DENTON (11/23/04) - After building a 38-30 halftime lead, the North Texas men’s basketball team held off UNC Wilmington in the second half for a 76-69 win on Tuesday night at the Super Pit.
The Mean Green (2-1) has won five straight at home, dating back to last season. The Seahawks (1-1) dropped their first game of the season.
"I am very excited about this win," said North Texas head coach Johnny Jones. "We beat a quality opponent tonight. I was very pleased with the way our guys battled back after the Alabama loss."
Sophomore Calvin Watson led three NT players in double figures with a season-high 16 points. The guard scored 10 of his16 points in the first half, including 3 three-pointers. Senior Leonard Hopkins scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, and junior Isaac Hines followed with a season-high 12 points, including two free throws down the stretch.
The Seahawks outscored the Mean Green in the second half, 39-38, and cut the NT lead to single digits with under a minute to play but ran out of time in the end. The Mean Green shot 51.9 percent in the first half and was 21-of-25 from the free-throw line for the game.
The Mean Green jumped out to an early 17-8 lead in the first eight minutes of the game behind 60 percent shooting from the field. NT’s defense held the Seahawks to 3-of-11 shooting. Seven different Mean Green players contributed points in the run.
Watson started an 8-0 run for the Mean Green with five minutes left in the half. The sophomore began with a three-pointer and after two Hines’ free throws, gave the Mean Green its largest lead of the first half, 30-19, with his second three-pointer. Watson's third three-pointer halted a 5-0 Seahawks run. Freshman Quincy Williams, who scored nine points in the game, ended the half with a basket from behind the arc to put NT ahead, 38-30.
Hopkins and Hines continued the three-point shooting at the start of the second half, both assisting on each others threes to extend the lead to double figures, 44-30. Junior Ron Harris capped a 10-4 run to give North Texas its largest lead of the game, 60-43, with 8:41 left in the game.
With under four minutes to play, the Seahawks began a 10-4 run to cut the lead to single digits, 76-69, for the first time since the start of the second half. However, time expired to seal the Mean Green win.
"We knew they were a low-scoring team and liked to keep a slow pace in the game, so we wanted to take it at them and try to speed up the game," said Hines. "We played together and came out strong in the second half and it paid off for us."
Mitch Laue led four Seahawks in double figures with 18 points.
North Texas continues its homestand with a game against Lamar on Saturday night at 7 pm in the Super Pit.
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