Box Score
DENTON, Texas (12/13/09) - Behind season-high shooting and Tristan Thompson's 20 points, the North Texas men's basketball team opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 79-62 victory against ULM on Saturday afternoon at the Super Pit.
The Mean Green improves to 6-3 overall and 1-0 in the conference, while the Warhawks fall to 3-6 and 0-1 in the Sun Belt. North Texas has won the last five meetings between the two teams.
ULM stayed close to North Texas in the first half but could not keep up with the Mean Green in the final 20 minutes. White opened the second half with a three-pointer, leading North Texas on a 23-7 run over the next 10 minutes to go ahead by 18 points.
North Texas shot season highs in field goal percentage (57.1 percent) and three-point field goals (53.3 percent). In the second half, the Mean Green hit 16 of 23 field goals for 69.6 percent. White and Thompson combined for eight three-pointers, which is one shy of the season best.NT also dished out a season-high 17 assists. White led the way with five.
Four players led the Mean Green in scoring. Thompson led all scorers with a season-high 20 points. He was near perfect, shooting 7-for-8 from the field, 4-for-4 from three-point range and going 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Eric Tramiel followed with 16 points. He continued his hot shooting, posting double-figures for the sixth straight game.
White started the Mean Green surge in the second half. He contributed 15 points, including 11 in the second half. It was his fifth game in double-figure scoring. Odufuwa was one rebound shy of double-double, posting 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first half. Shooting for the Mean Green ignited in the second half, while the Warhawks' shooting cooled off. ULM shot 33.3 percent from the field in the second half and hit only two three-pointers in the second period.
The Mean Green's two-point half-time lead, 35-33, quickly turned into a double-digit lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Richard Thomas cut through the lane for a layup to put North Texas ahead by 21, 69-48, with 7:07 left to play in the game. Thomas finished the game with nine points in 23 minutes of play off the bench.
ULM cut the lead to 11 points, 71-60, with 2:23 left on the clock, but North Texas scored eight of the next 10 points to seal the win.
After back-to-back three-pointers by Thompson and White, North Texas took its largest lead of the first half, 33-28, with 3:47 left till halftime. Thompson tied his season high of 11 points in the first half, while Tramiel also contributed 11. With Odufuwa's seven points, the trio of Thompson, Tramiel and Odufuwa scored 29 of NT's 35 half-time points.
North Texas returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 20 when it hosts FIU at 3 p.m.
