FRISCO — The North Texas men's basketball team's season came to an end on Thursday with a 67-51 loss to Western Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Conference USA Championships at the Star in Frisco.

Led by their three seniors, one of whom, — Michael Miller — played through a foot injury and had to leave the game in the second half, but a slow start put the Mean Green (20-12) in a position they weren't able to overcome.

"Credit to Western Kentucky, they took it to us at the start, said head coach Grant McCasland. "We had a few good looks but just got sped up and didn't play with enough composure early and the game got away from us pretty quickly."

The Hilltoppers' (19-13), the tournament's No. 2 seed, had a double-digit lead less than 10 minutes into the game and held UNT to under 10 points for over 13 minutes as they increased their lead to as many as 19 in the first half. North Texas shot just 25 percent from the field in the first half and was 1-of-8 from deep. 

As WKU made shots at a high rate it forced the Mean Green to slow it down and play in the half court, which against the athleticism and size of the Hilltoppers was a tough task. 

"When you have to walk it up against a team that is that good and has that much size it's going to be tough to score," McCasland said. "And we had guys that were banged up and that's why i'm leaving here so inspired. They did whatever they could to help the team win. And when you're part of those team journeys, it's things that these guys will be able to take with them."

Despite his injury, Miller did get the start on Thursday but played just 17 minutes, all of which came in the first half as he left on crutches. He did not score on Wednesday, which was the first time all year the senior had been held scoreless. 

Senior Jorden Duffy finished with 11 points on Thursday and had seven rebounds. In his two years in Denton, Duffy has overcome six different injuries including missing eight games this year in conference. 

Senior Tope Arikawe came off the bench and played four minutes and held WKU's NBA prospect Charles Bassey to zero points when he was out there. Arikawe had a rebound and assist to conclude his collegiate career. 

Junior Ryan Woolridge led North Texas in scoring with 13 points. Woolridge has battled injuries of late and left the game late after taking a fall. Woolridge's 13 points were the most he's scored since UNT last played WKU on Feb. 9. Woolridge also had one steal on Thursday that gave him 151 for his career, which ties the program-record shared with 1994 graduate Jesse Ratliff. 

QUICK SHOTS
-          With the loss, UNT fell to 3-1 on the season on a neutral court.
-          Junior guard Ryan Woolridge finished with 13 points, his 18th game in double figures on the season and 51st of his career.
o   Woolridge also recorded one steal on Thursday night, tying the program record that is held by Jesse Ratliff (1990-94), with 151 for his career.
-          Redshirt freshman Umoja Gibson entered play with 98 three-pointers this season and is in second place in program history for a single season.
1. Roosevelt Smart          133         2017-18
2. Umoja Gibson              99           2018-19
3. Calvin Watson              90           2006-07

o   Of Gibson's 325 field goal attempts this season, 252 have come from beyond the arc (77.5%).
o   Gibson also made his 25th career start.

-          Sophomore forward Zachary Simmons recorded 13 rebounds, his fifth game this season with 10-plus rebounds (eighth of his career).
o   Simmons had 16 boards in Wednesday night's win over FIU, which is the first time he has posted 10 or more rebounds in back-to-back games this season.
-          Senior guard Jorden Duffy finished with 11 points, his 12th game of the season in double figures (18th of his career).