Damaris Garcia

Box Score

UNT Dallas UNT DALL 13-15, 10-14

Nelson (Texas) NELSON ( 22-7, 19-5

UNT Dallas UNT DALL

13-15, 10-14

Final

Feb. 27, 2025

Nelson (Texas) NELSON (

22-7, 19-5

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
UNT Dallas UNT DALL	33	32	65
Nelson (Texas) NELSON (	39	43	82

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/28/2025 12:40:00 AM | nathanyacovissi

UNT Dallas Men's Basketball ends Season in SAC Quarterfinals

WAXAHACHIE, Texas – University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball saw its 2024-25 season end on Thursday night at Sheaffer Center, as No. 24 Nelson University won 82-65. The top seed of the tournament advances to play No. 4 seed Wayland Baptist on Monday at host Langston University.

Despite a slow start to the game by falling behind 10 points before finding the bottom of the net, the Trailblazers battled back grabbing 27-26 lead with 5:44 left in the opening half. It was the only time they were on top, as the Lions regained the lead and eventually surged out to a 39-33 halftime lead. In the second half, the teams continued to trade blows with the game within reach for the guests. However, the last eight minutes saw the home team stretch the gap to double figures and it ballooned to an insurmountable amount.

The Trailblazers conclude their season with a program-most 13 wins and 10 Sooner Athletic Conference wins. Both program-highs were necessary to return to the conference tournament for the first time since 2021-22. UNTD won its final two regular season games and got back-to-back home wins for the first time this season in order to achieve the postseason berth.

Nelson improves to 22-7 overall and extends its impressive home record to 14-1.

Junior Daniel Sohn (Aledo, Texas) led the team with 17 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the three-point arch. Sohn posted six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Senior Vernon Johnson (DeSoto, Texas) finished his UNTD career with 15 points and shot 6-of-10 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from downtown. These nine points from deep came in the first stanza to account for 11 of Johnson's total points in that span. Johnson found two rebounds, matched a game-high five assists, and ended his SAC steals lead 58 for the season after three more. Johnson even swatted a block.

Crawford rounded out the trio of double-digit scorers with 12 points. Crawford dished five assists to match the team-lead. Crawford was another effect field goal shooter with a 4-of-6 display and drilled his solo trifecta attempt. Crawford closes his first year with the team by becoming the first player to successfully score double figures in every contest, with he played all 28 in.

Senior Ashton Howard (Cedar Hill, Texas) came up with nine points and rebounds, which the latter led the team. The record holder and league leader in blocks had four for the game and three during a string of possession that helped the Trailblazers slice into the large first half deficit and eventually go in front momentarily. Classmate Demaryon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) tossed in seven points from the bench with a trey.

Senior Jayden Johnson-Blair (Dallas, Texas) closed his season out with five points, four rebounds, two assists, and matched his fellow graduating classmate with three steals. Johnson-Blair was iron man again, suiting up for all 40 minutes and running the point guard role.

UNTD shot 42.3 percent from the field with 7-of-16 from the three-point line. This included 6-of-11 in the opening frame. The team went 14-for-23 at the free throw line.

The Lions were 50.7 percent from the field with a 35-of-69 rate. They hit eight three-pointers and were 4-for-6 at the line. They won most categories, gaining a 36-29 advantage on the glass. This led to a 16-9 edge on second chance points. The Lions were a force inside the paint, scoring 42 points compared to 30 by UNTD.

The Trailblazers led at halftime in points off turnovers (9-7) and fastbreak points (9-6). The end of the game saw Nelson hold advantages in each column with a 24-14 overall difference in points off miscues and 13-9 on fastbreak points.

CJ Hall matched Daniels with a game-high 17 points. Jorden Jenkins notched a double-double with 14 points and 15 boards. Preston Lawrence shot 4-of-5 from the three-point area for all 12 of his points. Micah Clark had 12 points off the bench.

This tournament game started off the way the Lions wanted it to with two triples followed by another pair of field goals to open a 10-point game during the beginning three minutes. Lawrence had the treys and Hall added a jumper and layup.

Sohn got the Trailblazers on the board at 16:16 with the second of two free throws to go down. He followed with a trifecta and next came up with a steal and fastbreak layup to give them six straight points.

The Lions went up by seven next and another three-ball, this time by Thornton cut the score to 13-9. While the Traillbazers do not rely on three-pointers to represent their offense, a game like tonight was needed for them to keep up with Nelson. It worked in the first 20 minutes, with the team making six. Crawford had his lone trey to make it 17-12 through seven minutes.

Nelson grew its lead to 11 on a three by Noah Jonker.

UNT Dallas countered with five points on a three by Johnson and a layup by Sohn just under 10 to play and it a 24-18 lead. The stout defense appeared with eight and a half minutes before halftime, as Howard had three blocks. His first block led to Johnson scoring a three on a first-break, which sliced the margin to 24-21. The defense continued to cause chances, as Johnson had a steal that led to a missed jumper by the Trailblazers. Howard made his second block a few plays later, and Johnson was able to race to a make a layup and close the gap to 24-23. Teams traded points and at 6:22, Crawford swiped a steal and Johnson-Blair scored a layup on an assist from Johnson. Another theft by Johnson led to Sohn coming through on an offensive rebound by Sohn the led to him scoring the go-ahead tip-in. The Lions answered the timeout to score seven points in a row and go up six points. At 3:18, Johnson swished his third trey of the half and his latest here cut the margin in half. Nelson pushed the lead to nine (39-30) with just under two to play this frame. Howard scored a three-point play next to cut the margin to six points, 39-33.

Johnson started the scoring in the second half to reduce the margin to four points, 39-35. A trey by Lawrence answered the basket, and then Crawford scored two points followed by a huge dunk from Sohn to cut the score to three points. The first part of the second half featured both sides battling. Howard had a jumper and then later countered a Nelson shot with a good dunk to show a 48-43 score. Sohn split at the line a few plays later with five and a half minutes gone through to make the gap 48-44. Nelson surged for a mini-run coming, as the team took off with a run to go up 53-44. The Trailblazers continued fighting, as they worked to force more steals and turnovers. Five points went the Lions way to open a 58-47 difference just before the midway juncture. A layup by Thornton helped the team pull within nine. Thornton made the basket and got the harm. He made his free throw to complete the old fashioned three-point play. Howard's pair of free throws helped him go a perfect 3-for-3 to close the gap to six points (58-52). After the Lions scored four points, Sohn hit one-of-two free throws to bring the score within single-digits a final time. The Lions went on a 19-6 run to pull away down the stretch, leading by as many as 22 with about three minutes left. After Nelson went up by 13 (66-53), Sohn answered with his second trey to keep the margin at 10. With around five minutes left, Johnson-Blair made two free throws to narrow the margin at 70-58. With the season in the balance, the Lions put the game away with 11-of-12 points.

A characteristic of this UNTD team is to never give up, the team continued that trait with the team having Crawford close the half with the final two baskets. Johnson had his final collegiate points at 2:48 left. He will walk away as the all-time leading scorer with 1,264 points.

Johnson also is consistent with exactly 15 points in each of his two tournament contests. He earned SAC Newcomer of the Year in 2021-22 when the team made its debut to the SAC and he closes this chapter as a Trailblazer having led his team back to the tournament after being in ninth place less than a week ago and requiring two victories.

A huge thank you to the UNT Dallas Marketing Department for all its help with the campus sending off the men's basketball team for its matchup at Nelson. Also thank you to the fans that showed up this season and followed UNTD Basketball.

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