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Friday, March 11
Frisco, TX
University of North Texas
-246,162 CUSA
36
vs
42
(W3) Louisiana Tech
-249,126 CUSA
1
2
F
Louisiana Tech
21
21
42
North Texas
13
23
36
Mean Green Fall 42-36 In C-USA Semis
3/11/2022 2:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FRISCO — The 2022 Conference USA Men's Basketball West Division champs North Texas had season-lows in scoring and shooting in a 42-36 loss to Louisiana Tech Thursday in the Conference USA Semifinals at The Star.
The 78 combined points is the fewest in a DI game this season and the fewest in a C-USA Tournament game ever.
"My heart hurts for the guys in that locker room because despite everything they kept fighting," said head coach Grant McCasland. "I know we have a group of fighters. And luckily because we won the regular season title we still have something to play for. If it's not the NCAA Tournament we still have the NIT."
UNT, who upset Purdue in the 2021 NCAA Tournament for the program's first NCAA Tournament victory, has never been to the NIT.
On Friday the Mean Green (24-6) were just 13-of-54 (24.1 percent) from the floor and only 4-of-24 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc. The 36 points scored were the fewest for UNT this season and its lowest in the McCasland era. North Texas still was within two possessions of tying in the final seconds of the game as they held the Bulldogs (24-9) to a season-low 42 points.
"We fought and made things tough for them," said guard Tylor Perry. "They fought right back and we just couldn't get shots to fall."
Thomas Bell and Mardrez McBride jump started a 9-2 run that closed the Mean Green within three with only two minutes on the clock, but that would be the closest the score would get at the end of the game.
Bell had 10 points and eight rebounds as UNT's lone double-figure scorer. Tylor Perry and McBride both scored nine. Abou Ousmane had six points and 10 rebounds.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball early and were a combined 3-for-18 from the field in the first eight minutes. UNT was staked to at 10-2 lead with less than nine remaining in the first half as the Bulldogs hit just two of their first 10 attempts.
LA Tech (24-9) answered with a 13-0 run capped by back-to-back triples from Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Keaston Willis. Bell finally ended a nearly seven-minute scoreless stretch with a free throw and UNT trailed 21-13 after a long-range miss by Perry at the first-half horn.
Lofton had nine points and 12 rebounds. Cobe Williams and Willis each had 12 points.
Stay tuned for information on where North Texas will play in the postseason.
The 78 combined points is the fewest in a DI game this season and the fewest in a C-USA Tournament game ever.
"My heart hurts for the guys in that locker room because despite everything they kept fighting," said head coach Grant McCasland. "I know we have a group of fighters. And luckily because we won the regular season title we still have something to play for. If it's not the NCAA Tournament we still have the NIT."
UNT, who upset Purdue in the 2021 NCAA Tournament for the program's first NCAA Tournament victory, has never been to the NIT.
On Friday the Mean Green (24-6) were just 13-of-54 (24.1 percent) from the floor and only 4-of-24 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc. The 36 points scored were the fewest for UNT this season and its lowest in the McCasland era. North Texas still was within two possessions of tying in the final seconds of the game as they held the Bulldogs (24-9) to a season-low 42 points.
"We fought and made things tough for them," said guard Tylor Perry. "They fought right back and we just couldn't get shots to fall."
Thomas Bell and Mardrez McBride jump started a 9-2 run that closed the Mean Green within three with only two minutes on the clock, but that would be the closest the score would get at the end of the game.
Bell had 10 points and eight rebounds as UNT's lone double-figure scorer. Tylor Perry and McBride both scored nine. Abou Ousmane had six points and 10 rebounds.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball early and were a combined 3-for-18 from the field in the first eight minutes. UNT was staked to at 10-2 lead with less than nine remaining in the first half as the Bulldogs hit just two of their first 10 attempts.
LA Tech (24-9) answered with a 13-0 run capped by back-to-back triples from Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Keaston Willis. Bell finally ended a nearly seven-minute scoreless stretch with a free throw and UNT trailed 21-13 after a long-range miss by Perry at the first-half horn.
Lofton had nine points and 12 rebounds. Cobe Williams and Willis each had 12 points.
Stay tuned for information on where North Texas will play in the postseason.
Team Stats
LATech
UNT
FG%
.286
.241
3FG%
.278
.167
FT%
.818
.667
RB
42
39
TO
14
13
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Forward
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