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UNT Dallas

Photo Recap RRAC MBB Quarterfinals
58
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 11-16, 10-12
68
Winner Xavier (LA) XULA 20-9, 15-7
UNT Dallas UNT DALL
11-16, 10-12
58
Final
68
Xavier (LA) XULA
20-9, 15-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNT Dallas UNT DALL 35 23 58
Xavier (LA) XULA 43 25 68

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | nathanyacovissi

Trailblazers Complete 2025-26 Season in RRAC Opening Round

TEXARKANA, Texas – No. 6 Seed University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball fell to No. 3 Seed Xavier University of Louisiana, 68-58, on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center. The Trailblazers were in the matchup throughout the game, but a 13-4 run provided the necessary boost to send the Gold Rush to double figures late in the opening half and maintain control throughout. The Trailblazers gave tremendous effort to try and force their second road win in a row down in New Orleans and came within five points with a little over seven minutes left, but Xavier (La.) answered back each time with enough to carry out a 10-point final.
 
The Trailblazers season ends at 11-16 overall and 10-12 in their first season with the Red River Athletic Conference. The 10 conference wins match the total conference wins from 2024-25 as members of the Sooner Athletic Conference.
 
Xavier (La.) improves to 20-9 and advances to the RRAC Men's Basketball Semifinals on Saturday in Alexandria, Louisiana.
 
Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) ended his UNTD career with his ninth double-double and was the top statistic leader for the game in points with 15 and rebounds with 12. Crawford also notched a personal-high four blocks. The graduate student was named All-RRAC First Team, the league announced on Thursday.  
 
Crawford led the Trailblazers with 15.4 points-per-game and 10.4 rebounds-per-game. He is ranked in the top five nationally for rebounds-per-game (at time of release) and leads the league in that category. Crawford also has accumulated 66 assists, 28 steals, and 14 blocks. Crawford has logged 907 points and 553 boards in two seasons with the Trailblazers. He tallied a team-leading nine double-doubles this season after having one in all 28 games in his first year with UNT Dallas. Crawford broke the single-game record for rebounds with 23 against Texas College this season (1/8/26). Crawford is also going into the record books for free throws made in a season (183) and topped his own record marks on rebounds and rebounds per contest from the previous season. Crawford was a two-time RRAC Player of the Week this season.
 


The Trailblazers shot 34.5 percent (20-58) from the field and 4-of-21 from three. They went 14-for-20 at the free throw line. UNT Dallas was stronger on boards with a 42-35 advantage. They did hold an 8-3 edge on second chance points and had 11 offensive rebounds.
 
Orion Virden (Pine Bluff, Ark.) was the other UNTD player in double figures with 10 points, as he finished the year with six games in a row and seven-of-eight games equal or above the double-digit plateau. Sedric Curry Jr. (Baton Rouge, La.) added nine points.
 
The Trailblazers had nine players score at least one field goal and seven players contributed to the team's 14 assists.
 
Xavier (La.) had a quartet of players in double figures led by Nasir DeGruy and Kerel Dean with 14 points each. Bentravin Phillips tossed in 13 points and Seviuhn Turner scored 10 to go with a team-high seven rebounds.
 
The Gold Rush shot 39.7 percent and made eight three-pointers, while going 14-for-20 at the line. They had 15 assists, five blocks, and nine steals. XULA only turned the ball over four times and held a 16-2 advantage on points off turnovers.
 
An old fashioned three-point play by Crawford, who had 12 first half points, began the contest for the Trailblazers. After seven points in a row by the Gold Rush, DaRyan Williams (Austin, Texas) made the backend of two free throws to stop the run and Crawford added a pair of shots from the charity stripe to cut the gap to a point just over three minutes into the game.
 
A trey by Virden tied the game a few plays later at 11 and Crawford followed that play with a block to stop the Gold Rush offense and later scored a jumper that was assisted by Williams to take a 13-11 lead with 15:19 left.
 
The Gold Rush scored three points the hard way to flip the lead again. Two free throws by Anthony Hunter (Fort Worth, La.) closed the gap to a point (18-17) and then a jumper by Virden exchanged the lead with 13 minutes before intermission. It was the final time the Trailblazers were on top in the game. Prior to the midway juncture of the game, Dreyon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) leveled the score at 21.
 
A trifecta by XULA's Kerel Dean broke the final tie of the contest. Crawford answered with a jumper, but the final nine and a half minutes saw a plus seven-point spread for the Gold Rush give a 43-35 halftime score. This included seven straight points in 1:28 minutes for the home team to produce a 31-23 lead. Jumpers by Williams and Eli Taylor (Elizabeth, N.J.) kept the game at two possessions. Julius Morris (Houston, Texas) drained a corner three-pointer that cut the deficit to 37-30 with under four minutes after a small boost by XULA. Crawford made a basket to cut the score to six points with 2:03 left and Hunter had the final field goal with 41 seconds that led to the halftime score.
 
Both teams were held to 25 points or less in the second half. The Trailblazers fell behind as many as 16 points through the first Media Timeout and were in for an uphill climb. Jumpers by Curry Jr. and Virden started an 8-1 run to bring the deficit to single digits with 12 minutes remaining. Thornton had two free throws, and Crawford made a jumper that was assisted by the freshman guard.
 
After a triple by Xavier (La.), Virden was able to convert on a trio of free throws to equal the balance. Demaryon Thornton (Chicago, Ill.) buried a trey by Virden to slice the margin to six points (58-52) with eight minutes.
 
Both offenses stalled the remaining time of the game with a 10-6 edge for the Gold Rush during this span. Crawford had a free throw pull the Trailblazers as close as they would get at five points with 7:16 left. Four more free throws helped the Gold Rush extend the lead and two minutes later an old fashioned three-point play for Curry Jr. made it a six-point game. Curry Jr. had the final UNTD points as he had seven in the second half. His jumper at 1:41 was the team's final points and second of his two field goals since Thornton's trey with eight minutes left on the clock.
 
Opportunities were there as the Gold Rush were unable to put the game away completely, but UNT Dallas did not make enough shots to pressure the difference down the stretch.
 
Sixth Year Head Coach Josh Howard saw his team break double-digits in wins a fourth season out of five since becoming affiliated with the NAIA. The Trailblazers qualified for their third postseason game and earned their highest seed in the tournament. Crawford ranked top five in the NAIA for rebounds-per-game and became the first player to average a double-double overall in season stats. More records were broken throughout the campaign and will be added to the historical data soon.
 
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