Game Recap from the DRC ...

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Men's basketball: Mean Green fall to Ragin' Cajuns

North Texas loses third straight home game, drops to 3-5 in Sun Belt Conference

09:04 AM CST on Friday, February 4, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

A game against the hottest team in the Sun Belt Conference arrived at just the wrong time for the North Texas men.

Louisiana-Lafayette came into the Super Pit for its game against the Mean Green on Thursday having won six straight games since dropping its Sun Belt opener to Denver nearly a month ago.

UNT played one of its best offensive games of the last few weeks, but still was no match for the Ragin’ Cajuns who pulled away in the second half for an 86-79 win.

The loss was UNT’s third straight at home and fourth in the last five games.

"We played a very good team tonight," UNT coach Johnny Jones said. "To beat a team like this you have to come with a different mindset than we did. We didn’t come with that toughness and mentality to overcome some of the things that they were able to do inside. They wanted to get to the offensive glass and score in transition and they did both."

Playing well in those facets of the game are the reason why La.-Lafayette has risen to the top of the Sun Belt’s West Division.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (13-7, 7-1) entered the night tied with Denver for the lead in the league and will get a chance on Saturday to take on the Pioneers — the only team that has knocked them off in conference play.

While ULL entered the game looking to build on a solid run in conference play, UNT (10-9, 3-5) was trying to turn the corner in what the Mean Green have pointed to as a critical stretch of their season.

Thursday’s game against ULL was the first of seven home games in the Mean Green’s last nine contests of the season. UNT has pointed to the series as a key opportunity to make a run toward the top of the conference standings and secure a top seed for the Sun Belt tournament it will host in March.

"We need to turn it around," senior forward Michael Jones said. "It’s now or never."

UNT was hoping a return to the Super Pit would help the Mean Green improve offensively after a series of tough games on the road. UNT achieved that goal by posting its highest point total since a 79-69 win over NMSU on Jan. 8.

Six UNT players scored in double figures for the first time since the fourth game of last season, a win over Hardin-Simmons. That balanced scoring attack went for naught after senior guard Leonard Hopkins struggled offensively and the Mean Green failed to slow down the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Hopkins led UNT with 14 points, but hit just 2-of-14 shots from the field.

"We had some other guys who were able to make shots, but we have to get Leonard going," Johnny Jones said. "We have to get Leonard to where he is shooting 50 percent. For several games he has not knocked shots down, but he will."

Despite an off night from Hopkins, UNT still finished shooting 48 percent from the field. It just wasn’t enough against the Ragin’ Cajuns, who also shot the ball well and frequently beat the Mean Green to the basket while scoring 14 second-chance points when they were off with a shot.

"We are more worried about the way we played on the defensive end than how we played offensively," junior guard Isaac Hines said.

ULL got off to a quick start offensively in the first half and grabbed a 12-point lead before UNT put together a 12-4 to cut its deficit to 39-35 at halftime.

UNT trimmed the lead to two points twice in the second half, the second time on a basket by Michael Jones with 18:59 left

The Ragin’ Cajuns responded with a 14-3 run to take a 55-42 lead. La.-Lafayette maintained a comfortable advantage the rest of the night.

"We went from man to zone, but nothing seemed to work," Michael Jones said. "It’s frustrating. I can’t even explain. We know that we are supposed to win at home. We have to pick it up."

Thomas starts once again

Ty Thomas saw his run of solid games come to an end in UNT’s loss to La.-Lafayette.

The junior forward scored in double figures in each of the Mean Green’s last two games and earned a spot in the starting lineup against the Ragin’ Cajuns. Thomas finished with three points and took just two shots from the field.

Briefly ...

Junior center Justin Barnett scored 10 points against La.-Lafayette, his top total since returning from a hand injury three games ago. Barnett missed nine games with the injury. Junior center Jeffrey Simpson blocked two shots to push his season total to 34 and move into the No. 5 slot on UNT’s single-season leaders list. ... UNT honored its top student athletes at halftime of the Mean Green’s game against La.-Lafayette. Each athlete who earned a spot on the school’s academic honor rolls was introduced during a ceremony.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870.