Skipper

Morgan Price | Staff Writer Despite picking up first-place finishes in both the 200m medley relay and the 100m breaststroke, the North Texas swimming team fell short against Southern Methodist University 143-99 on Senior Night in its last dual meet of the season. The Mean Green got off to a strong start, barely edging SMU in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:44.76. “I was really impressed with our 200m medley relay, those girls really came out fighting and they knew that we needed some momentum to start the meet,” head coach Brittany Roth said. “To watch Brittany Thurstin out touch [the] SMU swimmer in the end, that really got our team pumped.” While the Mustangs took the win overall, North Texas had at least a fourth place finish in every event, which set the tone for its continued practices before the Conference USA Championships at the end of the month. Roth was pleased with the times of her athletes and mentioned several bright spots, including junior Sarah Vaisse who finished first in the 100 breaststroke, as building blocks moving forward. “The time [I got] was better than last week by about one second which is a really good time for where we are right now,” Vaisse said. “I was satisfied with it and I feel really confident [going to] conference.” Junior Isabelle Morris had two third-place finishes, one in the 200 freestyle and another in the 100 freestyle. After being sick during the week leading up to the meet, Roth was impressed with Morris’ performance. “She lost some close ones but ultimately her times were really good,” Roth said. “That’s all you can ask of an athlete.” While the Mean Green seniors didn’t have as much of an impact with their times throughout the meet, the group maintained a positive atmosphere on their night and brought some fun energy as well. Singing, dancing, and cheering, North Texas honored its five seniors just before the end of the meet with flowers, signed plaques and photos in their final moment at their home pool. Senior Abbie Imes said it was a weird feeling knowing that her college swimming career was so close to its end. “This is it,” Imes said. “This is our last time in the pool. The races didn’t exactly go my way, but I’m not upset. I had a great time with my team and this is the last time I’m going to be able to do it with them [at home].” The Mean Green swimming team will have an exhibition practice with the Mustangs on Saturday as both teams to prepare for their conference tournaments at the end of the month. View Full Article

Jackie Guerrero | Staff Writer The university’s spending on construction has increased by 91.4 percent from the fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2017, due to new buildings and renovations on the UNT campus. David Reynolds, the associate vice president of facilities, said there has been a notable increase in spending from 2014 to 2017. “Significant changes in residence halls and dining,” Reynolds said. “They have significantly increased their spending since about 2015. I’ll say [in] around numbers was in the neighborhood of about four to five million dollars per year, up to about 2015, 2016, 2017 has been around the 10 to 12 to 14 million dollar range.” From fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2016, the spending only increased by 12.3 percent. But for 2017, spending jumped up by a little over 90 percent. The reason for the big increase of spending is because of the investment in new residence halls, upgrades in current halls, dining facilities and class buildings. Reynolds said he hopes the campus improvements cause less distractions to students than in previous years. Students can expect to see a new track and field complex to start construction in the summer of 2017, as well as renovations to the first floor of Sage Hall, Reynolds said. In the spring, construction on Clark Park will be wrapping up. Helen Bailey, division of finance and administration director said the project-estimating process is based on looking at an abundance of resources on construction cost data and understanding the full scope of the project. Reynolds said it takes around 18 to 24 months for a project to come in and go through all the steps to getting the correct approval by the Board of Regents. Bailey said each project varies in length depending on the scope and dollar value of that project. The process of building each project has to do with the window of time the school has to produce either the renovation or building. “Like the CVAD [College of Visual Arts and Design building] project is about a three-year, $70 million project, and that is the beginning of the design to opening the doors,” she said. “But a little $1 million project might be done over a summer.” The budget funding “almost never” comes from students’ tuition, Bailey said. So students shouldn’t expect an increase in tuition rates because of the ongoing campus construction projects. The money that feeds into the budget is the university and locally generated revenue, higher education assistance funds, grant funding or other legislative appropriations, bonds and donations. The donation projects usually go to non-academic projects, like athletics. UNT student Blake Rodriguez is not bothered by the campus construction and thinks the projects are good for the university. “I think the renovations are necessary because UNT is a very old campus and it’s good to upgrade buildings and residence halls,” Rodriguez said. “It makes the campus look up to date with today’s customs.” Bailey said UNT is constantly trying to improve its flagship campus to attract new students and promote research. The facilities UNT provides are “important to all these efforts” and is why the campus continues to expand. “There is only one for sure thing as this campus grows and expands, and that is change is for certain,” she said. “The university is thriving to always be the best it can be to have the best facilities for their education.” Featured Image: File Photo View Full Article

