NORTH TEXAS vs. ARKANSAS STATE
The Super Pit / Saturday, Jan. 9, 2009
GAME NOTES / QUOTES
The 3OT victory ties for the longest game in NT’s history of playing at the Super Pit. The only other 3OT game in NT history was played at the Super Pit on March 1, 1980 when the Mean Green fell to Southeast Louisiana, 90-84.
The 3OT game is the second-longest game in NT history; the Mean Green has played in one four-overtime game, losing at Baylor 96-95 in 4OT on Dec. 17, 1988.
NT has now gone into OT in its last two games, marking the first time the Mean Green have participated in back-to-back OT games since 1996-97 when they won consecutive OT games on Feb. 6 and Feb. 8, 1996.
The win over Arkansas State marks the fifth consecutive victory over the Red Wolves.
Tristan Thompson led four Mean Green players in double figures with 24 points three points shy of his career high. He connected on 7-of-13 field goals and went 8-of-9 at the free throw line. It was his fourth 20-plus scoring performance this season and his 10th game this season to score in double digits.
Dominique Johnson finished with 17 points, including going 3-of-6 from three-point range. The three made three-pointers equals his career high effort. He also grabbed a career-high six rebounds in the win.
Eric Tramiel shot 6-of-8 from the floor to contribute 12 points before fouling out of the game. It marked his fifth straight double-figure game. He’s now scored in double figures in six of his last seven games.
Josh White had a rough night shooting (2-of-9 FGs) but connected on 6-of-8 from the FT line including some key ones in the final OT period which helped seal the win.
George Odufuwa pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, marking the seventh time this season he’s grabbed double-figure rebounds in a game. The 13 boards ties his career high in a NT uniform, matching the the 13 he finished with against Oklahoma State and Indiana State earlier this season.
The Mean Green’s 57 rebounds in the game equals a season high, matching the 57 boards they grabbed against Oklahoma State on Nov. 17, 2008.
Dominique Johnson came into the game having connected on 17 consecutive free throws over the previous four games. He hit his first two attempts in the game to run the streak to 19 straight before missing his only two other attempts in the second OT period.
The win snapped a five-game losing skid for the Mean Green, the program’s longest losing stretch since they lost five straight in 2005-06.
JOHNNY JONES QUOTES
“I told the guys before the game tyhis was going to be a hard-fought game. Arkansas State has always played us tough. We knew that every possession and every second was going to be critical. This was a good win over a very good opponent. We talked about ending one streaking (losing five straight) and beginning a new streak here tonight. I commend my team for their effort. They played hard, they stayed focused and stepped up defensiviley for us to come out on top tonight.”
On the overall Defense displayed
“I thought both teams played very tough defense tonight. Arkansas State ended up shooting 41 percent for the game while we ended up shooting 39 percent. We clamped down a little more in the over time periods that ultimately helped us get thewin.”
On starting games slowly
“This is something we will continue work on. We got down 7-0 tonight and had to fight our back in the game early on. We must do a better job of getting off to faster starts. I have every confidence that we can overcome our slow starts.”
Free Throw Shooting
“We have guys (Josh White and Dominque Johnson) who are ranked nationally in free throw shooting. I commend both of them and our team as a whole for making the best of their free throw opportunities a second chance was afforded them. They put themselves in position to get to the line and capitilized once they got there.”
Three Point Shooting
“I thought we did a great job of making three point shots in the overtime periods. At that stage of the game, after having played that many minutes, our guys could have been leg weary but they were able to gather themselves and knock big shots.”
