Men’s basketball honors Dunham, extends win streak to five
Alex Lilley / Intern Writer
The Mean Green men’s basketball team extended its winning streak to five games on Thursday, downing the University of North Carolina at Charlotte 81-65 at home.
This was the last home game that long time play-by-play man George Dunham would call as the voice of Mean Green athletics. Through out the game, the jumbotron played video messages from some of Dunham’s old colleagues. There was also a video tribute to Dunham at halftime. Head coach Tony Benford said this win is for him.
“I told George pregame that we’re going to get one. And I said ‘George, this is a lot of pressure, we got to win, man,’” Benford said.
With four players scoring in double digits, UNT put up its second-highest offensive output of the season against the top-scoring team in the Conference.
George Dunham sits down with the Ticket before the game against Charlotte University.
The 49ers never came closer than five points as the Mean Green (14-13, 8-7) found its offensive groove immediately, shooting 63 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from three in the first half.
North Texas led 41-28 at half, and never looked back. Its shooting percentage dropped in the second half, but the Mean Green still finished shooting 54.2 percent for the game.
North Texas also kept the ball moving against its opponent with 16 assists compared to only seven turnovers. Benford said the team is playing with a lot of confidence.
“You want to be playing your best basketball towards the end of the season, and that’s what we’re doing,” Benford said. “We got to make a commitment to the defensive end and a commitment to sharing the ball, and taking care of the ball, and we’ve been doing that.”
Senior guard Jordan Williams and sophomore guard DeAndre Harris led the team with 17 points each. Junior guard Maurice Aniefiok added 15, while senior guard T.J. Taylor had 11. After a 20-point loss earlier in the season to Charlotte, Aniefiok said the team really wanted this one.
“I took the game really personal because I was just like, I know these guys are not 20 points better than us,” Aniefiok said. “We’re playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not for the name behind.”
With three games left until the conference tournament starts, Williams said the team is peaking at the right time.
“When we’re in practice, when we’re off the court, I can just see it in the guys’ eyes that they want to win and they want to help us seniors get to where we want to be,” Williams said.
The team will play its final home game of the season Saturday against Old Dominion University at 4:30 p.m.
Featured Image: Junior forward/guard Maurice Aniefiok charges toward the hoop around a University of North Carolina-Charlotte defender. Photos by Edward Balusek – Visuals Editor
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