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UNT Dallas

Photo Recap vs. Wiley
Photo Courtesy of Jared Horn
68
Wiley (TX) WILEY (T 1-3
76
Winner UNT Dallas UNT DALL 1-1
Wiley (TX) WILEY (T
1-3
68
Final
76
UNT Dallas UNT DALL
1-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Wiley (TX) WILEY (T 29 34 5 68
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 28 35 13 76

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | nathanyacovissi

Trailblazers surge in OT to Win on Homecoming

DALLAS – An eight-point scoring swing in overtime propelled University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball to a 76-68 Homecoming victory on Saturday over Wiley University at Ellis Davis Field House. The triumph moves the Trailblazers to 1-1 on the season, as they fought in a competitive game before eventually outscoring their opponent 13-8 in the last five minutes. The Wildcats fell to 1-3 overall after playing their third game in the past four days.
 
After playing 40 minutes of back-and-forth action, the Trailblazers got a clutch layup by leading scorer Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) in the paint through traffic to even the score at 63 with 22 seconds remaining. Wiley had a chance at going ahead on a jumper from the right corner by Shamir Mosley, but JT Curry (Baton Rouge, La.) skied for the rebound and forced the teams to an extra period.
 
Crawford put the Trailblazers up for good after Wiley missed the opening shot in overtime. DaRyan Williams (Austin, Texas) was a key member of the momentum swing on both ends as he tossed a dime to his former Dallas College North Lake teammate Crawford on that sequence. Williams came up with a steal and drilled the team's lone three-point attempt of the frame to make it a two possession game. Demaryon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) capped a 7-0 surge from the overtime tip with a layup to give UNTD's biggest lead since 14:01 remained in the opening stanza at 13-6.
 
A minute and a half elapsed before the Wildcats claimed their first points of the period and clipped the deficit to five. A minute later Curry forced a steal and passed to Thornton who dropped a dime to Sedric Curry Jr. (Baton Rouge, La.) to counter. The gap remained six to eight points, as Thornton and Crawford sealed the victory with four-for-five at the free throw line.
 
Crawford for the second time in as many games, was able to get to the free throw line often and matched an identical amount of makes with 16. This contributed to tying a game-high 24 points. Crawford notched the first double-double on the campaign for UNT Dallas with a season-high 12 boards. Eight came on the offensive side of the ball. Crawford matched a personal-best five assists with the Trailblazers. Crawford now has 50 points on the season and extended his career total beyond 500 for his career across 30 games with the Trailblazers.
 
Williams and JT Curry nearly claimed double-doubles of their own by being a rebound shy. Williams netted a personal-high 18 points with UNTD and had three blocks and two steals. He shot 7-of-10 from the floor and had two key trifectas. Curry scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half and added a pair of steals. Thornton also had 12 points to go with five assists and two steals. Curry Jr. came in with eight points and six rebounds from the bench.
 
The Trailblazers shot 36.7 percent from the field and were 5-of-17 from three-point territory. They went 27-for-39 at the charity stripe. The home team grabbed the advantage on points off turnovers, 19-9, with a 5-0 difference in the extra period. They also did significantly more damage inside with a 34-22 edge on points in the paint. UNTD also won the battle on the glass, 45-30.

Wiley was led offensively by Mosley with 24 points, as he shot 50 percent from the floor (8-16) and 2-of-3 from downtown. He added six assists and two steals. 

The score was tied eight times and featured eight lead changes. Down two early, Williams nailed the first basket of the game for UNT Dallas and it was a triple to flip the lead. He had the Trailblazers first seven points and helped give them a good lift to start the contest. As aforementioned, the Trailblazers went up as much as seven early but would be tied at 13 two minutes later. The teams played tight most of the first, as a 9-3 run pushed Wiley to its greatest lead of the game with 2:22 remaining until intermission. Thornton picked a steal and would get to the free throw line with a minute left. He followed up with a trey and sent UNT Dallas to the break down 29-28.
 
A layup by Williams and jumper by Curry flipped the score out of the gate in the second half. It was not long that Wiley challenged back and would take small leads after a quick spurt themselves. With 11:37 left, Curry Jr. scored a go-ahead layup that ignited a 7-0 run by the Trailblazers. The Wildcats answered back to either tie or challenge with a small lead throughout the rest of the half. Thornton hit a big three with 5:54 left to open a 54-50 lead. A layup by Curry Jr. at 4:40 made it a 56-51 score. However each attempt to extend the lead got thwarted by Wiley, as the visitor's leveled the score at 59 with 2:43 remaining and 61 with under 50 seconds remaining. Williams and Crawford each had equalizers over the possessions that the Trailblazers were down.
 
UNT Dallas improves to 6-6 all-time at Ellis Davis Field House and wins for the fourth time in the last five games dating back to a season ago.  The Trailblazers went 1-2 last season in overtime with a win at Texas Wesleyan. The win is also the first overall to Wiley and the all-time series goes to 1-1. The teams met on November 6, 2021, in Marshall.
 
During halftime, the UNT Dallas cross country team was recognized for its historic performance at Red River Athletic Conference. The group earned two top-3 team finishes, had three All-Conference winners, and all Trailblazers clinched a personal record time.  
Also at the break, the UNT Dallas Blazerettes performed their first halftime show of the year and expect to give a halftime show at most women's and men's basketball games this year. Many fans came to support the athletic teams today as the school's homecoming wrapped up. Prior to the games, there was a tailgate at campus. Earlier this week, the basketball teams were recognized for the start of their seasons with a pep rally.

UNT Dallas plays a pair of exhibition games this week starting with NCAA Division I UT Arlington on Monday at 7 p.m. It will be the third straight year these teams play in Arlington.
 
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