Friday, February 8, 2008

Men’s basketball: Western Kentucky 74, UNT 64

By Pegasus News wire

Courtney Lee scored 31 points to lead the Western Kentucky men’s basketball team to a 94-84 victory against North Texas on Thursday night at the Super Pit.

The Mean Green falls to 14-8 overall and 5-6 in the conference, while WKU improves to 19-5 and 11-1 in the Sun Belt. North Texas has its two-game winning streak snapped and loses only its second home game of the season.

North Texas dug itself in a hole the first half and could not overcome the deficit in the second. The Mean Green shot 37.5 percent from the field in the first half, making 12 field goals. NT improved in the second half, going 15-for-32. The Mean Green was successful from the charity stripe, scoring 23 points off 79.3 percent shooting from the free throw line.

WKU converted more than half its field goals, going 34-for-62 in the game. Lee was 13-for-19 from the field and 2-for-3 from behind the three-point arc. The Hilltoppers also posted eight blocks in the game.

WKU took an early 14-4 lead, scoring field goals on each of its first six possessions. The Hilltoppers never trailed in the game, leading by as many as 10 points in the opening period.

North Texas stayed within single digits of the Hilltoppers until WKU went on a 21-11 run to take a 15-point advantage, 76-61. The Mean Green cut into the WKU lead numerous times, but the Hilltoppers always had an answer, scoring 50 points in the paint.

Josh White led the Mean Green with 22 points. Nine points were from the free throw line. Quincy Williams and Keith Wooden joined him in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Tristan Thompson provided energy off the bench, scoring 12 points. Two free throws by Thompson at the 15:05 mark in the second period cut the WKU’s lead to five points, 55-50, the closest the Mean Green would come to the Hilltoppers.

For the second straight game, North Texas was held to zero fast break points. WKU posted 11 of its own.

North Texas returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 9 when it faces UALR on the road at 7 pm.

Source: UNT

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