UNT Tops Troy
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DENTON, Texas – Tony Mitchell had season-highs in points and rebounds and powered North Texas past the Troy Trojans Thursday night at the Super Pit, 76-59.
Mitchell, the Mean Green’s leading scorer since his arrival in Denton two years ago, had 29 points on a season-best 10-of-12 free throw shooting, 15 rebounds, and four shot blocks to bring his career total to 109, second most in school history and now just 10 shy of the all-time mark of 119 held by Jeffrey Simpson. The performance was also his fifth double-double of the season and 15th of his career.
“Tony Mitchell was a beast,” said North Texas coach Tony Benford, who got the first conference win of his career. “We went to him early and the guys did a good job of being patient and getting him the ball. He was more aggressive, and we’ve got to continue to do that.”
North Texas moves to 6-9 on the season and 1-3 in Sun Belt play, while Troy slips to 5-10 and 0-4.
Injuries and suspensions for violation of team rules left Benford with just an eight-man bench Thursday and two new starters, but he got a determined, energetic effort from his undermanned squad. All eight players scored and had rebounds. P.J. Hardwick, getting his first start at point guard in place of injured Chris Jones, did an effective job running the team and had seven assists, while Jordan Williams (12 points), Alzee Williams and Roger Franklin (10 each) all finished in double-figure scoring.
“We were a little short handed tonight,” Benford said, “but I thought our guys showed a lot of character and fought through some adversity. Defensively, we did a great job.
“When CJ went down, that really bothered Tony, and he came to me and said he needed to turn it up,” Benford added. “He knows that everyone is locking in on him, but we’re finding ways to get him in different spots where he can be effective.”
Despite coming in with a three-game losing streak and having lost point guard Jones to injury, North Texas came out with determination and early energy. Niko Stojiljkovic had four points to help spark an game-opening run that was capped by a three-pointer by Mitchell for a 13-0 lead.
Troy, however, after missing its first eight shots, hit on 10 of its next 16 shots and to stop the bleeding, then closed on the Mean Green and pulled within 28-25 with 3:47 to play in the half.
But Mitchell closed the half strong for North Texas. The Mean Green consistently got the ball inside to the sophomore, where Mitchell drew foul after foul made nine of 10 free throws. He finished the half with 16 points, six rebounds, and two more blocked shots, and had 11 of the Mean Green’s final 18 points of the half to spark North Texas to a 39-29 intermission lead.
Mitchell added to the margin with a bucket and free throw in the opening seconds of the second half, and North Texas raced to its biggest lead of the game at 46-31 with just over a minute gone in the half. From that point, the lead never dropped below 10, though Troy had brief bursts to keep the Mean Green from pulling away until late.
North Texas, however, got a strong defensive effort, especially against the Trojans’ three-point shooters, holding Troy to five of 23 from beyond the arc to defuse Troy’s comeback efforts.
The Mean Green return to action Saturday night at the Super Pit when it hosts Louisiana-Monroe. Game time is 7 p.m.
