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UNT Dallas

Photo Recap vs. Jarvis Christian
58
Winner Jarvis Christian JARVIS C 8-6, 5-5
56
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 5-9, 4-6
Winner
Jarvis Christian JARVIS C
8-6, 5-5
58
Final
56
UNT Dallas UNT DALL
5-9, 4-6
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Jarvis Christian JARVIS C 22 36 58
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 22 34 56

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | nathanyacovissi

Trailblazer late Charge ends with Disappointment on Saturday

CEDAR HILL, Texas – It was a heartbreak ending after a tremendous comeback effort that saw University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball fall 58-56 to Jarvis Christian University on Saturday afternoon at Trinity Leadership Public School. Down by as many as 16 with eight minutes and slumping to a field goal percentage beneath 30 percent throughout the day, the Trailblazers mustered a gritty comeback that demonstrated tenacious effort and would have been the largest comeback of the campaign to date.
 
The Trailblazers erased a 13-point deficit in 5:14 minutes, as a jumper on the right side just inside the arc by Demaryon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) gave them a 56-55 advantage with 26 seconds left. Jarvis Christian had a split at the free throw line with 11 ticks left to knot the contest. Keon Gill poked away a steal just past midcourt that found Noel Duplechain and he fired a pass up to Gill breaking away for the game-winning layup and time about to expire. About 1 second was put back on the clock and a desperation heave by Thornton hit the front iron to complete the dispel of the home crowd's emotion on what had been a promising finish.
 
The result halts the good vibes to 2026 for UNT Dallas, who dropped to 5-9 overall and 4-6 in RRAC. The Bulldogs improved to 8-6 and 5-5 in conference play as these teams entered tied in the standings today.
 
It was a low-scoring affair that started with both sides tallying 22 points in the opening half. Both sides made one three-pointer in at least eight attempts, and Jarvis Christian was at 31.3 percent (10-32) compared to UNTD's 27.8 percent (9-33).
 
The Bulldogs scored five points to start the game and held the largest lead of the opening frame two times after scoring seven-of-nine to start the first three minutes of the contest. Both sides stalled for several minutes until Thornton buried a trey to make the score 9-8 with 13:47 left. Jonathan Joseph (Houston, Texas) put the Trailblazers in front, 11-9, just past the midway juncture of the first half. It went back-and-forth for the remainder of the stanza, as UNTD created its largest lead of the game by three points with the latest on a layup by Dreyon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) to make it 22-19 with 1:19 left. JCU's Gill scored on a free throw and closed the half with a game-tying layup to level the score.
 
The teams kept jockeying for separation in the second half, with the visitors stretching the lead to the largest of the game by either side (8) with a triple by JCU's Aboubacar Cisse and a fastbreak layup by Deshon Shorter with 14:08 left. Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) lined up a rare three-pointer for him to slice the gap to five (36-31) on the next play. The new guys, Eli Taylor (Elizabeth N.J.) and Joseph, connected on an assist to the forward for a ferocious dunk that made it a one possession game and twelve and a half minutes to go.
 
Jarvis Christian responded with 13 straight points to build the widest gap of the game by 16 (51-35) and eight minutes remaining. Seeming to see it was just not their game, Dreyon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) turned it over to Demar Moore on the next play. Thornton's brother picked him up with a theft of his own and Joseph had a quick trigger to nail a trey. Three minutes later, the Thornton brothers scored the next four points. A bizarre foul got called while Thornton was shooting his second free throw and since it was a double bonus it brought Crawford to the line for another pair of free throws. His two were true and the deficit was eight points with four and a half minutes left after an uncommon four-point trip. A minute later DaRyan Williams (Austin, Texas) scored a basket and drew the harm to get a three-point play. His success nipped the deficit to 55-50.
 
JCU remained cold from the floor and Crawford got to the free throw line for two more shots and shrunk the score to one possession and two minutes. The Bulldogs turned the ball over and after a missed shot by UNTD, it was Curry Jr. clawing for an offensive rebound and after a second miss would get another second chance and take care of the score himself to pull the Trailblazers within a single basket. Another turnover for the Bulldogs gave UNTD the ball and a slumping Thornton remedied those numbers with a clutch jumper to propel his team up for the first time since late in the previous half. A foul put Cisse on the line and he missed the first and tied the game on the second.
 
Gill was the hero, who had a game-high 21 points, created the devastating play that was the difference. This game featured six lead changes and eight ties.
 
The Trailblazers shot 30.6 percent overall with three triples. They had a good showing at the line at 15-for-20, which included 12-for-15 in the second half. The team won the battle on the glass by 10 (44-34) and totaled 10 assists and seven steals. UNT Dallas edged JCU 13-10 on second chance points. The Bulldogs were able to lead on points off turnovers (19-16), points in the paint (30-20), and fastbreak points (8-5).
 
Demaryon Thornton and Crawford led the team in scoring with 13 points each. Crawford grabbed eight boards. Williams posted nine points and rebounds. Curry Jr. picked up 10 offensive rebounds to help accumulate a career-high 14. Joseph chipped in nine points from the bench.
 
UNT Dallas goes on the road next Thursday and Saturday for a two RRAC games that will feature schools within a few minutes of each other. The Trailblazers are at Louisiana Christian University on Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m. and LSU-Alexandria on Jan. 17 at 1:00 p.m.
 
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