FARMERS BRANCH, Texas – University of North Texas-Dallas men's basketball edged Dallas Christian College, 80-75, in its season opener on Saturday afternoon. The Trailblazers moved to 1-0 on the campaign with 40-point scoring outputs in both halves. UNT Dallas had all five starters eclipse double figures and needed a key basket by senior
Vernon Johnson (DeSoto, Texas) to hold off the Crusaders in the final moments.
Senior
Darion Jones (Austin, Texas) salted the game away with the final four free throws going through and was 7-for-7 at the charity stripe to highlight his 18-point, 10-rebound double-double season debut. Junior
Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) was the leader for the Trailblazers with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
The Trailblazers opened the scoring seconds from the opening tip as Crawford went in for an easy layup. UNTD never trailed and held a two-point lead in the opening minutes and only came that close in the closing minutes. The guests bounced out to a double-digit lead seven minutes into the first half and were up by as many as 12 (27-15). After a run by the Crusaders to slash the deficit to five points (35-30) with three minutes left, senior
Ashton Howard (Cedar Hill, Texas) had a pair of free throws and Jones drilled a three-pointer to open the advantage by double-digits, again. Dallas Christian ended the half strong and trailed 40-34 at intermission.
The teams traded points through the first part of the second stanza with DCC coming within four points, before UNTD would counter back to leads as large as 11. With under seven minutes to play, the Crusaders scored seven points with a pair of treys and a free throw by Ny'gel Boozer, which capped a four-point play, to shrink the gap to five points (70-65).
Boozer led all players with 31 points and drained seven three-pointers, including four in a short span that brought DCC within three points with under two minutes. He split at the free throw line to make the score 74-72.
The Trailblazers got a boost from Johnson, as he scored two crucial field goals to keep his team in front and a defensive rebound by junior
Sergio McClain (Peoria, Ill.) that helped give his team possession and force DCC to foul in the final minute.
UNTD shot 51.8 percent (29-56) from the field and went 20-for-27 at the free throw line. The Trailblazers dominated inside the paint with 54 points compared to 28 by DCC. They also won the battle on the glass with a 44-25 edge.
Just missing a double-double with Crawford and Jones was Howard with 12 points and nine boards. Howard also had single-game record five blocks. He amassed all-but one of the team's six blocks. Senior
Jayden Johnson-Blair (Dallas, Texas) chipped in 13 points, while Johnson had 10 and his final two counting for doubling the margin late and helping his team escape late.
Johnson increased his career point total to 992. The Trailblazers won their season opener for the third straight year, second against Dallas Christian. UNTD swiped 13 steals as a team and achieved having at least that amount once in 2023-24, which was 17.
UNT Dallas plays its home opener at Ellis Davis on Saturday, November 2, versus Jarvis Christian College. The game will begin at 4:00 p.m. and is Homecoming.
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