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Saturday, January 7
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
5 PM CT
University of North Texas
-133,41 CUSA
56
at
51
Middle Tennessee
-97,23 CUSA
1
2
F
North Texas
31
25
56
Middle Tenn.
37
14
51
Men's Basketball Completes 19-Point Comeback Win
1/7/2023 7:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tennessee — The North Texas men's basketball team completed a 19-point come from behind win to beat Middle Tennessee, 56-51, on the road Saturday afternoon.
The Mean Green (13-3, 4-1) held the Blue Raiders (9-7, 2-3) to just 16 points in the final 26 minutes of the game as they chipped away at the deficit. Junior guard Rubin Jones, who had the game sealing steal and dunk with five seconds remaining, led the way with a game-high and season-high 13 points.
"We challenged our guys, and they challenged each other," said head coach Grant McCasland. "We weren't ourselves to start the game. But that group that was out there started playing downhill and we got turnovers, and it started going our way. I'm so proud of these dudes."
Middle Tennessee opened the game on fire. They didn't miss a shot or a free throw for the first six minutes of the game.
With 6:04 left in the first half, the Blue Raiders had scored more first half points, 35, than any other Mean Green opponent had all year and led by 19 points. However, UNT's defense began to lock in as they held Middle Tennessee to just two points the rest of the first half and chipped away at the deficit to where they trailed by just six points at halftime.
In the second half, North Texas forced seven Blue Raider turnovers in the first seven minutes. Middle Tennessee was doing its best to hold off UNT but with 9:14 left in the game Jones scored a layup to take the lead and they'd never look back.
UNT forced 13 second half turnovers and held Middle Tennessee to just 5-of-16 shooting in the second half and 1-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.
"Toughest team wins," McCasland said.
North Texas returns home Wednesday to host Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Mean Green Sports Network.
Contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or by emailing ticketoffice@unt.edu for more information on UNT Men's Basketball tickets.
The Mean Green (13-3, 4-1) held the Blue Raiders (9-7, 2-3) to just 16 points in the final 26 minutes of the game as they chipped away at the deficit. Junior guard Rubin Jones, who had the game sealing steal and dunk with five seconds remaining, led the way with a game-high and season-high 13 points.
"We challenged our guys, and they challenged each other," said head coach Grant McCasland. "We weren't ourselves to start the game. But that group that was out there started playing downhill and we got turnovers, and it started going our way. I'm so proud of these dudes."
Middle Tennessee opened the game on fire. They didn't miss a shot or a free throw for the first six minutes of the game.
With 6:04 left in the first half, the Blue Raiders had scored more first half points, 35, than any other Mean Green opponent had all year and led by 19 points. However, UNT's defense began to lock in as they held Middle Tennessee to just two points the rest of the first half and chipped away at the deficit to where they trailed by just six points at halftime.
In the second half, North Texas forced seven Blue Raider turnovers in the first seven minutes. Middle Tennessee was doing its best to hold off UNT but with 9:14 left in the game Jones scored a layup to take the lead and they'd never look back.
UNT forced 13 second half turnovers and held Middle Tennessee to just 5-of-16 shooting in the second half and 1-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.
"Toughest team wins," McCasland said.
North Texas returns home Wednesday to host Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Mean Green Sports Network.
Contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or by emailing ticketoffice@unt.edu for more information on UNT Men's Basketball tickets.
Team Stats
UNT
MTSU
FG%
.452
.429
3FG%
.263
.308
FT%
.867
.846
RB
28
22
TO
17
16
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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