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UNT Dallas

UNT Dallas
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Senior Day vs. COFO
Damaris Garcia
54
College of the Ozarks COLLEGE 9-17, 7-16
73
Winner UNT Dallas UNT DALL 12-14, 9-14
College of the Ozarks COLLEGE
9-17, 7-16
54
Final
73
UNT Dallas UNT DALL
12-14, 9-14
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
College of the Ozarks COLLEGE 22 32 54
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 36 37 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | nathanyacovissi

Johnson and Johnson-Blair Honored with Senior Day as UNTD MBB dominates Bobcats

DALLAS – Senior Day was a success for the University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball team, as it dominated College of the Ozarks, 73-54, on Saturday at Ellis Davis Field House. The Trailblazers raced out to a hot start and weathered a Bobcats' run to go up 14 at halftime. The home team controlled the tempo most of the second half, leading by as many as 27 and being able to celebrate a fun afternoon that had all nine players appear in the game.
 
Prior to the game, the Trailblazers honored graduating seniors Jayden Johnson-Blair (Dallas, Texas) and Vernon Johnson (DeSoto, Texas). The duo combined for 10 of the team's season-high 14 steals that helped lead to 25 points off turnovers and set the pace for the Trailblazers to jump out to a comfortable lead.
 
The margin of victory was the largest this season and by-far the widest at home. UNT Dallas did what it needed to do to remain alive for the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship Tournament picture.
 
Seven spots have been clinched, and the final one is between Oklahoma Panhandle State and UNT Dallas. Oklahoma Panhandle State fell to Mid-America Christian at home on Saturday, 53-42, to end the regular season with a 9-15 record in league play. UNTD sits at 9-14 with one game remaining. The Aggies own the head-to-head tiebreaker. There is also a potential scenario for a three-team tie if UNTD loses Monday and Science & Arts wins against Langston. The tiebreaker still favors Oklahoma Panhandle State with a 3-1 record against the trio of teams, while Science & Arts and UNTD went 2-2.

Junior Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) led the Trailblazers with his 17th double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds. He shot 5-of-9 from the field and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. He dished three assists keeps his double-digit scoring streak intact for the entire season.
 
Johnson followed with 11 points, making five of eight shots from the field. The conference leader in steals furthered his distance in the column and highlighted his recognition day by getting a season-best six thefts. He matched junior Daniel Sohn (Aledo, Texas) with a team-high four assists.
 
Sohn and Johnson-Blair rounded out the quartet of double-digit scorers with 10 points each. Johnson-Blair helped his Senior Day partner combine for 10 steals by gathering four.
 
Senior Demaryon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) tallied nine points thanks to a trio of three-pointers. He has drained at least three in the past three outings.
 
Senior Ashton Howard (Cedar Hill, Texas) and junior Sergio McClain (Peoria, Ill.) chipped in eight points each. Howard grabbed seven boards and added a block to extend his SAC lead and push his streak of one in a game to four. He has recorded at least one rejection in 19-of-21 games played and helped solidify his spot in the program's record book for that category.
 
UNT Dallas modeled consistency this game with a 15-of-33 shooting performance in both 20-minute frames. It goes even deeper when looking at how 30-of-66 for this game mimics the same line against the Bobcats on the road in January. 30 field goals made ties a season-high. The team made six treys in both games against COFO, too. Instead of going 14-for-18, the Trailblazers dialed back getting at the line by going 7-for-10 on Saturday. The Trailblazers held a 20-point edge on points scored inside, 46-26. Fastbreak points were even at 16.
 
The game started with good vibes following the Senior Day Celebration, as Johnson picked up a steal and Sohn scored on a fastbreak layup. You may have thought you saw a replay as Johnson got another quick steal and Sohn scored to double the lead. Johnson took care of the next basket to give UNTD the first six points.
 
After a triple by the Bobcats, Johnson and Sohn continued to compile points with the tandem responsible for the first 15 points through five minutes. A tip-in by Howard opened a 17-3 advantage the first six and a half minutes.
 
College of the Ozarks crept back in to within five points (21-16) over the next five minutes, but a trey by Crawford halted the threat. He followed on two free throws and Johnson used a steal to lead to another quick basket that extended the margin to 12 points (28-16), again. The final 5:40 minutes until the break saw UNTD have its lead hover around 14 points, which was the widest gap of the opening stanza. A steal by Howard and layup by Johnson-Blair under the UNTD basket with time ticking down sent the teams to the locker rooms with a Trailblazers 36-22 advantage.
 
A strong start to the second half continued the double-digit lead for the Trailblazers. Thornton tallied all nine of his points on three straight UNTD makes from beyond the three-point arc from 18:40 to 16:30 and opening a 21-point gap. Thornton made three-of-four attempts from downtown in that span. Crawford etched the next four points to extend the lead to the largest at the time at 25 (51-26).
 
The Bobcats countered with the next nine points over three minutes to dwindle the deficit to 16 points (51-35) with 11:36 remaining.
 
UNT Dallas ensured the rally stopped there, as it had the margin reach 27 points with 8:21 left. Sophomore Dante Curry-El (Charlottesville, Va.) had an offensive rebound that resulted in a good tip-in to make it 64-39. After a Johnson-Blair steal that found Sohn rising up for a dunk that went off the back of the rim, McClain caught the rebound and finished with a tip-in of his own to capture the largest lead of the game. The score remained at least 20 points the rest of the contest. Howard capped the good vibes with an offensive rebound and giving the slam to close the widest winning spread of the year.
 
College of the Ozarks was led by Bryce Butler with 16 points. The team shot 39.1 percent from the field and went 4-of-18 from three. The Bobcats sank a perfect 14 free throws.
 
The Bobcats fell to 9-17 overall and 7-16 in conference play. UNT Dallas split its first games and season series, 1-1, with the team in Missouri.
 
In a season filled with ups and downs, the Trailblazers seek to extend the journey. They won for the 12th time overall, which ties a single-season best with the 2021-22 team. The nine conference wins also ties a season-most with the 2022-23 squad. The Trailblazers are looking to return to the SAC Tournament for the first time since 2021-22. They have handled adversity with some gritty nights, picking up wins against Langston, Wayland Baptist, at Texas Wesleyan in overtime, and NCAA Division I Rice in an exhibition. The team also has had some narrow games not always finish the right way, including the previous two games before Saturday being an overtime and one-point setback. On Saturday, the team celebrated and played as freely as they have looked all season. The campus community, families, and students boosted morale by being part of the Senior Day and supporting the athletic teams in the final home weekend game. The two seniors supported are two that have given at least three years and established themselves as leaders in the program with work on the court and in the community. This includes the only player to be with the program since the inaugural season and only player to eclipse 1,000 career points, which came at Homecoming this year.
 
The team now finds itself in position to continue its season pending the result of its final regular season and home game on Monday with John Brown at 8:00 p.m. The ball is in the Trailblazers court.
 
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