Clay Massey | Senior Staff Writer University of North Texas official Margarita Venegas confirmed Monday junior running back Willy Ivery is no longer enrolled at the school. Ivery was not eligible for the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl after being deemed academically ineligible following the fall semester. He made 11 appearances for the Mean Green in 2016, carrying the ball 90 times. Ivery rushed for six touchdowns and 489 yards in a back-up role last season. He also caught 25 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. The Sulphur Springs native had been with the program since 2014. A source close to the team later confirmed Ivery was no longer with the football program. Featured image: Junior running back Willy Ivery (29) attempts to rush for a first down. North Texas rushed for a total net of five yards against MTSU. Colin Mitchell View Full Article

Construction continues View Full Article

Jynn Schubert | Senior Staff Writer A car stolen from the parking garage at 33 Degrees North Apartments over Thanksgiving break was found Saturday evening with two flat tires in the parking lot next to Fouts Field. Car owner and chemistry sophomore Jason Smith said he last saw his car over Thanksgiving break, and identified it from the road. Police were notified the owner of the 2002 Toyota Camry just before 5 p.m. but identified no suspects. Nothing was stolen from inside the car, and there is no exterior damage other than the two flat tires in the front. Smith was unsure as to how the thief got into his car in the first place. “I don’t know [what happened], it was just stolen,” Smith said. “I had my keys and stuff the whole time.” Feature image by Jynn Schubert View Full Article

Matt Brune | Staff Writer With 4.7 seconds remaining in the game, the Mean Green women’s basketball team was down two and quickly pushed the ball up the court. Sophomore guard Terriell Bradley got the ball in the corner and hoisted a potential game winning three-pointer. But Bradley’s shot fell just short, and Rice University walked away with a 51-49 come-from-behind win over North Texas (5-11, 2-3). It was a heartbreaking loss for the Mean Green, as the team led by as many as 13 points late in the third quarter. The run was swift, fast and lethal as the Owls (10-6, 1-4) scored 14 unanswered points to take a 34-33 lead late in the third quarter. Bradley made a layup to give the Mean Green the lead heading to the fourth, but the damage had already been done as the Owls put pressure on North Texas while seizing control of the game’s momentum. The dominant stretch of play helped propel them to their first Conference USA win of the year. “They made a run where they hit three or four threes in a row,” head coach Jalie Mitchell said. “And I think that gave them some momentum, and we didn’t take that back. We weren’t putting the ball in the hole.” Senior guard Candice Adams came off the bench and played well, finishing with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc in 33 minutes of action. Bradley was the team’s leading scorer with 15 points in the loss. But despite strong performances from Adams and Bradley, the North Texas offense struggled as a whole. The Mean Green scored less than 50 points for the first time since the Nov. 11 season opener. North Texas had a season-high 14 points in the second quarter, but shot just shot 33 percent from the field. View Full Article

UNT makes national ‘Sugar Baby Schools’ list View Full Article

For a brief moment in Birmingham, Alabama, the scoreboard showed UAB 60, UNT 59 at the end of overtime. After a conceding a 15-point fourth quarter lead, tension was high. That is, until the referees reviewed the last-second basket by the University of Alabama at Birmingham and deemed it was no good. The result? a 59-58 victory for North Texas, giving the Mean Green (5-9, 2-1) their second consecutive win. “We know how to buckle down and get a win,” junior forward Tosin Mabodu said. [Heading into overtime we said]’ The game’s not over, we just need stops and rebounds.’” On a night where North Texas was without starting point guard Kelsey Criner — and a game where no one on the team really took control — eight women played significant minutes and only one scored over eight points. Part of this was due to constant foul trouble, and part was because they did not need anyone to take over because their defense held the Blazers (7-6, 0-2) in check, only allowing 31 points through the first three quarters. But unlike their previous game against Old Dominion, North Texas was on the receiving end of a huge fourth quarter run, as UAB erased a double-digit deficit with under six minutes to play. View Full Article

