RICHARDSON, Texas – University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball improved on its best start in program history to 3-0 after dispatching UT Dallas on Saturday, 77-65. The Trailblazers used a 13-4 scoring run past the midway point of the opening half to lead by as many as 10 and would go into the break with a 35-26 advantage. The Trailblazers withstood a tough second half and would go on to earn their first win over an NCAA opponent.
Junior
Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) poured a game-high 24 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. He added two assists, a block, and steal. Senior
Darion Jones (Austin, Texas) notched his second double-double of the early season with his top UNTD performances in points (21) and rebounds (11). Crawford and Jones each knocked down eight free throws to account for 16 of the team's 19 in the contest.
Other starters surpassing double-digits in points included junior
Sergio McClain (Peoria, Ill.) with 14 and senior
Vernon Johnson (DeSoto, Texas) with 11. McClain was three points shy of his personal-best last year, but did achieve a career-high in a game with three blocks. Johnson continued his ascent as the all-time leading scorer and past 1,000 points after scoring a season-high to go with team-highs with four steals and four assists.
The Trailblazers shot 45 percent (27-60) from the field compared to 36.7 percent (22-60) by UTD (1-1). The guests doubled the margin on points in the paint with 44, while also holding advantages in points off turnovers (25-9), second chance points (13-3), and fast break points (14-4).
Both away games for UNT Dallas have seen the team replicate rebounds with 44 and assists with 15. The team committed a season-low 11 turnovers.
There were only two occasions for a tie game and lead change, which each occurred within the first seven minutes of the game. A trey by McClain gave UNTD the lead for good at 9-7 with 16:59 left and the scoring run separated the margins from there. After UTD cut into the deficit to pull within a possession (29-26) with just above a minute, McClain had a jumper, Jones added an offensive rebound putback, and two free throws by Crawford ended the Trailblazers' first half with six straight points.
The second stanza was a steady pace, as the Trailblazers maintained a lead by double-digits most of the half. The Comets came within five at 12:56 on a triple by Matthew Soto, but Johnson had an answer from long range Soto followed with a three-point play and another three to give him nine points in short span. The Trailblazers countered each time, but UTD did come within four points on three occasions around the midway point and just past it. Jones had two free throws, followed by a tip-in from McClain, and then a fastbreak layup by senior
Jayden Johnson-Blair (Dallas, Texas) after his own steal lifted the lead back to 10. From there, it was all UNTD as the lead never shrunk beneath seven and would reach double-digits for a comfortable stretch. The game ended on an exclamation point in the last 30 seconds as Johnson swiped a steal and got the dunk to open the largest lead of the game for the Trailblazers at 15.
The Comets were led by Soto off the bench with 26 points thanks to eight field goals, five three-pointers, and a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line. Austin Page had 21 points and seven rebounds, while Jordan Balderaz totaled nine points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
UNT Dallas opens Sooner Athletic Conference play next and will have three games in five days with the league opener at Mid-America Christian on November 14 at 8:00 p.m. The Trailblazers will host Oklahoma City on Nov. 16 at 4:00 p.m. for their first conference game at Ellis Davis. They finish the busy stretch with a trip back to Texas Wesleyan on Nov. 18 against the host from this weekend.
