North Texas Head Basketball Coach Johnny Jones was denied his 200^th win Wednesday at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He was in the same position when North Texas welcomed Arkansas State to The Super Pit for a noon Sun Belt Conference contest. The last time the two teams faced each other ASU knocked off North Texas on a three point shot as time expired at Jonesboro, Ark.

Jones was “not at all” worried about getting his 200^th win and did not think about it. What he was looking for was “for the team to improve.” As for his 200^th win, “maybe at the end” of his career he will look back to see how important getting the win was.

The game was featured on the Sun Belt Conference Television Network which is why the game was played at noon. TV fans were treated to a great game and a great outing by North Texas. It was also a 'Coaches against Cancer' game where the coaches wore tennis shoes and suits.

Jones thought ASU would be entering into the game with a lot of confidence because their last win came against North Texas. In that contest, ASU post players hurt North Texas by almost doubling up on what the North Texas post players scored. They also hit on a three point shot as time expired to secure a win.

There are a lot of North Texas and other Sun Belt Conference teams winning in the last minute or two. Jones noted it when he stated “all our games coming down to possession” with several North Texas games lost “right down there at the end.” With almost all the conference games coming down to the end it showed “there was a lot of parity in the league.”

There was some good news for Jones as Jacob Holmen was able to play and got the call to start. Missing 11 games would mean he would be out of shape but Jones said “it will take a few games to get his legs back under him.” It didn't take long for him to be a factor in the game as his feed to A. Williams resulted in the first North Texas points. He played for 24 minutes putting in nine points.

Another player Jones had in his arsenal for this game was Kedrick Hogans. This gave North Texas some depth inside which was badly needed as last game ASU whipped up North Texas in the paint. He was also needed to keep the team from tiring at the end of the second half. Hogans logged 12 minutes and four points.

It was Alzee Williams, Brandan Walton, Jacob Holmen, Tony Mitchell and Roger Franklin starting for North Texas. They took an early 5-0 lead before ASU got their first two points of the game. North Texas stretched their lead to 9-2 before ASU went on a run to tie game at nine all.

After the first timeout of the game at 14:52, Hogans made his first appearance getting a two point layup. North Texas continued to build their lead to ten points before ASU went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 23 all with about eight minutes left in the first half.

Mitchell ended the run by hitting two free throws then immediately got a steal and a big dunk giving North Texas a four point, 32-28 lead at the 2:39 timeout. Before half, North Texas added four more points to ASU's two for the halftime score 36-30.

North Texas is 41-43 when winning at halftime with their only two losses coming at the hands of ASU.

Could this happen in this game?

Mitchell got his tenth rebound to open the second half, however, ASU cut the lead by getting the first points of the second half on a three point shot. Franklin answered the challenge with his first bucket of the game. Mitchell got into double digit scoring within two minutes of the second half with a layup and a foul. He added to his point total on a three to make the score 44-33 forcing ASU to call a timeout.

ASU started to close the gap but North Texas answered when Holmen hit for two, A. Williams hit a jumper for two, Mitchell added two on a dunk, Holmen hit two free throws before ASU could score making it a 52-39 game. Both teams traded baskets then Mitchell hit a dunk, Franklin hit a two and a free throw before ASU could score again. North Texas pushed their lead out to 21 points before ASU went on a 9-0 run. North Texas then manned up and backed ASU down to take a 76-64 victory.

Unlike the last contest North Texas outscored ASU 34-28 in the paint.

The victory gave Jones his 200^th career win in a game that basically was never in doubt as North Texas led from tip-off to buzzer with a couple of ties.

Mitchell had a career high six blocks, five in the first half and tied for fifth place in the North Texas history books for six blocks in a game. He poured in 21 points and collected 15 rebounds.

Not to be outdone, “Credit Card” Walton ended the game with a career high 19 points and once again got a charging call.

Another career record came from A. Williams dishing off a career high five assists.

North Texas ups their record to 13-9, 6-3, while the Red Wolves fall 8-14, 3-6.

Now North Texas will face Middle Tennessee this Thursday, at 7 PM. The Blue Raiders are 20-3, 9-0 after falling to Vanderbilt 77-84. Before Saturday's contest, they led the East Division by four games. In second place is Florida Atlantic with a 5-3 record. The best record in the West Division is Denver and Arkansas-Little Rock with 6-2 records. Waiting on other scores to finish, North Texas is 6-3.

This will be the only contest this season between the two teams.

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