LSU Pulls Away From Mean Green In Second Half
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DENTON, Texas (12/22/11) – The North Texas men’s basketball team led the Tigers by as many as seven points but could not overcome a cold shooting spell in the second half as LSU broke away for a 67-58 victory on Thursday night at the Super Pit.
The Mean Green falls to 6-6, while the Tigers improve to 9-3. The series is now tied at 1-1. LSU has now won six consecutive games holding opponents under 60 points.
North Texas shot 44.4 percent (12- for-27) in the first half but made only six field goals in the second period. LSU shot 43.5 percent from the field for the game, going 14-for-34 in the second half.
The Mean Green tied a season high with 20 free throws made. NT was 20-of-26 from the charity stripe in the game. Nine of NT’s first 16 points in the second half were made from the free-throw line.
The announced crowd of 6,838 was the eighth largest in Super Pit history. It is the second-largest crowd in the Johnny Jones era behind the Texas Tech game in 2010 which had an attendance of 7,105.
Chris Jones led the Mean Green with 15 points, his eighth game in double-figures. Tony Mitchell was the other North Texas player in double-digits with 11 points, his third straight game in
double-figures. Brandan Walton poured in nine points, including NT’s only two three-pointers. North Texas was 2-of-15 from behind the arc.
The Mean Green’s shooting went cold at the start of the second half, making just one field goal in the first 10 minutes. Aided by three Ralson Turner steals, LSU went on a 10-0 run to take its largest lead of the game, 50- 40, with 11:22 to play in the game.
Walton ended the cold spell by hitting his second three-pointer of the game to cut the LSU lead to seven points, 50-43, at 11:15. The junior transfer started a 10-4 run for the Mean Green to bring NT within four points, 54-50, at 8:28.
LSU used an 11-5 run to regain its 10- point advantage, 65-55, and seal the victory.
The first half ended in a draw, 35-35, after featuring eight lead changes and a tie score six times. North Texas jumped out to a 10-4 lead off six points by Jones.
North Texas took its largest lead of the first half, 19-12, following a huge dunk by Mitchell at 11:29. The Mean Green took the lead back from the Tigers four times in the final four minutes of the half but Storm Warren came up with a tip-in to tie the game, 35-35 at the intermission.
Four players led LSU in double-figures. Warren came off the bench to score a team-leading 15 points. Johnny O’Bryant III pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds. LSU controlled the boards, 42-29.
North Texas hosts former Sun Belt rival New Orleans on Dec. 27 at the Super Pit.
