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UNT Dallas

Photo Recap MBB at Xavier 1.31.26
77
Winner UNT Dallas UNT DALL
73
Xavier (LA) XAVIER (
Winner
UNT Dallas UNT DALL
77
Final
73
Xavier (LA) XAVIER (
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 34 43 77
Xavier (LA) XAVIER ( 30 43 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | nathanyacovissi

The Good Times Roll for UNTD Men's Basketball on Saturday over Xavier (La.)

NEW ORLEANS, La. – It was nearly a heart-wrenching ending to what was otherwise an exciting 77-73 victory for University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball on Saturday afternoon at Xavier University of Louisiana. A big surge in the second half positioned the Trailblazers to a double-digit lead in the closing minute over a team that controlled the first meeting most of time in December with a 73-62 final. However, a 12-point advantage with under a minute became five points in about 20 seconds thanks to the Gold Rush increasing the full court pressure and UNTD making several gaffes to quickly make it a tight affair again.
 
Thankfully, DaRyan Williams (Austin, Texas) grabbed his 10th rebound to help secure the team's new record, and individually allowed him to claim a double-double that was headlined by his career-high 20 points and reached that point plateau with a key free throw that stopped XU's torrid scoring streak. The Gold Rush came up empty on the next possession and free throws by Demaryon and Dreyon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) put the game away. A triple at the buzzer by Xavier's Nasir Degruy capped the furious final minute but was merely a reminder why every second can matter in basketball.   
 
The Trailblazers continue to build on their 2026 record of 5-3 and picked up a win against their highest ranked opponent in the Red River Athletic Conference to date. The result locked Xavier (La.) into a tie for third place in the RRAC with a 10-5 record. Two of the past three wins for UNT Dallas have been against teams in the top five in a top-heavy conference that features six teams with winning records of at least four games above .500 and five with double-digit conference wins. The Trailblazers slot in the next place in the conference standings with a 7-8 record and are 8-11 overall. They broke out of a tie with Jarvis Christian and one game ahead of Monday's opponent Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

This win is also the third one on the road for UNT Dallas this season. 
 
Williams claimed his fourth double-double on the campaign with 13 of his personal-best 20 points coming in the second half. The senior forward went 8-of-14 from the field and was 4-for-6 at the free throw line. He had nine defensive rebounds that mattered in limiting a tough shooting Xavier team to fewer possessions, dished three assists, and had a block and steal.
 
Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) claimed 13 points and boards for his seventh double-double overall. Crawford was another cog in the trio of Trailblazers with three assists, which was second-most on the team, and contributed to the team's 18 total.
 
Dre. Thornton was the remaining member with three and capped the team's trio of double-digit scorers with a season-high 13 points, too. The freshman continues to grow throughout the season, as his effort today reflected in a personal-best in points and a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. The high in free throws also resulted in several during crucial parts of the game and he is showing more and more of stability in how the guard maneuvers with and without the ball on the court.
 
His brother Dem. Thornton followed with nine points but had two key three-pointers and a pair of steals. Anthony Hunter (Fort Worth, Texas) tallied a season-high eight points from the bench in his third game of the season, while Orion Virden (Pine Bluff, Ark.) made his team debut at the start of this road trip and nailed a trey during one of UNTD's scoring streaks. Eli Taylor (Elizabeth, N.J.) dished a team-leading five assists and had six points and boards. Sedric Curry Jr. (Baton Rouge, La.) garnered eight rebounds and two blocks.
 
 
The Trailblazers were able to shoot 47.5 percent (28-59) from the field and were 17-for-22 at the free throw line. William's 10th rebound also pushed the team's total to 53, which marked a new program record for the team. The previous record was 52 against Science & Arts on January 20, 2022. Two times earlier this season, UNT Dallas grabbed 51 rebounds against Texas College (1/8/26) and Huston-Tillotson (11/15/25). The Trailblazers led in small margins on points off turnovers (18-15), second chance points (14-10), and points in paint (36-30).
 
 
XU shot 37 percent (27-73) overall and made 10 three-pointers on 31 tries. The Gold Rush slumped at the free throw line with a 9-for-21 display. They grabbed 35 rebounds with 15 offensive rebounds, dished 20 assists, blocked seven shots, and swiped 13 steals.
 
Leon Williams had 15 points, five rebounds, six assists, three blocks and five steals, while Nasir DeGruy added 14 points.
 
The Trailblazers got the first basket on a layup by Williams to start things after two missed field goals by Xavier (La.). The Gold Nuggets went on top the only time in the game with a trey by Seviuhn Turner on the next possession. Dem. Thornton drilled his first three to swap the lead a final time in the game, as the Gold Rush would knot the score twice later in the final third portion of the stanza. Taylor and the Thornton brothers found good field goals to increase the Trailblazers lead to 11-3 in over four minutes to start the game.
 
The next three minutes saw Xavier (La.) counter and shrink the gap with six straight points until Williams stopped the streak with a layup at 12:06. A minute passed with Virden snatching a steal and finding Taylor on a fastbreak layup for the assist to stretch the lead to six points. The Gold Rush continued to battle with timely baskets keeping the deficit at one possession for the next several minutes. They tied the game at 18 and 21.
 
With under five minutes before halftime, Williams recovered a rebound on a blocked shot and put the go-ahead basket in. Crawford followed with a similar play on the next possession and added a basket to make it 25-21. A triple by Hunter pushed the lead to five, only to have a counter three by the Gold Rush. A Hunter free throw with 2:47 left marked the start of a 6-0 run by the Trailblazers to reach their largest lead of the game at the time by eight (34-26). XU presented a little foreshadowing with four points in less than 10 seconds thanks to consecutive steals to send the game into the locker room at 34-30 in favor of UNTD.
 
The second half saw a seesaw of scoring runs, as the Trailblazers began with a surge to go up as many as eight (41-33) with 17:42 left. In less than three minutes, the Gold Rush pulled within two points thanks to an 8-2 scoring swing. From 13 minutes until 10:14, the Trailblazers rode a 10-0 run that was book-ended by Williams baskets to make it 53-42. Crawford had consecutive layups and Curry Jr. added a mid-range jumper in the team's longest run. A Virdon three pushed the lead to 14 (58-44) and Crawford placed a layup with barely under six minutes left to provide the Trailblazers with their largest lead of the game 15 (60-45).
 
It was a Trailblazer double figure lead most of the way even with above a minute left. Up 14 (71-14) after two Dre. Thornton free throws with 1:38 left, the Trailblazers kept attempting to not allow the large margin to reach single-digits. With 48 seconds left, the Gold Rush scored four points in less than two seconds due to a layup counting and Degruy drawing a foul. Despite the missed free throw attempt, XU's Williams got the offensive rebound and was fouled for two free throws that would be true. Now an eight-point lead (73-65), the Trailblazers turned the ball over three straight possessions and Xavier (La.) capitalized on the chances to tighten the gap to five (73-65). It never got any closer despite another turnover following, but two missed shots by the Gold Rush eliminated the chance to get closer and UNTD's Williams had massive rebound in multiple meanings to gather some composure back for the team in royal blue jerseys. While a stressful finish, it was still a big win that saw some amazing progress for the Trailblazers and hopefully pushes positive energy into a big home week.
 
UNT Dallas plays three games at Trinity Leadership Public School this week starting with a rescheduled date against Texas A&M-San Antonio on February 2 at 7:30 p.m.
 
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