Saturday, January 4
Denton, TX
12:00 PM
UC Riverside
72
at
76
North Texas
Photo by: Carlos Puma
Men's Basketball Erases 16-Point, Second Half Deficit, But Falls At North Texas, 76-72
1/4/2014 2:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Denton, TX—Steven Thornton and Sam Finley each scored 18 points, and the Highlanders erased a 16-point second-half deficit to tie the score late in the game Saturday afternoon, but North Texas was able to hold on for a 76-72 victory (Box Score).
The Mean Green used a 16-4 run early in the second to turn a four-point lead into a 16-point advantage, 53-37, with 12:33 to go.
It was still a 13-point cushion with 10:18 remaining when the Highlanders put togther their best stretch of basketball of the night. Thornton's tip-in made it an 11-point game, and a Nick Gruninger three-pointer reduced the lead to single digits. Maurice Aniefiok converted on a lay up on the next North Texas trip down the floor, but UCR scored the next 10 points to tie the score at 58 with 7:08 on the clock. Thornton started the run with a three-pointer, and Finley closed it off scoring the next seven points for UC Riverside.
A Jordan Williams' free throw stopped the bleeding, and two minutes later, the Mean Green again led by five, 63-58. It was a seven-point game with less than 30 seconds to go, when the Highlanders made their final run of the game. Gruninger made a pair of free throws with 29 seconds on the clock, and Vertrail Vaughns missed both of his attempts on North Texas' next offensive possession. Gruninger then nailed a three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining forcing the Mean Green to call a timeout.
After a UC Riverside foul, Chris Jones made one of two free throws, and Steven Jones' lay up with 12 seconds to go cut the lead to one, 73-72. That was as close as UCR could get, however, as the Aniefiok scored the final three points of the ballgame.
The Highlanders came out aggressively in the first, taking the ball to the rim and drawing a number of North Texas fouls. UC Riverside translated that into 16 trips to the free throw line in the first 20 minutes of play, making 10.
Meanwhile, UCR tried to clamp down in the paint, and did so with some success as the Mean Green went 9 of 21 (42.9 percent) from inside the arc, and took just four free throws. North Texas' leading scorers coming into the game, Alzee Williams (14.8 ppg) and Jordan Williams (11.2), failed to score in the first. The Mean Green bench more than made up for it, however, going 10 for 15 from the field and four for six from three-point range, helping North Texas to a six-point halftime lead, 33-27.
The lead vacillated between four and six points early in the second until the 16:11 mark when TJ Taylor's three-pointer from the baseline pushed the North Texas lead to nine, its largest lead of the day, at 44-35. Walton's three ball on the Mean Green's next possession made it a 12-point game, and Colin Voss's jumper the next North Texas trip down the floor made it 49-35. An Armani Flannigan lay up at the 12:33 mark gave the Mean Green their largest lead of the day at 16, setting up the Highlanders' comeback.
Walton and Aniefiok led North Texas with 14 and 13 points respectively, and the Mean Green bench outscored UC Riverside 42-17. The UNT reserves made 16 of 28 shots including seven of 13 from long distance.
The Highlanders begin Big West Conference play this Thursday with a 7 pm PT game at Cal State Fullerton.
The Mean Green used a 16-4 run early in the second to turn a four-point lead into a 16-point advantage, 53-37, with 12:33 to go.
It was still a 13-point cushion with 10:18 remaining when the Highlanders put togther their best stretch of basketball of the night. Thornton's tip-in made it an 11-point game, and a Nick Gruninger three-pointer reduced the lead to single digits. Maurice Aniefiok converted on a lay up on the next North Texas trip down the floor, but UCR scored the next 10 points to tie the score at 58 with 7:08 on the clock. Thornton started the run with a three-pointer, and Finley closed it off scoring the next seven points for UC Riverside.
A Jordan Williams' free throw stopped the bleeding, and two minutes later, the Mean Green again led by five, 63-58. It was a seven-point game with less than 30 seconds to go, when the Highlanders made their final run of the game. Gruninger made a pair of free throws with 29 seconds on the clock, and Vertrail Vaughns missed both of his attempts on North Texas' next offensive possession. Gruninger then nailed a three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining forcing the Mean Green to call a timeout.
After a UC Riverside foul, Chris Jones made one of two free throws, and Steven Jones' lay up with 12 seconds to go cut the lead to one, 73-72. That was as close as UCR could get, however, as the Aniefiok scored the final three points of the ballgame.
The Highlanders came out aggressively in the first, taking the ball to the rim and drawing a number of North Texas fouls. UC Riverside translated that into 16 trips to the free throw line in the first 20 minutes of play, making 10.
Meanwhile, UCR tried to clamp down in the paint, and did so with some success as the Mean Green went 9 of 21 (42.9 percent) from inside the arc, and took just four free throws. North Texas' leading scorers coming into the game, Alzee Williams (14.8 ppg) and Jordan Williams (11.2), failed to score in the first. The Mean Green bench more than made up for it, however, going 10 for 15 from the field and four for six from three-point range, helping North Texas to a six-point halftime lead, 33-27.
The lead vacillated between four and six points early in the second until the 16:11 mark when TJ Taylor's three-pointer from the baseline pushed the North Texas lead to nine, its largest lead of the day, at 44-35. Walton's three ball on the Mean Green's next possession made it a 12-point game, and Colin Voss's jumper the next North Texas trip down the floor made it 49-35. An Armani Flannigan lay up at the 12:33 mark gave the Mean Green their largest lead of the day at 16, setting up the Highlanders' comeback.
Walton and Aniefiok led North Texas with 14 and 13 points respectively, and the Mean Green bench outscored UC Riverside 42-17. The UNT reserves made 16 of 28 shots including seven of 13 from long distance.
The Highlanders begin Big West Conference play this Thursday with a 7 pm PT game at Cal State Fullerton.
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