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UNTDMBB vs. Texas Wesleyan
Damaris Garcia
62
Winner Texas Wesleyan TEXAS WE 11-4, 7-4
53
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 7-7, 4-7
Winner
Texas Wesleyan TEXAS WE
11-4, 7-4
62
Final
53
UNT Dallas UNT DALL
7-7, 4-7
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Texas Wesleyan TEXAS WE 30 32 62
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 30 23 53

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | nathanyacovissi

Trailblazers go Cold down the Stretch; Texas Wesleyan Wins on Monday

DALLAS – A cold spell towards the end of the second half proved to be too difficult to overcome, as University of North Texas at Dallas fell 62-53 to Texas Wesleyan on Monday night at Ellis Davis Center. Teams were deadlocked at halftime with 30 points each, but a 19-3 scoring run during the final 6:25 minutes of the game lifted the Rams to even the season series with the away team winning each one.
 
UNT Dallas fell to 7-7 overall and 4-7 in Sooner Athletic Conference play. Texas Wesleyan won its fourth in a row and are now 11-4 and 7-4 in the league.
 
Junior Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) led the Trailblazers with 17 points, eight rebounds, and tied a team-high three steals. Senior Jayden Johnson-Blair (Dallas, Texas) matched the team-high in steals with three of his own but matched a career-high nine assists. His total amount of dimes edged his season-most of eight from two previous games this campaign, including Saturday against Southwestern Christian. Johnson-Blair tied his own single-game record for assists, which was last done versus Oklahoma Panhandle State on February 24, 2024.
 
Senior Ashton Howard (Cedar Hill, Texas) made the record books, surpassing his own personal-best in blocked shots of five earlier this year at Dallas Christian. The forward swatted six to set the new single-game mark in the program a second time. He continues to build on his Sooner Athletic Conference lead in the category.
 Texas Wesleyan's Richard Amaefule entered Monday's contest one block behind Howard and had three of his own.
 
This was a competitive back-and-forth game that saw each side trade leads throughout. After each team traded early points, the Rams pushed forward first with eight consecutive points to go up 10-3 through the first seven minutes of the game. A minute later down 13-5, UNTD got a layup from senior DaRyan Williams (Austin, Texas) that sparked six straight points. Johnson-Blair snatched a steal for a quick basket and Williams added a jumper in the paint to nip the deficit to two.
 
The Rams pushed the lead to five on a few more occasions and maintained a slim lead throughout most of the opening half. Down 23-19 with five and a half to play, junior Sergio McClain (Peoria, Ill.) knocked down a jumper and Howard made his lone basket of the night from downtown with a go-ahead three. Senior Demaryon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) returned for his season debut and provides another veteran that has played with the Trailblazers in prior years. Thornton had two free throws and a layup by Crawford opened a 28-24 advantage with 2:13 minutes prior to the break. Senior Vernon Johnson (DeSoto, Texas) had the final UNTD basket with 53 seconds left to make it 30-26, but a triple by Trey Sinegal and one-of-two free throws tied the game at intermission.
 
Crawford notched two layups and Johnson added a jumper to give the Trailblazers a six-point lead to open the second stanza. Two free throws by Texas Wesleyan's Vegas Evans ended a near-five minute drought and the first field goal was a trifecta by Evans to cut the gap to a point just under five minutes. Sinegal sank a pair of free throws to flip the score with 14:25 remaining. The Trailblazers forced ties at 39-all and 41-all and regained the lead on two free throws from Johnson-Blair. A trey by Thornton made it 46-41 just under the midway juncture. An 11-3 run was capped by Johnson to make it 50-43 with seven and a half minutes to play. Crawford had made the steal to find Johnson on the break. Johnson-Blair sparked the run with four points in a row and Thornton had five points in a row.
 
The seven-point lead was the largest for UNT Dallas in the game and unfortunately was the final made field goal with still over seven minutes left. The next three and a half minutes saw the Rams erase the gap and eventually reclaimed the lead for good on a trey by Sinegal with four minutes left. The Trailblazers answered with one-of-two free throws by Crawford to make it a one-point game. After the record-setting block in a game by Howard to protect the lead, Sinegal managed a steal and drilled another three to make it a two-possession game. Turnovers haunted the Trailblazers on the next two trips, and Texas Wesleyan answered each time to expand the margin to eight. A three by Montez Young with 12 seconds gave the Rams their largest lead of 11.
 
The Trailblazers were held to a season-low in scoring and shot 32.7 percent from the field. This included a 2-for-20 showing from behind the three-point line. They did well at the charity stipe, going 15-for-18. UNTD led on points in the paint with a slim 26-24 lead. Both teams had six fastbreak points.
 
The Rams shot 37.7 percent overall and were 6-of-10 from downtown. They went 16-for-24 at the line. They held a 39-33 edge on the glass, with an 11-2 lead on second chance points. Despite committing more turnovers, 19-17, the Rams held the advantage on scoring more points, 24-19. This included a 17-6 difference in the second half.
 
Crawford continued his double-digit scoring streak with it reaching 14 games to start the season. He was the only Trailblazer in double figures, as the next highest scorer was Thornton's nine points powered by a 4-for-4 effort at the line. Johnson-Blair and Johnson chipped in eight points apiece.
 
Sinegal led all players with 22 points, while Montez Young Jr. had 18. Vegas posted 12 from the bench.
 
UNT Dallas finishes set of first conference matchups with a road trip to College of the Ozarks and John Brown on January 9th and 11th.
 
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