UALR TROJANS (7-19, 3-12)
at NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN (18-8, 10-5)
Sat., Feb. 20, 2010 - 3 PM (Central)
Denton, Texas (The Super Pit)
MEDIA INFORMATION
TV: CSS/CST (Richard Cross - play-by-play; Shane Power - analyst)
Radio: The game can be heard live on The Point 94.1 FM
Online: Live audio/video streaming available at www.UALRTrojans.com & ESPN360.com
UALR-UNT SERIES
The Series: UALR leads 14-5
Streak: UNT - won 1
Last Meeting: North Texas 83, @UALR 78 (Dec. 31, 2009)
THE COACHES
UALR — Steve Shields, 7th season at UALR (Baylor, 1988)
Record at school: 112-92 (.549)
Career record: same
Record vs. UNT: 7-3
UNT — Johnny Jones, 9th season at UNT (LSU, 1985)
Record at school: 144-120 (.545)
Career record: 159-136 (.539)
TIP-OFF
UALR (7-19, 3-12) heads to Denton, Texas Saturday afternoon for its final road game of the 2009-10 season when it takes on North Texas (18-8, 10-5) at 3 p.m. ... Saturday’s game will be UALR’s fourth televised game of the season, as the action can be seen on CSS/CST as part of the Sun Belt’s TV package ... The Trojans fell to 0-13 on the road this year with a 62-57 loss at Denver on Thursday night ... DU led from wire-to-wire and shot 50.0 percent from the field to extend its homecourt win streak to 14 games ... UALR’s current 13-game road losing streak is the program’s longest since the 1999-00 Trojans endured an 0-13 record in away games ... The Trojans have dropped four straight following a 79-77 victory over Arkansas State on Feb. 4, and are shooting a combined 32.8 percent from the field and 23.6 percent from three-point range with a -5.0 rebounding margin during the four-game skid ... Junior Solomon Bozeman reached double figures for the 21st time this season in Thursday’s loss, going 9-of-10 from the field on his way to a team-high 16 points — the 15th time this year he has led the team in scoring ... The nine free throws increase his season total to 131 (tied for 47th nationally) and pull him into a tie for sixth place on the school’s all-time single-season list ... UALR closes out the regular season next week by hosting Troy (Feb. 25) and New Orleans (Feb. 27).
THE SERIES
UALR holds a 14-5 lead in the all-time series with North Texas, and had won seven of the last eight meetings with UNT prior to the Mean Green’s 83-78 victory in Little Rock earlier this season (12/31/09) ... The Trojans are 5-1 all-time at The Super Pit, while head coach Steve Shields is 7-3 versus the Mean Green.
LAST TIME OUT
Brian Stafford scored a game-high 22 points Thursday night to lead Denver to a 62-57 victory over UALR at Magness Arena ... The Pioneers led from wire-to-wire after opening the game with a 14-3 run, and survived a 13-of-30 effort at the free-throw line (43.3 percent) to pick up their 14-straight victory at home ... Denver improved to 8-0 at home in conference play by shooting 50.0 percent from the field while making nine three pointers ... Nate Rohnert and Chase Hallam chipped in 11 points apiece, with Rohnert grabbing a team-high eight rebounds ... Solomon Bozeman went 9-of-10 at the foul line on his way to a team-high 16 points in the loss ... Matt Mouzy added 11 points off a 3-for-4 effort from three-point range, while Derrick Bails chipped in 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds ... The Trojans shot just 37.0 percent on the night, and went 17-of-29 at the foul line (58.6 percent) ... The Pioneers ran out to a 14-3 lead at the start of the game as UALR made just one field goal over the first 7:47 ... Denver led by as many as 14 points in the first half ... The Trojans pulled within six at the half, 28-22, but were unable to make it a one-possession game until a three pointer by Mouzy brought UALR within three, 53-50, with 2:06 remaining ... Denver answered immediately, as Rohnert found Stafford in the corner for a three pointer with 1:42 to go ... A Trojan turnover on the ensuing possession led to a layup by Chase Hallam, which put the Pioneers ahead 58-50 and sealed the win.