The Mean Green men’s basketball team was hoping the third time was the charm in conference play. And it would’ve been, if it wasn’t for those meddling Blazers. On the back of a 12-2 University of Alabama at Birmingham (8-7, 1-1) run to close the game, the Blazers clawed back and got the win over North Texas (6-9, 0-3) Thursday night. UAB was led in scoring by junior forward William Lee, who hit several big shots down the stretch, including the game-winner with under six seconds to play. “We had some good looks from the field,” head coach Benford said. “They hit some big shots. With 5.9 ticks left on the clock, Lee drove the lane and absorbed the contact from sophomore guard Allante Holston. Much to the chagrin of North Texas fans, the shot rolled around and found the bottom of the net, and Lee went to the line to covert the and-one. With no timeouts, senior guard J-Mychal Reese took the ensuing inbounds pass and ran the length of the court before finding freshman Ryan Woolridge for a 16-footer that would have sent the game to over time. But Woolridge’s shot refused to fall, and the Mean Green somberly trotted to the locker room. “It was a good shot,” Woolridge said. “It’s just one of those ones that could have went in or went out.” For Benford, it was deja vu all over again. View Full Article

UNT fans bring energy, passion to Heart of Dallas Bowl View Full Article

Facing 4th and nine, the Mean Green knew what was at stake in overtime at the Cotton Bowl – the goal they set at the before the season began of winning a bowl game was in danger. Senior quarterback Alec Morris took the snap, one that had the chance to be the final of his career. He rolled right and attempted to find senior wide receiver Thaddeous Thompson near the end zone. But as fate would have it, it was not to be. The ball fell dead on the grass, and with it, so did the Mean Green’s hopes. Army stormed the field with a 38-31 Heart of Dallas Bowl victory in hand. “We may not have accomplished our mission,” head coach Seth Littrell said. “But these men accomplished a lot this season. The things that they did accomplished setting a solid foundation of brotherhood and great chemistry. I’ll forever be indebted to these men. They taught me a lot this season and they’ll always be family to me.” The effort fell just short, but for a group of players who had to prove what a program who went 1-11 last season could do, an appearance in a local bowl game could mean more than maybe what the heartbroken locker room may realize. “I felt like we were at our best coming into this game,” Littrell said. “Although we didn’t win the game, we got better today as well. I don’t look at last year. It’s what they did in the past. It’s what we’re going to do now and in the future. They’ve done an incredible job of setting a solid foundation. We will have success.” Despite the loss, Morris and the offense fought until the bitter end. View Full Article

Oh the dichotomy of college football. In a game that featured old school vs. new school, triple option vs. air raid, the tried and true method eventually won out. Behind 480 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, Army wore down the North Texas defense time and time again. And in a rematch from October, where the Mean Green (5-8, 3-5) pummeled the Black Knights (8-5) in West Point, Army knocked off North Texas 38-31 in overtime to win the Heart of Dallas Bowl and get the last laugh. “It’s not an easy offense to defend,” head coach Seth Littrell said. “I thought we prepared for it. They’re really good at what they do.” On fourth and goal from the three-yard line in overtime, Army elected to go for it rather than kick the field goal. With most of the 39,117 in attendance at the Cotton Bowl on their feet, the Black Knights snapped the ball and took off for the right side on a sweep. Seconds later, they were in the endzone, holding a lead and a massive shift in momentum. North Texas was unable to match the score. The Mean Green went four-and-out after a broken play on fourth down resulted in a heave downfield that fell harmlessly incomplete. When the ball hit the turf, Army rushed the field, and North Texas couldn’t wait to get off it. View Full Article

