Men’s basketball routed by Texas Tech on the road
North Texas senior guard Deckie Johnson (10) drives past a Sul Ross State defender on his way to the basket. Johnson shot 50 percent from the field, and put up 23 points in the 85-77 win against Sul Ross State.
Sixteen turnovers were the Achilles heel for North Texas men’s basketball Tuesday night, as the Mean Geeen (1-1) fell to Texas Tech University 70-43.
The Red Raiders (2-0) scored 24 points off turnovers, led by junior forward Zach Smith, who notched a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“I knew coming in this would be a tough challenge,” head coach Tony Benford said. “They can wear you thin. We had to take care of the basketball and obviously we didn’t do a great job of that.”
Texas Tech got off to a hot start and claimed a lead it never relinquished. The Mean Green struggled on offense, and failed to get in rhythm for the entire contest. Freshman guard AJ Lawson led North Texas in scoring at halftime and finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
But senior guard Deckie Johnson led the Mean Green in scoring with 13 points, despite only getting two of his seven three-pointers to fall.
“Deckie was just Deckie,” Lawson said. “He always tries to finish it and does pretty well.”
North Texas pulled to within 10 with just 51 seconds left in the first half when sophomore guard Ja’Michael Brown made a circus lay-up while being fouled, but he missed the free throw that would have completed the three-point play.
Junior forward Jeremy Combs did his part to aid in the comeback effort, dropping nine points and four rebounds, but a lack of help from those around him ultimately doomed the Mean Green.
“It wasn’t enough,” Combs said. “I think it was a good experience for the younger guys, but we’ll have to put this behind us in practice.”
North Texas’ defense did make the Red Raiders life difficult on offense, as Texas Tech had only two players in double digits on the night. The Mean Green made adjustments at halftime to try and limit Texas Tech’s scoring, but in the end, it was their own offensive inefficiencies that sealed their fate.
“A lot of credit goes to their guys,” Benford said. “We changed it up defensively, but we couldn’t score.”
Next up: North Texas hosts Drexel University at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Featured Image: North Texas senior guard Deckie Johnson (10) drives past a Sul Ross State defender on his way to the basket. Johnson shot 50 percent from the field, and put up 23 points in the 85-77 win against Sul Ross State. Nathan Roberts
A few minor corrections: Deckie hit 2 of 7 three-pointers according to the stat sheet on MGS. Also, Combs had 9 points, not 10.
Hi Sean, our Sports Editor is looking into this and will make a correction if needed today. Good eye!