GOODWELL, Okla. – A quick start to the game fizzled for University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball and the team could not overcome a 10-point halftime deficit in consecutive games of this road trip after falling 85-64 at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday at Anchor D Arena.
 
The Trailblazers (4-4, 1-4 SAC) scored the first nine points in 2:35 minutes and held the Aggies to a point and no field goals until 15:33 in the opening stanza. Senior Ashton Howard (Cedar Hill, Texas) slammed a dunk on a fastbreak to open UNTD's largest lead of the game 12 with a 13-1 advantage.
 
The made field goal by the Aggies (3-4, 1-3) was a trey by Amaree Brown, who was just warming up. Brown headlined the day for the home team with 34 points, as he went 10-for-13 on the floor, 5-of-6 from behind the arc, and 9-of-9 at the free throw line.
 
Up big early, the margin evaporated at 12:28 after Oklahoma Panhandle State rattled off 12 straight points. A tip-in and layup, both after offensive rebounds by junior Daniel Sohn (Aledo, Texas) kept UNT Dallas in front a few possessions longer. The first and only lead change of the game occurred at 10:25 left in the half on a trifecta by Brown. Another trey by Kaleb Stephens opened a four-point gap. The Trailblazers battled to keep the score tight, as a trey by senior Darion Jones (Austin, Texas) provided a needed lift to make it a four-point deficit (30-26) with just under six minutes to go. Howard added two free frows to make it a one possession game.
 
The Aggies scored the next six points and 12 of the final 16 points to claim a 42-32 halftime lead. Things never got closer than nine points in the second half, as a layup by Howard made it an 11-point game and then he made a steal and found junior Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) for the next basket to make it a single-digit difference one last time. The gap swelled to 16 five minutes later and then eventually reached largest gap of 21 points.
 
The Trailblazers were consistent with 32 points scored per half. Crawford led UNTD with 14 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line. Howard contributed a double-digit performance 12 points and added five rebounds, three blocks and steals. Rounding out the trio of double-digit scorers for the road team was junior Sergio McClain (Peoria, Ill.) with 10 points. Jones had nine points with a team-high seven rebounds. He matched senior Vernon Johnson (DeSoto, Texas) with three assists for team-bests. Johnson chipped in seven points.
 
UNTD did score a season-most 23 free throws and had 28 attempts at the line. The team also secured the most rebounds as a unit this season with 46 and this included a team-high 21 offensive rebounds.
 
Second chance points favored UNTD with a 16-11 edge, but 15 points for the visitors came in the first half. Oklahoma Panhandle State took advantage of miscues with a 24-10 lead on points off turnovers.
The Trailblazers have scored 64 points in both setbacks on this out-of-town trip and have resulted in the widest margin setbacks at 18 and 21 points, respectively. They look to change fortunes quickly to a team that opened the year on a 3-0 start for the first time and played its first three conference games by a total of two points or less and once in overtime.
 
UNT Dallas wraps up a four-game road trip before Thanksgiving and third game in six days with a game on Tuesday at University of Science and Arts. Tip-off is at 8:00 p.m.