North Texas brought an end to one streak on Thursday. Tonight the Mean Green will look to start another, one it hopes will help build momentum heading into the Sun Belt Conference tournament next month.
UNT (17-8, 6-6) snapped a four-game slide with an 82-79 win over South Alabama at home.
The win was UNT's first since an 83-64 victory over Arkansas State on Jan. 22 and bolstered the Mean Green's chances of working its way back toward the top of the Sun Belt West Division standings in its final four games of the regular season.
UNT will look to take the next step today when it hosts Louisiana-Monroe in the back end of a doubleheader with the women's game that will begin at 5 p.m.
The UNT women will wear pink uniforms for the first time in school history for their "Pink Zone" game that will be part of the WBCA's initiative to help raise money for the Kay Yow Foundation and raise breast cancer awareness.
The UNT men will enter their game today feeling a little better about the way they are playing, thanks largely to their ability to make a few key plays late. Dominique Johnson hit a critical 3-pointer late in the second half to put the Mean Green up for good.
"We have that winning feeling back," UNT head coach Johnny Jones said. "There's a big difference in the feeling you have when you are winning. We are hopeful that we have gotten through that portion of the season where we have had consecutive setbacks and have moved on to be more consistent in areas that will allow us to have success down the stretch."
UNT had lost three straight games by at least 10 points.
"It was a huge relief," UNT forward Jacob Holmen said of ending the slump. "We have that first win out of the way and can keep building."
Tristan Thompson scored 18 points to lead four UNT players who finished in double figures against USA and leads the Mean Green with an average of 17.4 points a game. George Odufuwa also bounced back from being held scoreless in UNT's loss to Western Kentucky last week to post a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
UNT appears as if it will have a chance to put another winning streak together against ULM (6-22, 1-13). The Warhawks have won just one game in Sun Belt play.
The UNT women are looking to follow the path Jones' team blazed against USA and break a losing streak of their own. The Mean Green has lost six straight to fall to 5-20, including a 2-10 record in Sun Belt play. ULM (13-14, 7-7) has lost two straight.
BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.