UNT falls 38-31 in overtime to Army View Full Article

Carrie Fisher dead at age 60 View Full Article

Editor’s note: The North Texas Daily went behind enemy lines with Army football beat writer Sal Interdonato of the Times Herald-Record for an inside look at the Black Knights, along with previewing and predicting Tuesday’s bowl game. What is one thing you are interested to see in this rematch? Sal Interdonato: The play of Army’s defense. The Black Knights are ranked fourth in the country in total defense and were embarrassed by North Texas in the second half of a 35-18 loss on Oct. 22. Jeffery Wilson sliced through the defense for 157 yards and three touchdowns after halftime. Army is coming off a Navy win where it held the Midshipmen, one of the nation’s top rushing teams to 112 yards, to about 200 yards below its average. Reece Waddell (Managing Sports Editor, North Texas Daily): North Texas’ offense. Last time these teams played, the Mean Green had a healthy Mason Fine and Jeffery Wilson. Fine, who became the first true freshman in nearly a decade to start at quarterback for North Texas, sprained his A/C joint in their loss to Western Kentucky and is not expected to play much, if at all. Wilson had minor knee surgery before the WKU game as well, but played in the season finale against UTEP and has practiced all throughout December. North Texas also had wide receiver Terian Goree and backup running back Willy Ivery when they beat the Black Knights back in October. Unfortunately, Goree has since been kicked off the team and transferred, and Ivery was ruled academically ineligible. If they’re going to have a chance at winning, the Mean Green are going to have to score with a banged up and somewhat depleted offense. Clay Massey (Senior sports writer, North Texas Daily): I’m very interested to see if Army can hold onto the football. If the Black Knights do that, they should have a much better day than the first time when these two teams met. Army turned the ball over seven times while the Mean Green only gave the rock up once. It is not completely out of the question for the Black Knights to do this again, as they did turn the ball over four times in a 21-17 win over a ranked Navy squad. That said, it will be tough for North Texas to beat Army again, especially if they don’t win the turnover battle. Who is one player to watch on Army? SI: Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw’s game and leadership has grown since the North Texas loss. He’s led Army to wins over Wake Forest and Navy. North Texas forced Army into passing situations in their first meeting and Bradshaw was picked off on four of his 21 attempts. If Bradshaw and Army run the triple option effectively, Bradshaw will not be forced to pass and will throw more high-percentage passes. RW: I’ll double down on Bradshaw as well. He is the motor behind Army’s triple option offense. When he plays well, so do the Black Knights. When he has a bad game, well, just look at their October loss to North Texas. Bradshaw finished 7-of-21 for 101 yards and four interceptions. The Mean Green defense flustered him once. Can they do it again? CM: In the triple option system it all start and ends with the man under center. Bradshaw is absolutely essential to Army’s success. Bradshaw and the Black Knights rarely throw the ball. It is simply not part of their scheme. In the loss to North Texas, Bradshaw threw a career-high 21 passes. If the Mean Green let him get settled and run his offense, uh oh. If the Mean Green force him to throw, North Texas will be hoisting its second Heart of Dallas Bowl trophy. View Full Article

Former Guyer football player, Deandre Wilson, killed in early morning shooting View Full Article

Tillerson family is right at home in Denton County View Full Article

With under six minutes left in the fourth quarter, North Texas and the University of the Incarnate Word were separated by ten points. But the game felt closer than the scoreboard indicated. While the Mean Green (3-6) led for over 38 minutes of the 40-minute game, the Cardinals (0-7) found ways to keep it close. That is, until the Mean Green scored three times over a 37-second span, blowing the game open. The 23-10 run gave North Texas women’s basketball their third win of the year, defeating Incarnate Word 84-61 on Saturday evening at the Super Pit. “I thought it was a great fourth quarter,” head coach Jalie Mitchell said. “I thought that we played defense the way we need to play defense [with] us picking up our energy.” While the defense was inconsistent throughout the contest, the offense was able to open up and have an impressive game against the Cardinal’s zone and occasional press. The team was led in scoring by senior forward Terra Ellison, who posted a career-high 19 points while also sinking her first three of the season. “I guess [it was] just the energy from the team and I was getting a lot of offensive boards and putting them back,” Ellison said. “[I also] got the easy buckets like running the floor and knocking down my shot as well.” The Mean Green were unable to outscore Incarnate Word by over five points in any of the first three quarters, but in the fourth, they put it together on both ends of the floor for a 31-16 advantage. “We just had a lot more energy and a lot more ball pressure, that was really it,” Bradley said. Ellison’s career high night was accompanied by three other double-digit scorers in sophomore guards Terriell Bradley (17) and Tyara Warren (13), and senior guard Kelsey Criner (13). “We’re a pretty balanced squad, so it’s typical for us to be in the same area as far as attempts go,” Mitchell said. “We had five people with eight to 12 shots, so I think that’s pretty normal.” Ellison led North Texas in rebounds, with eight, which has been the team’s primary focus since the Indiana game. The Mean Green outrebound the Cardinals 39-21, including a 15-6 edge on the offensive glass. “This past week we’ve been really focused on rebounding, especially to improve that from last game,” Ellison said. “I guess we’ve been a lot more focused on that so we could improve on it.” The win halted a three-game losing skid by the Mean Green and appeared to be a step to getting their footing before Conference USA play begins at the end of the month. And while outside of the Arizona win North Texas has not put it together for a full 40 minutes, they are starting to look more comfortable on both ends. “A win is a very important step,” Mitchell said. “Gaining some confidence and finding out who we are, what we look like, and what we should look like is big and will be great for us.” Next up: The Mean Green travel to take on Missouri State at 2:05 p.m. Saturday. Featured Image: North Texas senior guard Kelsey Criner (3) drives the lane against Incarnate Word. The Mean Green improved to 3-6 on the season after the 84-61 win. Colin Mitchell View Full Article