A LOOK AT THE MEAN GREEN
North Texas (18-8, 10-5) brings a five-game win streak into Saturday’s contest and currently finds itself in a five-way tie atop the Sun Belt standings ... UNT is 10-2 at The Super Pit this season, including a 4-2 mark in league play ... North Texas leads the Sun Belt with a +3.7 rebounding margin, led by George Odufuwa’s conference-best 10.4 rebounding average ... Odufuwa averages a double-double on the year (11.4 points per game) and ranks third in the Sun Belt with a .599 field goal percentage ... Josh White is one of four players averaging double figures in points this season, averaging team highs of 15.0 points and 3.7 assists per game ... Tristan Thompson, who scored 26 points off 6-of-9 three-point shooting when the two teams met earlier this season, leads the team with 51 three pointers off a .429 clip.
LAST MEETING
Tristan Thompson and George Odufuwa combined to score 46 points to lead North Texas to an 83-78 victory over UALR at the Jack Stephens Center (12/31/09) ... The Trojans took their first lead of the second half with 3:05 remaining, but Thompson and Josh White delivered back-to-back three’s to put UNT ahead for good ... Thompson was one of four players to score in double figures, finishing with 26 points after making 9-of-13 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range ... Odufuwa chipped in 20 points and eight rebounds off 8-of-9 shooting ... Alex Garcia-Mendoza poured in 21 points in the loss, going 8-of-11 from the field ... Solomon Bozeman added 20 points, thanks to a 10-of-12 effort at the line, while Courtney Jackson collected a game-high 10 boards to help UALR to a +9 margin on the glass (36-to-27) ... UNT took a 45-37 lead into the break after a first half which saw the Mean Green shoot 67.9 percent from the field ... UALR played from behind for most of the second half before finally reclaiming the lead on a basket by Garcia-Mendoza with 3:05 to go – UALR’s first since holding a 27-25 edge in the first half ... Down 75-72, the Mean Green came up with a key offensive rebound and Thompson hit a game-tying three with 1:54 to play ... White followed with a deep three pointer from the top of the arc to put UNT ahead for good, and the Mean Green made 5-of-6 at the foul line over the final 22 seconds to seal the win ... UNT racked up 23 assists on its 29 field goals, led by seven a piece from White and Shannon Shorter.
DAVISON SHOOTING AT RECORD CLIP
Junior Ricky Davison currently leads the Sun Belt Conference with a .554 three-point percentage, which would shatter the school record if the season ended today ... The Fort Deposit, Ala.-native is 36-of-65 from beyond the arc this season ... He is averaging 1.44 made three pointers per game, which leaves him just shy of inclusion in the ESPN and CBS Sports national rankings (minimum 1.5 made three pointers per game) ... Former Trojan Nick Zachery currently holds the school record for single-season three-point shooting, having made 41-of-88 three-point attempts for a .466 clip during the 2000-01 season.
BOZEMAN JUMPS UP THE RANKING
Junior Solomon Bozeman went 9-of-10 at the foul line against Denver on Thursday to jump all the way from 12th place into a tie for sixth on the school’s all-time single season list for made free throws ... With 131 made foul shots, Bozeman finds himself tied with Malik Dixon (1996-97) for sixth on the school’s all-time list, two free throws back of fifth-place Rod Wade (1989-90) ... Bozeman is currently tied for 47th place nationally with his 131 free throws (thru games of 2/18), and ranks fourth in the Sun Belt with an .819 free-throw percentage.
MOUZY NO. 6 AND CLIMBING
Junior Matt Mouzy is currently sixth on UALR’s all-time list for career three pointers, having made 148 treys in 74 games ... The Jonesboro, Ark.-native is averaging 2.2 made three pointers per game this year (5th in the SBC) and sits 12 treys back of fifth-place Derrick Hall (1989-94).
AND ONE’S
• In Steve Shields’ first six years as head coach, UALR’s worst rebounding margin in conference play was a +1.9 mark in 2004-05 and 2008-09 ... This year’s team is currently -3.3 in league play.
• The Trojans are averaging 6.4 made three pointers per game this season, which marks the highest average by a UALR squad under head coach Steve Shields ... The 2005-06 team holds the current standard for a Shields-led squad, having averaged 5.5 made three pointers per game.
• The Trojans are 0-3 in televised games this season and 10-20 all-time under head coach Steve Shields ... UALR is 2-6 in day games this year and 12-19 during Shields’ tenure.
• Junior Alex Garcia-Mendoza is one of just three players born in Mexico currently playing Division I basketball — along with Jorge Gutierrez (California) and Uriel Segura (Texas State).
• Senior forward Mike Smith is out for the rest of the 2009-10 season after suffering an ACL tear at South Alabama on Dec. 16.
Courtesy: Michael Baxley