It starts getting better tonight Jones states...

ScreamingEaglesFan · January 25, 2003

Men's basketball: Jones: Win Saturday could jump start UNT in conference action

01/25/2003

By Tim MacMahon / Staff Writer

The losing streak stands at four games for the Mean Green.

That’s not the number, however, that North Texas coach Johnny Jones is focused on entering Saturday night’s game against Sun Belt West Division foe South Alabama.

"We’re one win away from things getting better," Jones said after UNT’s 74-62 loss Thursday night at New Orleans. "We’ve just got to roll up our sleeves and make sure we play well on Saturday and try to make sure we get that victory, and we’ll be right back in the middle of things. It’s still early."

Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at the Mitchell Center, where the Jaguars are 7-2 this season. South Alabama (9-8, 3-3), led by first-year coach John Pelphrey, has already surpassed last season’s victory total.

Guard Chris Young, a junior college transfer, has stepped into a starring role for South Alabama. He leads the Jaguars in scoring with 17.6 points per game. Point guard Demetrice Williams, who averages 14.9 points and 5.8 assists per game, has also played a key role in the turnaround.

UNT has struggled to build upon the success it experienced in Jones’ first season. The Mean Green (6-11, 1-4) is five games under .500 for the first time since it was 1-6 last season.

"We’ve got to keep our heads up," said UNT swingman Chris Davis, who averaged 26.5 points in two meetings with the Jaguars last season. "Last year we had a long losing streak [to fall to 1-6], and we were able to turn it around and get a lot of victories in a row. Anything can happen. We just need to play to the best of our ability."

UNT swept the season series against South Alabama last season. The Jaguars won both meetings against the Mean Green in 2000-01.