It’s customary routine before basketball games. Every team, whether it’s at the YMCA or the NBA, goes into two lines on opposite sides of the court. The player on the side with the ball dribble into the paint and attempt a lay up. It is the most common warm up routine in the sport. And similar to the warm up drill, Indiana University constantly navigated its way into the paint for layups against North Texas Tuesday afternoon, en route to a 94-64 throttling of the Mean Green (2-6). The Hoosiers (5-3) eviscerated the North Texas defense, scoring 44 points in the paint, and shooting 26-of-36 from inside the three-point line. “We did not take care of the paint very well,” head coach Jalie Mitchell said. “We allowed their centers to get great position, so that when they got the ball it was a layup,” Indiana also utilized their physical presence on the glass early and often as they outrebounded the Mean Green 44-14. North Texas only managed six second chance points while the Hoosiers thrived, scoring 15 second chance points on 12 offensive rebounds. “[We] obviously did not rebound very well,” Mitchell said. “That was a huge difference. They gave themselves second chances and we gave ourselves none. That’s probably the story of the game.” In a game where there were 58 free throws and 51 turnovers between the two teams, both played sloppy and undisciplined basketball. The difference, then, was the Mean Green’s inability to get stops. Senior guard Candice Adams totaled a season-high 14 points, however, she knows the defensive side of the ball was the issue in this game. “It was not them giving us problems,” Adams said. “We just need to defend better.” At the end of the first quarter, North Texas only trailed by five, but in the second quarter, Indiana took control, outscoring North Texas 29 to 7. The Hoosier’s lead swelled into the high 30s occasionally, but was also trimmed to 20 at one point. And Mitchell understands no team can survive a quarter like that. “I thought that the second quarter obviously killed us,” Mitchell said. “We went into it down five and just didn’t put the ball in the hole and didn’t get enough stops.” While they struggled to put the ball in the hole, the aggression and hustle appeared to be at a high level throughout the game. This was especially the case when the Mean Green went into a full court press, where they forced turnovers and tracked down several loose balls. “We have to be on the same page to be ready to defend and get loose balls and hustle for every minute of the game,” senior guard Kelsey Criner said. “And that’s what we have to do better.” Criner had a season-high 17 points, as did sophomore guard Grace Goodhart, with finished with nine. Nort Texas is now four games below .500 and only has three games remaining before Conference USA play begins. After the tough loss, Mitchell mentioned foul trouble and the need to win these next three games. But at the end, the coach echoed the sentiments of her starting point guard. “I’ll piggyback off of Kelsey,” Mitchell said. “We have to get on the same page and make sure we take care of our business, and we need to do that now.” Featured Image: North Texas senior guard Kelsey Criner (13) drives the lane against Indiana. Criner and senior guard Candace adams were the only North Texas players to score in double digits. Colin Mitchell View Full Article

