Hot Shooting Propels Mean Green Men Over Louisiana

Behind a superb shooting performance, the North Texas men’s basketball team rolled to a 92-74 victory against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday night at the Super Pit.

The Mean Green snaps a three-game losing streak with the win and improves to 13-10 and 6-6 in the Sun Belt. NT sweeps the season series against the Ragin’ Cajuns and ties the series at 13-13. The Mean Green still trails in the series, 15-10, but has won the last five games at the Super Pit.

The Mean Green shot 53.7 percent from the field, one of its best performances of the year. North Texas shot 55.6 percent in its opening win against Cameron. NT went 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) from three-point range, the second-best performance from behind the arc this season.

Tristan Thompson led all scorers with 24 points, his fifth 20-point game. The sophomore went 4-for-7 from the field, 3-for-3 from three-point range and a perfect 13-for-13 from the free-throw line.

Thompson led four players in double figures. Adam McCoy posted 15 points, including three three-pointers. Eric Tramiel and Dominique Johnson each recorded 10 points. Johnson dished out seven assists, tying a personal-best. Justin Howerton scored eight points, his biggest total since the 10 points against Cameron.

North Texas raced out to a 54-26 halftime lead behind 67.9 shooting from the field. The Mean Green went 7-for-9 from three-point range with four different players hitting from behind the arc. After back-to-back three-pointers by Adam McCoy, the Mean Green held a 33-9 advantage with 9:53 left in the first half. North Texas led by as many as 29 points, 52-23, after a layup by Howerton at 1:35.

The Ragin’ Cajuns outscored the Mean Green in the second half, 48-38, but North Texas led by as many as many 39 points, 77-38, midway through the second period.