Skip To Main Content

UNT Dallas

Photo Recap vs. TAMUTX
60
Winner LSU Alexandria LSU ALEX 20-7, 17-4
49
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 10-15, 9-12
Winner
LSU Alexandria LSU ALEX
20-7, 17-4
60
Final
49
UNT Dallas UNT DALL
10-15, 9-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
LSU Alexandria LSU ALEX 26 34 60
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 20 29 49

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | nathanyacovissi

Trailblazers Defense Holds 2nd Place LSUA to Season-Low in DefensIVE Struggle

CEDAR HILL, Texas – It was a difficult game offensively for both sides, as University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball held second-place LSU-Alexandria to a season-low in points and under 35 percent from the field. However, the Trailblazers offense also sputtered to under 30 points per half and dropped a 60-49 final on Thursday at Trinity Leadership Public School.
 
The game was a low scoring affair with the Generals leading 26-20 at the break. The Trailblazers competed in the second half to stay around a low double-digit deficit but could never find the run needed to recover the difference.
 
UNT Dallas fell to 10-15 overall and 9-12 in Red River Athletic Conference action. It is the team's second loss in a row after a crucial win last week at Jarvis Christian. Both JCU and Texas A&M-San Antonio lost on Thursday, so the Trailblazers have clinched the No. 6 seed in the RRAC Men's Basketball Tournament next week.
 
LSUA improved to 20-7 overall and 17-4 in conference.
 
Orion Virden (Pine Bluff, Ark.) led the team with 14 points as he wavered through a tough game shooting percentage wise. However, Virden stretched his double-digit scoring streak to four games.  The other player in double figures was Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) with 12 points. He also nearly earned a double-double with nine boards.
 
The Trailblazers shot 15-of-46 (32.6 percent) from the field and hit four three-pointers. They were 15-for-23 at the free throw line. The team logged 28 rebounds, seven assists, seven steals, and turned the ball over 16 times.
 
LSUA was 18-of-52 (34.6 percent) with five three-pointers and 19-for-22 at the free throw line. The Generals had 41 boards, six assists and steals, and turned the ball over 15 times.
 
The only significant difference favoring UNTD tonight was fastbreak points, 7-2. Points in the paint went UNTD's way at 18-16, and the Generals held narrow leads on points off turnovers, 18-16, and second chance points, 12-8.
 
Jordan Decuir was a top scorer with 16 points. EJ McQuillan had 10 points but was 1-of-10 from the floor and 1-of-5 from deep. TJ James grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
The game started with LSUA scoring six of the first seven points. A steal by Demaryon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) found Crawford who dished an assist to Sedric Curry Jr. (Baton Rouge, La.) for a fastbreak dunk. Down six points through the first media timeout, a pair of free throws by Crawford and then a layup by Keylyn Sanders (Paris, Texas) cut the gap to 11-9 with 10:49 left in the stanza. The lead swapped for the Trailblazers for the first time at 8:22 as a triple by Thornton came followed by a good jumper from Virden.
 
Sides traded leads back-and-forth a few times, as LSUA relied on the free throw line to keep its narrow advantage established. The Trailblazers kept the opposition without a field goal from 13:39 to 5:09 and only to eight free throws in that span. The jumper by Courtney McCarthy made it a 19-16 lead for the Generals to end the field goal drought.
 
Anthony Hunter (Fort Worth, Texas) countered with a layup to bring the margin to a point, but that was the closest the game would get the rest of the way. A 7-0 run pushed the LSUA lead to 26-18 with a little over a minute left. Crawford had two free throws go in to finish the first half scoring.
 
There were small outbursts in the last 20 minutes that had the Trailblazers hoping a run to close the gap was in them. A trey by Eli Taylor (Elizabeth, N.J.) on the fastbreak made it a nine-point gap with 14:26 left. LSUA answered with four points from the free throw line and would ride a scoring span that led to a 14-point edge (43-29) with 7:42 left.
 
Virden sparked the offense with five points in under a minute with two field goals and a free throw that was part of an old fashioned three-point play. Crawford had a three-point play the hard way, too. His sequence cut the deficit to eight points, which was the closest the game would be the remainder of the way. Virden had a three at 4:05 cut the score to nine points (53-44). LSUA's Jayce Tolivar made his only field goals with consecutive treys to maintain a 12-point lead and essentially withstand any prospect of a comeback.
 
UNT Dallas will celebrate "Senior Day" on Saturday against Louisiana Christian on Saturday. The ceremony is scheduled prior to the men's tip around 3:00 p.m. after the women's game concludes.
 
 
Print Friendly Version