Tag: Wrights

North Texas men’s basketball defeated the University of Alabama-Birmingham with a score of 78-75 in a thrilling game on Tuesday in the 19th all-time meeting between the two programs.

North Texas (10-3, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) had lost both previous matchups to UAB (7-7, 0-1 AAC) in the 2023-24 season, first falling 82-79 in overtime at the Super Pit on January 31 and then losing 71-62 in Birmingham on February 18. Since 2017, the home team in the series has a record of 3-10.

This matchup also served as a rematch of the 2023 NIT championship game, in which the Mean Green emerged victorious with a score of 68-61 in Las Vegas.

On Tuesday, the Mean Green were trailing by 17 points at halftime but made a strong comeback in the second half. Senior guard Atin Wright secured the victory with a game-winning 3-pointer just as the final buzzer sounded, giving North Texas a 78-75 win in the conference opener.

ATIN WRIGHT AT THE BUZZER!

18-POINT COMEBACK WIN!#GMG pic.twitter.com/4PkXt7nBbQ

— UNT Basketball (@MeanGreenMBB) December 31, 2024

“It felt good because we played really hard in the second half and to come back,” Wright said. “Especially being at home, we don’t want to give up any losses at home. It’s just amazing. I’m just happy for me and my team.”

Wright led the team with 22 points, making all 11 free throw attempts and recording two steals. Senior guard Latrell Jossell contributed 20 points, hitting six of his nine three-point attempts, which helped keep the game competitive in the first half.

Jossell also recorded four steals throughout the game and shared what ignited the comeback in the second half.

“Our togetherness. A lot of teams crack when they get in that position,” Jossell said. “They start breaking off into, ‘OK, we need to got to make one home run play to come back,’ and we didn’t do that.”

Head coach Ross Hodge discussed the team’s ability to improve in the second half and what contributed to this shift.

“We kind of flipped the script in the second half. We went to the foul line eight times, they only went five, we outrebounded them and for the most part, our physicality around the rim was good,” Hodge said. “Then Atin made another big shot with the game on the line.”

Wright got North Texas off to a fast start, knocking down a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer for the game’s first points. Junior forward Brenen Lorient recorded a massive block, stopping an easy dunk attempt from UAB’s senior forward Christian Coleman. However, junior guard Ja’Borri McGhee quickly answered back with a jumper that gave the Blazers the lead.

As the game moved to the first media timeout, UAB was in the midst of a 7-0 run, pushing its advantage to 11-7 thanks to a 3-pointer from junior guard Efrem “Butta” Johnson. The Blazers continued their push after the break, forcing North Texas to call a timeout after senior guard Tyren Moore drained another three, extending UAB’s lead to 16-9 with 13:42 left in the first half.

Jossell started to find his rhythm, hitting a three to bring the score to a four-point gap, then smoothly sinking another from the corner in the next possession, narrowing it to 18-17 with 12:36 remaining. As the game approached the next media timeout, UAB regained a four-point lead with Moore’s third 3-pointer, making it 21-17.

The Blazers began to stretch their lead when senior guards Tony Toney and Alejandro Vasquez each contributed a three. With a contested layup from Vasquez, the lead grew to 29-19, prompting Hodge to call for a timeout. The Mean Green fought back, and Jossell hit his third 3-pointer of the half, cutting the score to 31-24 with just under seven minutes left.

UAB responded with another scoring flurry, pushing its lead to 14 after Jossell fouled Vasquez on a three-point attempt, allowing him to convert all three free throws. The Blazers finished the half strong, going on a 12-2 run that left the score at 43-26 at the UAB timeout, as North Texas struggled to score, going without a basket for over three minutes until Jossell nailed his fourth 3-pointer right before the half.

The first half favored the Blazers, who proved to be the tougher team, heading into the locker room with a 48-31 lead. UAB dominated the boards, outrebounding the Mean Green 21-10, and excelled from beyond the arc, shooting 64% (7 for 11). Leading the charge for UAB was Vasquez, who dropped 13 points on three of six shooting.

For North Texas, Jossell scored 12 points, all from three-point range. He discussed the message during halftime when the team was trailing by 17.

“There wasn’t really too much to be said because we kind of knew what to do,” Jossell said. “We knew we’ve been here before, we just kind of knew. We got an older group so we’ve played a lot of basketball, so we kind of know what it takes to come back from a deficit like that.”

Hodge discussed how, even with preparation, it is difficult to fully prepare the team for what they would face until they confronted it directly.

“You can watch it on film, you can talk about it, but just how aggressive they were early and their ability to drive the ball, get paint touches, make you help and then go rebound,” Hodge said. “It had us on our heels, we were backed up, we were late, we were soft.”

At the beginning of the second half, the Mean Green started to find their rhythm, applying full-court pressure against the Blazers. Senior forward Moulaye Sissoko ignited a 7-0 run with a pair of baskets, narrowing the score to 50-40 and putting North Texas back in the game. This run extended to 9-0 after a tough layup by senior guard Jasper Floyd, bringing the deficit down to single digits just before the media timeout.

As the second half progressed, the game remained tightly contested. Wright missed a 3-pointer but quickly rebounded his own shot and converted an and-one opportunity. Moments later, Jossell hit another three, forcing a UAB timeout as the Mean Green went on a 6-0 spurt, cutting the deficit to 56-52 with 11:47 left in the game.

The Blazers pushed their lead to 66-60 with 8:25 remaining, thanks to a fortunate three by McGhee that bounced in just as the shot clock expired. North Texas capitalized on free throw opportunities, tying the game at 66 after Wright hit two free throws. However, Lendeborg answered with a layup on the next possession, regaining a two-point advantage for UAB.

Momentum swung back and forth as the Mean Green tied it up at 69 after a contested and-one layup from senior guard Johnathan Massie. On the subsequent offensive play, Massie drove to the basket again and gave North Texas a two-point lead heading into the media timeout.

The tension intensified when Johnson drew a foul while shooting a 3-pointer. Sinking all three free throws, Johnson narrowed the gap to one point as the game approached its final minutes. UAB fought hard, almost converting a couple of crucial shots, but Wright stepped up, stealing the ball and hitting both free throws to extend the lead to three.

With just over 20 seconds remaining, Johnson hit a three to tie the game at 75. Yet, the Mean Green kept their composure, waiting for the perfect moment. As time wound down, Wright found his shot as he was heavily contested and nailed a game-winning 3-pointer from the top of the key, leading North Texas to a thrilling 78-75 victory going into the new year.

“It’s what you expect from a senior guard that has played a lot of basketball, played in a lot of big games, made game winners before. Not only for us but in his career,” Hodge said. “He’s a guy that’s not afraid of the moment. That’s a big part of being in that moment, you have to be willing to miss and he’s not afraid of that.”

The Mean Green will play Memphis, ranked No. 21 in the AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll, on Sunday, January 5. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT.

“Their backcourt is as good as anybody in college basketball,” Hodge said. “They’ve played an incredibly difficult non-league schedule and so yeah, it’s going to be a monster challenge and it’ll take a better defensive effort than the one we had today.”