Box Score
DENTON, Texas (12/6/08) Sophomore Tristan Thompson set a career high with 21 points and senior Collin Dennis came off the bench to post a season-best 20 points, leading the North Texas men’s basketball team to an 85-83 victory against New Mexico State on Saturday night at the Super Pit.
The Mean Green improves to 6-2 overall, while the Aggies fall to 2-4. New Mexico State still holds the lead in the series between the two teams, 19-9, but the Mean Green has won the last four meetings.
North Texas did not need another come-from-behind victory like last year. The Mean Green raced out to a seven-point lead, 15-8, six minutes into the first half. A three-pointer by Dennis gave North Texas its largest lead of the game, 35-24, with 6:14 left in the first half.
The Aggies cut the lead to three points at the half, 43-40, and came close to taking the lead several times in the second half, but the Mean Green was able to hold its lead the entire game.
A defensive stop at the end of the game sealed the win for the Mean Green. Hernst Laroche hit two free throws to cut the Mean Green’s lead to two points, 85-83, with 1:02 left in the game. After a Dennis miss, New Mexico State had one last possession with 28 seconds on the clock. The Mean Green defense kept the Aggies from even attempting a shot as time expired.
Thompson topped his career high of 20 points, which he set last game, with a 21-point performance against the Aggies. He was 7-of-9 from the field, 2-for-2 from three-point range and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Dennis had another big game against the Aggies with a season-high 20 points. Last year, he poured in 19 points in a seven-minute span to help lead the Mean Green to victory against NMSU. Today, he was 6-for-15 from the field and 3-for-8 from behind the arc.
Eric Tramiel joined Thompson and Dennis in double figures with 16 points. He was one point shy of tying his career high and one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards.
The Mean Green struggled from the free-throw line last game, but NT was much improved on Saturday night. NT hit 23-of-30 shots from the charity stripe for 76.7 percent. North Texas shot 42.2 percent from the field for the game, compared to the Aggies’ 53.4 percent.
North Texas returns to action on Monday, Dec. 15 against Houston Baptist at the Super Pit at 7 pm.
