry.
Perry scored 17 of his 25 in the second half as the Mean Green held off the pesky Blue Raiders.
"Give credit to Middle Tennessee," said head coach Grant McCasland. "I thought their pressure on defense really had us out of wack especially early. But proud of our team for how they fought through it and found a way to win late."
UNT (9-3, 2-1 C-USA) had a season-high 16 turnovers Saturday and eight of them came in the first nine minutes of the game. But a strong shooting night by the team as a whole kept them ahead of Middle Tennessee (9-6, 0-2 C-USA) for most of the game. The Mean Green were 10-of-17 (59 percent) from deep and 20-of-40 (50 percent) overall.
"I thought this was one of our best shooting nights," McCasland said. "Anytime you shoot that well from three you give yourself a chance and it started with Drez (McBride) knocking down the first one."
Mardrez McBride chipped in 11 points and was 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He scored all 11 points in the first half and sank a 3-pointer on UNT's opening possesion.
In the second half UNT kept the Blue Raiders honest by still attacking the paint and getting to the free throw line. The Mean Green made a season-high 20 free throws Saturday.
But when Middle Tennessee was making one final push late in the game, it was Perry who extinguished any Blue Raider hope. With 49 seconds remaining, Perry hit the bottom of the basket on a 30-plus-foot 3-pointer with a hand in his face as the shot clock buzzer rang to give the Mean Green a 69-60 win.
"We tell him all the time to shoot," McCasland said with a smile. "He's got a special talent and is a unique point guard than we've had here in the past. He's built for those moments."
McCasland also complemented senior Thomas Bell for his defensive performance Saturday. Bell finished with just five points but had three blocks including one key block with a little over a minute left in the game.
North Texas is on the road next week as they travel to Marshall on Thursday for a 6 p.m. CT scheduled tip-off and then play at WKU on Saturday for a 3 p.m. CT scheduled start.
Perry scored 17 of his 25 in the second half as the Mean Green held off the pesky Blue Raiders.
"Give credit to Middle Tennessee," said head coach Grant McCasland. "I thought their pressure on defense really had us out of wack especially early. But proud of our team for how they fought through it and found a way to win late."
UNT (9-3, 2-1 C-USA) had a season-high 16 turnovers Saturday and eight of them came in the first nine minutes of the game. But a strong shooting night by the team as a whole kept them ahead of Middle Tennessee (9-6, 0-2 C-USA) for most of the game. The Mean Green were 10-of-17 (59 percent) from deep and 20-of-40 (50 percent) overall.
"I thought this was one of our best shooting nights," McCasland said. "Anytime you shoot that well from three you give yourself a chance and it started with Drez (McBride) knocking down the first one."
Mardrez McBride chipped in 11 points and was 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He scored all 11 points in the first half and sank a 3-pointer on UNT's opening possesion.
In the second half UNT kept the Blue Raiders honest by still attacking the paint and getting to the free throw line. The Mean Green made a season-high 20 free throws Saturday.
But when Middle Tennessee was making one final push late in the game, it was Perry who extinguished any Blue Raider hope. With 49 seconds remaining, Perry hit the bottom of the basket on a 30-plus-foot 3-pointer with a hand in his face as the shot clock buzzer rang to give the Mean Green a 69-60 win.
"We tell him all the time to shoot," McCasland said with a smile. "He's got a special talent and is a unique point guard than we've had here in the past. He's built for those moments."
McCasland also complemented senior Thomas Bell for his defensive performance Saturday. Bell finished with just five points but had three blocks including one key block with a little over a minute left in the game.
North Texas is on the road next week as they travel to Marshall on Thursday for a 6 p.m. CT scheduled tip-off and then play at WKU on Saturday for a 3 p.m. CT scheduled start.
Team Stats
MTSU
UNT
FG%
.386
.500
3FG%
.250
.588
FT%
.778
.690
RB
31
31
TO
12
16
STL
11
6
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
9
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
Forward
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