DALLAS, Texas – University of North Texas at Dallas celebrated a successful homecoming victory on Saturday afternoon, using an eight-point second half advantage to claim a 58-50 final result over Jarvis Christian. It was the home debut for the Trailblazers this season and at their new home court Ellis Davis.
Senior
Vernon Johnson DeSoto, Texas) eclipsed 1,000 career points, becoming the first in the men's basketball program to achieve the milestone. UNT Dallas improves to 2-0 on the season, while Jarvis Christian dropped to 0-2. It is the first time in program history for UNTD to begin a campaign 2-0, after winnings its past three home openers.
With a back-and-forth contest that featured six ties and four lead changes, it was a second-half surge by the Trailblazers in the final eight and a half minutes that sealed this win away. Senior
Ashton Howard (Cedar Hill, Texas) made the go-ahead jumper at 8:35 left to flip the lead to a 43-42 score favoring UNTD. Teammate
Darion Jones (Austin, Texas) followed with a fastbreak layup and baskets by Johnson and senior
Jayden Johnson-Blair (Dallas, Texas) capped the scoring run to open an eight-point difference. After Jarvis Christian broke the scoring string, it was the Trailblazers that delivered a final counter with a trey by Jones and the milestone accolade by Johnson on a fastbreak that came on a dime from his classmate Johnson-Blair. UNTD was able to polish the win after that basket during the final three minutes.
The opening minutes of the game had both sides scoreless until Howard got the first two points at the free throw line. The gap never widened by four during 20 minutes of action and the teams in a deadlock at 26-all at the break. Johnson capped the frame with a halfcourt shot from the left side of the basket and beat the buzzer.
Howard led the Trailblazers with 19 points and added five rebounds and three blocks. He was 8-of-11 from the field and had a three-pointer. Jones followed with 14 points, six rebounds, and a game-high five steals. Junior
Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) completed the trio of double-digit scorers with 12 points and hauled in a game-high seven boards. Johnson-Blair continues to pick up where he left off from last season as the leader in assists with six tonight.
Johnson added five rebounds, four assists, and three steals to his milestone night. Johnson is the only player in the program to play each season for the Trailblazers since their inaugural season in 2020-21. He was Sooner Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year (2021-22) and is a three-time All-SAC recipient. He is the only player in the program to have multiple all-conference honors and was featured in an article for
Inside the Sooner.
UNT Dallas will be on the road Monday, November 4, for an exhibition at NCAA Division I UT Arlington. Tip-off is at 11:00 a.m. The Trailblazers play their next regular season game at UT Dallas on Nov. 9 at 1:00 p.m.
