MBB Slow Start and Sloppy Play Too Much for Mean Green in CUSA Home Opener

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In the post-game interview, Coach McCasland said that the more aggressive team (Charlotte) won and I would agree with him. North Texas looked sloppy throughout much of the game and committed some silly turnovers that resulted in lost scoring opportunities. North Texas must clean up these errors if it wants to better compete in Conference USA now that we’ve entered into the second half of the season. McCasland has this team headed in the right direction but there are still some blemishes that need to be worked on.

This game was a bit of a disappointment in that the game appeared to be one of the more better attended games so far this season. The floor seats were the most full for a game this season and the stands looked more filled compared to previous games.

Scores by Period 1st Half 2nd Half Total
Charlotte 34 36 70
North Texas 28 40 68

North Texas only had three players in double digits – Roosevelt Smart, Shane Temara, and Zach Simmons. Ryan Woolridge did a good job distributing the ball with 11 assists.

Free Throw shooting continues to be a problem for this team. Currently the team is shooting at a 66.4% clip. However, North Texas shot under its average at 58.8% against the 49ers.

How It Ended

With 8 seconds left, Allante Holston was fouled by Ryan Murphy. He made his first free throw and missed the second. Milos Supica collected the defensive rebound and passed the ball to teammate Andrien White. White shot a one-third court 3-pointer and missed. Milos Supica collected the offensive rebound and stuck the put back with 0.2 seconds left to put the Charlotte 49ers up 70-68. North Texas wasn’t able to make the long inbound pass and time expired.

It appeared both Holston, Smart, and maybe even Lawson weren’t paying attention allowing the Charlotte freshman forward to collect the offensive rebound and make the game winning layup. Had one of them collected the rebound, it’s quite likely the game is forced into over-time and from there who knows what happens.

First year head coach Grant McCasland even commented that the players admitted they gave up on the play in the post-game interview.

Highlight Reel

MeanGreenSports.com Recap

Denton Record Chronicle Recap

Full Game Stats

Up next for North Texas is the Old Dominion Monarchs at the SuperPit on Saturday, January 6th and is set for a 5:00 PM tip off. Old Dominion is on a hot streak and currently is on a six game win streak with an overall record of 11-4. Rice took ODU to overtime so it’s possible the Monarchs will come to Denton looking to show they are better than what they were against the Owls. Radio coverage will be available via KHYI 95.3, KNTU 88.1, and the Mean Green Sports TuneIn channel. The game will also be available on CUSA.tv.

Conference USA Standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL
Old Dominion 2-0 11-3
Marshall 2-0 11-4
Middle Tennessee 2-0 10-4
Western Kentucky 2-0 10-5
North Texas 2-1 9-7
UT San Antonio 2-1 9-7
UAB 1-1 10-5
Florida Intl 1-1 7-8
Charlotte 1-1 5-8
Southern Miss 1-2 8-8
UTEP 1-2 6-9
Florida Atlantic 0-2 6-8
Louisiana Tech 0-3 9-7
Rice 0-3 3-13

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