Denton man faces long road to recovery after golf club attack View Full Article

I am faced with a conundrum. At the beginning of the season, I upset quite a few people by saying North Texas football would only be slightly better this year. So I made a deal. If North Texas makes a bowl game I'll write a public apology letter. Hell I'll even try to hand deliver it to Littrell. — Clay Massey (@Clay_FC) August 30, 2016 Here I sit at the end of November after 12 football games were played, and I find myself in a situation where I was both right and wrong. North Texas will more than likely make a bowl game, but the Mean Green did not qualify for one based on their record. Instead, North Texas will probably go bowling thanks to their Academic Progress Rate, which is 10th in the country at 984. While there are nine schools with better scores, eight of them already have the six wins necessary for bowl eligibility, so APR is irrelevant. Officially recognized in 2004, APR measures eligibility and retention of student-athletes. According to the NCAA, each student-athlete receiving athletic related financial aid earns one point for staying in school and one point for being academically eligible. A team’s points are then divided by the total they could have received and multiplied by 1,000 to get APR. Essentially, the Mean Green can thank their grades for an opportunity to take home a bowl title for only the second time in 10 years. If you think about it, it’s kind of funny. Seth Littrell posted five wins but had to be helped out by the grades North Texas posted under former head coach Dan McCarney. Oh, irony. So, am I sorry for saying the Mean Green would not be incredible this year? No. View Full Article

Youth prevailed Sunday afternoon in Denton. On a team where 11 of the 12 currently eligible players have at least one year of college experience, the lone true freshman had a breakout game that lifted North Texas men’s basketball to an 81-78 win over Hartford. A.J. Lawson posted a season-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting and led the Mean Green (3-3) in scoring. Along with getting timely buckets, Lawson also made several key defensive plays down the stretch, including a spectacular chase down block that brought a crowd of 1,566 in the Super Pit to their feet. “A.J. is a confident kid,” head coach Tony Benford said. “We were fortunate to get A.J. He could have been in the Big 12. He made some plays for us and he’s going to be a really good player.” Leading by one with under 30 seconds left, senior guard Deckie Johnson drove to the paint off a screen from graduate forward Derail Green. Green then popped beyond the three-point line while his man sagged off, so Johnson, seeing the wide open man, kicked it out to Green for the potential dagger. He didn’t miss. “The biggest thing was that we stayed together,” Green said. “The coaching staff and [the players] stayed on the same page, [and] to win close games that’s what you have to do.” The Hawks’ (1-6) shooting kept them in the game, and almost won it for them. In the first half, the Mean Green struggled to keep track of Hartford’s shooters. The Hawks went 8-of-14 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes and led North Texas 38-36 at halftime. But while Hartford was hot, the Mean Green was hotter. North Texas ended the game 13-of-22 from three-point range, and took advantage of the Hawks’ zone defense that dared them to shoot. “We were kind of stagnant, just standing around and passing it around [in the beginning],” Benford said. “We ended up getting 20 free throw attempts then we made some shots to open it up a little bit.” Five Mean Green players finished in double figures — the most by the team this year — and eight played over 18 minutes. In the first half, the Mean Green coughed up the ba 10 times, which helped the Hawk’s take the halftime lead. In the second half, however, the Mean Green only had four turnovers with their guards controlling play on both ends of the court. “Coach told us to slow the ball down and swing it,” Lawson said. “We were trying to force it a little bit, but when we keep swinging the ball people are going to get open and that’s what we did.” North Texas’ 81 points was the most it has scored against a Division I opponent so far this year. With the victory, the Mean Green improve to .500 for the first time since the season began a little more than two weeks ago. “I think it’s a very big win,” Lawson said. “I think this can carry over because in late-game situations like this we’ll be able to handle the pressure and handle the ball better.” Next up: North Texas hosts Texas College at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Featured Image: Freshman guard A.J. Lawson (12) drives the basket in transition against Hartford. Lawson had 17 points. Colin Mitchell View Full Article

