DRC Baylor/UNT Article

[UNTLifer]

Baylor rains 3's on Mean Green in victory

12/31/2002

By TIM MACMAHON / Denton Record-Chronicle

WACO - The latest edition of the lopsided Baylor-North Texas series was a laugher.

The Bears, who have beaten the Mean Green 11 of the last 12 times the teams met and hold a 31-11 edge in the series, rolled to an 82-56 rout Monday night in front of a crowd of 6,751 at the Ferrell Center.

"They got off to a great start," UNT coach Johnny Jones said. "We were competing and battling, but as the game went on, they continued to play and executed their offense. That's something we didn't do."

A pair of sophomores provided the spark for Baylor. Shooting guard Kenny Taylor and power forward Lawrence Roberts each scored 23 points

"We left on a bad note before Christmas break," said Roberts, whose team suffered a 66-58 loss at SMU on Dec. 21. "We just wanted to come out and play the kind of game we knew we could play."

Taylor, who had a career-high point total for the second consecutive game, was 7-of-10 from the floor despite not taking a shot inside the 3-point arc.

Roberts, who made nine of 13 shots, did the majority of his damage around the basket. However, he capped his performance by knocking down a pair of 3-pointers, the second one becoming a 4-point play.

Baylor (7-2) shot a season-best 49 percent from the floor and made 13 of 28 3-point attempts.

"That's a little more like it," said Baylor coach Dave Bliss, pleased that his team's inside play opened up the perimeter game.

UNT (5-6), playing its second game without injured shooting guard Leonard Hopkins, struggled to get any semblance of offense going, shooting 36 percent from the floor and 12 percent from 3-point range.

Forward Michael DeGrate, a transfer from Baylor who scored 13 points, was the only player in double figures for UNT. Swingman Chris Davis, the Mean GreenÕs go-to guy, was held to four points. Forward Jermaine Green, the only other healthy UNT player averaging in double figures, scored six points.

"Our shooters have got to knock down shots," Jones said. "The shots are there for them. We've just got to be better."

Baylor blew the game open with a 24-4 run minutes into the game and took a 46-21 lead into the locker room - its biggest halftime lead since its upset of Kansas on Feb. 12, 2001. Roberts and Taylor outscored UNT in the half, combining for 27 points.

Roberts got the Bears going early in the game with his powerful play in the paint, scoring 12 of their first 20 points. He finished the first half with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting.

Taylor's outside shooting provided a perfect complement to Roberts' inside presence. Taylor was 3-of-4 from 3-point range and had 11 points in the half.

By the first media timeout of the second half, Taylor had hit another three shots from behind the 3-point arc, basically eliminating any chance the Mean Green had of mounting a miraculous comeback.

"It's a pretty good feeling when shots fall and everything goes your way," Taylor said.

It's a feeling UNT longs for - and was a long way away from Monday

[UNTLifer]

"They got off to a great start," UNT coach Johnny Jones said. "We were competing and battling, but as the game went on, they continued to play and executed their offense. That's something we didn't do."

Why, at this point in the season, are we still having trouble executing our offense? It seems we are also lacking in the basic fundamentals, rebounding, shooting, etc... This is usually a reflection of the coach. I hope this is not the case in this instance.

[LoveMG]

Why, at this point in the season, are we still having trouble executing our offense? It seems we are also lacking in the basic fundamentals, rebounding, shooting, etc... This is usually a reflection of the coach. I hope this is not the case in this instance.