North Texas News

Men's Hoops Opens Tournament With Blowout Win

The UNT men's basketball team shot 51% from the field and cruised to a 74-46 win over LA Tech on Thursday night in the Conference USA Championship quarterfinals to break the program record for most wins in a season (26) and earn a spot in the tournament semifinals for the third consecutive year.UNT (26-6), the No. 2 seed in the tournament, moves on to face third-seeded UAB (24-8) in Friday's semifinal matchup, which is scheduled for a 2 p.m., tipoff back at the Ford Center at the Star.Sophomore Aaron Scott led the Mean Green with a career- and game-high 19 points on 6 of 6 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, while also pulling down six rebounds. His 13 first-half points was just one shy of his previous career high."I was very confident," Scott said. "My teammates and coaches were confident in me. I just kept shooting and it was falling. We had a game plan and we executed it – offensively and defensively. Offensively, we just wanted to get in ball screens and move well off the ball. We knew they switched a lot, so we tried to take advantage of those switches."Skip AdLA Tech's previous season low entering the game was 49 at Middle Tennessee on Feb. 25. Entering the game, LA Tech was one of three C-USA teams UNT had not yet held to a season low. The 28-point margin of victory was the largest for UNT in C-USA tournament play, eclipsing last year's 18-point quarterfinal victory over Rice, and it was the worst loss for the Bulldogs (15-18) this season.The Mean Green held the Bulldogs' two leading scorers, Isaiah Crawford and Keaston Willis, to 7 and 5 points, respectively, while holding LA Tech to 30.4% shooting and just 12.5% from beyond the arc."Willis and Crawford can really put pressure on you, and we knew limiting their opportunities would be how we won," UNT head coach Grant McCasland said. "It took a team effort. That's what it's about for us is finding a way to win on the defensive end."You can't let them get close to the rim, and with Isaiah he's such a threat on all three levels – 3-pointers, midrange shots and getting to the line. You have to find a way to keep him farther from the basket and make his shots tough. Tyree (Eady) and (Aaron) Scott were really good at playing physically."Kai Huntsberry finished with 12 points for the Mean Green, while Tylor Perry and Abou Ousmane rounded out the double-figures scorers with 10 apiece, and Ousmane led the team with nine rebounds.UNT topped UAB in both meetings this season, including an 82-79 double-overtime victory in the most recent meeting on Feb. 9, in Denton. McCasland and Scott both said Thursday night's game had the feeling of a home game in the Super Pit."It was remarkable," McCasland said, referring to the hereUNT crowd in Frisco. "I wish they were in front of us. It's a little bit harder when they're right behind you. But it's a really unique opportunity for us and we're thankful for the Mean Green faithful showing up. It really made a big difference."

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