Maybe it was just not meant to be. Needing a win on the final day of the season to become bowl eligible in head coach Seth Littrell’s first year at the helm, North Texas football fell short of its goal. Led by a career day from junior running back Aaron Jones, the University of Texas – El Paso handled the Mean Green (5-7, 3-5) 52-34 in El Paso. Jones torched North Texas for 301 yards on 24 carries with four touchdowns. He is now the all-time single season rushing leader in UTEP (4-8, 2-6) history, and only the second Miner to ever rush for 300 yards in a game. “[Jones] did a great job,” Littrel said. “It just kind of snowballed. We couldn’t dig ourselves out of a hole. At the end of the day, that’s my responsibility and we’ve just to get better and continue to grow.” UTEP’s 534 yards of total offense were the most allowed by the Mean Green defense this year – and as a result, North Texas will now have to wait and see if it is invited to a bowl game based on its Academic Progress Rate scores. But Littrell is not banking on it. “You just never know what the situations are,” Littrell said. “Now we’ve just got to get back and regroup.” Graduate quarterback Alec Morris got the start under center for the second week in a row, going 23-for-42 with 190 yards and two touchdowns. The Miners opened the scoring with 6:27 to play in the first quarter on a field goal from 48 yards out to give them a quick 3-0 lead. The Mean Green had an answer, though, and put together an eight-play, 81-yard drive capped off with a 14-yard touchdown run by junior running back Willy Ivery – his fifth touchdown of the season – to make it 7-3. Ivery finished with 98 yards rushing along with 58 yards receiving with two touchdowns. From that point, however, the route was on. View Full Article

Suspect arrested in Texas detective’s death View Full Article

Halfway through the first half, the North Texas men’s basketball team was hanging with Drexel University. Then the Dragon’s Icelandic freshman Kari Jonsson took over, and simultaneously crushed the dreams of the Mean Green faithful in attendance. Jonsson combusted for four threes, two assists and a steal in 14 minutes off the bench in the first half, and was the engine of a 27-12 run that ultimately doomed North Texas. The Mean Green (1-2) were never able to bounce back from the 40-21 halftime deficit, and lost to Drexel 83-62 at the Super Pit Sunday afternoon. “I knew we’d have our work cut out for us,” head coach Tony Benford said. “They went on a run and we never recovered.We had some turnovers that cost us and I thought we pressed a little bit, but I give Drexel credit.” After the Dragons (2-2) went on the run, their established starters took over and scored in the paint and from the outside. Drexel’s success was as much to the credit of the undisciplined defense as it was the outstanding offense. The Mean Green constantly lost shooters off basic drives and failed to rotate appropriately when they doubled a big in the post. As a result, the Dragons made them pay via a barrage of threes. Drexel shot 50 percent from beyond the arc on the afternoon. “[Besides doubling the post], we weren’t tight enough on the ball screen coverage,” Benford said about defending the three. “In transition they hit a couple of threes too, so we have to do a better job of identifying the shooters.” Senior guard J-Mychal Reese was at times a calming influence for the team on the court as he played under control and well throughout the game. His stat line of 13 points, six assists and 3-of-3 from three-point range highlight his impact. After the run, the Mean Green began to try to speed the game up, but the quality of shots diminished as a result. “We [started] rushing a little bit, instead of letting the offense keep flowing,” Reese said. “Teams are going to go on runs, so we can’t get it back in one play, we just have to keep moving the ball around and getting good shots.” Sophomore center Rickey Brice Jr. came off the bench and contributed to the comeback effort, putting up 10 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes of action. To help defend the opposing size in the post, Benford started Brice in the second half in hopes of controlling the Dragon’s bigs, and subsequently, their shooting. “I thought Rickey’s size could bother them a little bit,” Benford said. “I thought he did a decent job while he was in there [against Rodney Williams]. And Rickey can score inside, so I thought we could pound them inside a little bit and I thought we did that.” While the Mean Green only managed to score 21 points in the first half, the second half showed some resolve as they put up 41 in the final 20 minutes, even cutting the deficit to 13 at one point. And despite making mistakes on both ends of the floor, junior forward Jeremy Combs believed the team’s energy level was high enough to get the job done. “I feel like we had enough intensity,” Combs said. “They were just knocking down shots and we weren’t.” Combs, arguably the team’s best player, had a pedestrian performance by his standards, with 15 points and five rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the floor. The 21-point loss featured a bevy of miscues that will need to be fixed before Conference USA play begins. Only three games into their season, the Mean Green are not hitting the panic button yet, but know they have ground to make up. “We have to continue to get better,” Benford said. “This is a tough loss to take at home. This is a game that we felt good about and we’ve got a lot of work to do to get ready for Rutgers in 48 hours.” Featured Image: North Texas senior guard J-Mychal Reese (52) passes the ball around the arc. Reese finished with 13 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Colin Mitchell View Full Article