Mitchell Shines In Debut, UNT Thumps Tigers
{fshare id=2008}
DENTON, Texas – On a night that featured the much-anticipated debut of North Texas freshman Tony Mitchell, it was a team effort that helped the Mean Green to a 69-55 win against Jackson State on Sunday at the Super Pit. Mitchell, who came off the bench to record a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, was joined by three other Mean Green players who scored in double figures including freshman guard Chris Jones who led North Texas with 17 points.
North Texas won its third straight game and improves to 5-5 overall. The Mean Green is now 5-1 in the series against Jackson State, including wins in the last four. The Tigers fall to 2-10. North Texas is now 57-7 in home non-conference games under Johnny Jones, including 16 straight wins and three this season.
Roger Franklin and Jordan Williams both came off the bench to score in double-figures. Franklin scored 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Williams poured in 10 points.
Jones hit a career-high five 3-point field goals and made his first five before missing
on his sixth attempt. He went 6-for-9 from the field, recording his seventh game in double-figures.
{scrollbox}dir=2011/unt vs jsu{/scrollbox}
Mitchell made his debut at the 13:30 mark of the first half to a standing ovation. He recorded his
first points, a dunk, at 8:44, and brought the crowd to its feet with a dunk to put North Texas ahead, 36-20, with 2:22 left in the first half. He scored seven points and pulled down four rebounds in 10 minutes of play in the first half.
Mitchell went 6-for-11 from field-goal range and 2-for-5 from the free-throw line in the game. He dished out three assists and recorded two steals and completed his double-double in 20 minutes of playing time. He became the first player in the Johnny Jones era to start his career with a double-double.
Jackson State scored the first points of the game, but Jones hit his first three-pointer of the game to put North Texas ahead, 3-2, and the Mean Green never looked back. A 9-0 run gave North Texas a 16-point lead, 33-17, with 3:46 on the clock in the first half.
The Mean Green opened the second half on a 10-0 run, 46-24, to give the home team its largest lead of the game. Jackson State cut the lead to nine points, 61-52, following a basket by Jenirro Bush, at 4:20, but North Texas scored the next six points to regain its double-digit lead.
The 14-point margin of victory was the largest over a Division I opponent this season.
Three Jackson State players combined for 40 of the team’s 55 points. Jenirro Bush led all scorers with 20 points.
North Texas returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 20 when it faces Grambling State at 7 p.m. at the Super Pit.
