Mean Green Men Roll In Basketball Opener
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DENTON, Texas – In opening one of the most anticipated seasons in the program’s history, the North Texas men’s basketball team and its highly-touted class of recruits did not disappoint Friday night at the Super Pit.
The North Texas newcomers were impressive, its veteran forwards dominated inside and the Mean Green (1-0) cruised to an 81-52 victory over the Cavaliers of St. Gregory’s.
Coming off five straight 20-win seasons, North Texas entered this season with one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. Although the most prominent member of the class, Dallas Pinkston’s Tony Mitchell, will not be eligible to play until December, the remaining new faces lived up to their billing. Freshmen guard Jordan Williams was the game’s leading scorer with 16 points and freshman guard Chris Jones put on a dazzling display with game-highs in assists (eight) and rebounds (12).
“We are very excited to get off to such a great start to our season, especially considering how many new faces we took the court with tonight,” Mean Green head coach Johnny Jones said.
Kedrick Hogans was the only other Mean Green player in double figures with 11 points to go with five rebounds. Every North Texas player scored.
“I really liked our chemistry, and I’m very pleased with our young guys,” Jones said.
Kyler Patterson had 11 points to lead the Cavaliers (1-1), for whom this game was an exhibition.
The Mean Green overcame a ragged opening couple of minutes to open a six-point lead at 11-5, sparked by Jones’s four points, three rebounds, a steal and a pair of assists to set up Alonzo Edwards dunks. It was a lead the Mean Green would never lose.
After St. Gregory’s closed within 13-10, North Texas took control. Another Jones assist, this time for a two-handed Hogans dunk, pushed the lead to double-figures at 21-10 with just under 10 minutes left in the first half, and the advantage bulged to 33-10 as the Mean Green capped a 20-0 run.
St. Gregory’s never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way. North Texas’s depth, size, and athleticism simply overpowered the Cavaliers.
North Texas now embarks on a stretch of seven consecutive road games, beginning next Wednesday at Texas Tech. The Mean Green return to the Super Pit on December 10 against Sam Houston State.
