DENVER (3/1/09) North Texas did something on Sunday only one other Sun Belt team has managed to do this year - win at Denver - earning the fourth seed for the conference tournament in the process with a 73-59 victory at Magness Arena.
The Mean Green (18-11, 11-7 Sun Belt West) snagged its highest seed ever in the SBC Tourney, which begins Wednesday at the Super Pit with No. 4 North Texas taking on No. 13 Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m. The winner moves on to Hot Springs, Ark. to face the winner of No. 5 Middle Tennessee and No. 12 Arkansas State on Sunday.
“This was a great opportunity for our guys to grow up today, and they came out and played exceptionally well,” said North Texas head coach Johnny Jones. “This game meant something, and for them to understand that we had a chance to get 11 league wins and finish as the No 4 seed says a lot about out guys”
Adam McCoy was electric for a fifth straight game, making the Pioneers (14-15, 9-9 Sun Belt West) pay for its 2-3 matchup zone defense. The senior connected on five 3-pointers for a total of 26 points, his fifth straight game with at least 15 points.
McCoy made sure DU felt his impact even late when he jammed home a dunk in the face two Pioneer defenders. The Dallas native hit the ensuing free throw just inside four minutes to extend the Mean Green lead to 67-49.
“Adam has really been playing well down the stretch for us, and I thought he played well on both ends of the floor,” Jones said. “He has been really efficient with everything and able to knock down the open shots when he has got them.”
Eric Tramiel snagged his fifth double-double of the year, bullying the Pioneer paint players all afternoon. Tramiel finished with 15-points and 11-rebounds to give NT its 11th Sun Belt win, the most in any season since entering the league in 2000-01.
Tramiel flashed his outside game early to give NT a quick 8-2 lead out of the gate. The junior posted six of those eight points inside the game’s first three minutes, including an 18 foot jumper from the corner.
DU responded with a little outside game of its own. Rob Lewis connected from downtown, and Andrew Hooper netted back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Pioneers the lead, 15-11, with 11 minutes left in the first.
Dominique Johnson promptly put North Texas back on top with a couple of fast break drives. The junior collected a pair of steals and drove the floor to hit a couple of tough layups, drawing a foul each time.
Easily the Mean Green’s hottest player of late, Adam McCoy showed why he’s one of the Sun Belt’s toughest matchups once again. Playing in his last regular season game, McCoy scored eight straight North Texas points to vault his team out to a six point lead. McCoy kept pressing to end the half with 13 points, and send NT into the break with a 35-26 lead.
