Photo Credit: School Files

Sunday, November 15

ULM 82, Alcorn St.  66
MONROE, La. - Fifth-year senior guard Tony Hooper scored a team-high 18 points as the ULM men's basketball team earned an 82-66 victory over Alcorn State on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 15) at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Junior forward Tommie Sykes added 16 and junior forward Lawrence Gilbert chipped in 14 points as ULM picked up its first victory of the season.

ULM never trailed in the contest but saw its double-digit lead cut to just six midway through the second half before a late Warhawks charge put the game out of reach. The two teams combined for 48 turnovers and 61 free throw attempts in the contest.

The Warhawks jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the opening 75 seconds of the contest, all five points coming via free throws by Hooper. Following a basket by Alcorn State, ULM went on a 13-4 run over the next five minutes, stretching its advantage to 18-6. Senior guard Dynile Forbes scored five during the burst for the Warhawks on a layup and a triple.

ULM's advantage reached 27-14 with 7:53 to play on a put back by redshirt freshman center Rory Burt, but the Braves trimmed the Warhawks lead back to eight, 29-21 with six minutes to play before the intermission. With 1:39 to play before the break, Gilbert buried his third triple of the half to give ULM a 47-30 lead, its largest lead of the half.

The Warhawks took a 49-35 lead into the locker room, Gilbert led all scorers with 11 points in the first half, Sykes added 10, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. All 10 players dressed for the Warhawks played and scored in the opening 20 minutes.

ULM shot 51.6 percent from the field (16-of-31) in the first half and forced Alcorn State into 16 turnovers.

Gilbert made his fourth trifecta of the game to open the second half, but Alcorn State responded with a 9-0 run, cutting the ULM lead to 52-44 five minutes into the second half before junior guard Warren Fuselier hit a floater in the lane to stop the run.

Another 8-0 run by the Braves trimmed ULM's lead to just six, 62-56, with 10:47 to play until Hooper answered for the Warhawks with a runner.

Hooper's runner sparked an 18-2 spurt for ULM that pushed the lead to 80-60 with just over four minutes to play in the contest. The Warhawks held Alcorn State without a field goal for over five minutes during that stretch.

JeMarkus Holt of Alcorn State led all scorers with 19 points and also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, Ian Francis added 15 for the Braves.

Tulsa 81, Florida International 49
It was enough that FIU traveled nearly halfway across the country to play the preseason Conference USA favorite, Tulsa (2-0), but playing without its 6-foot-9 center, Nikola Gacesa who injured his knee Friday night against Monmouth, made it all the more daunting.

When the dust settled, it was the all-conference tandem of guard Ben Uzoh and All-American center Jerome Jordan who combined for 32 points in an 81-49 win over FIU, Sunday afternoon in Tulsa.

Marvin Roberts led the Golden Panthers with 18 points and nine rebounds, but no other FIU player was able to crack double-digit scoring.

FIU (0-3) must have felt like they had walked into the land of giants. The Tulsa starting five averaged 6-foot-7 apiece (led by Jordan standing at 7-foot) compared to the Golden Panthers much smaller 6-foot-2 per man.

That size difference played a major role on the Golden Panthers game as just about every missed shot was swept off the boards by a taller, more physical Hurricane.

But down by 36-13 with 1:48 to play in the first half, FIU caught its second wind, closing out on a 7-0 run and trailing 36-20 at the break. Roberts had five of those points down the stretch and was FIU's leading scorer at the intermission with 12 points.

But the Golden Hurricane again used their physical dominance, going on a 22-6 run to begin the second half, and ending all doubts. TU outrebounded the smaller Golden Panthers, 54-31, and recorded nine blocked shots, six by Jordan.

On the plus side, FIU played swarming defense that forced 15 Tulsa turnovers, compared to just eight of its own and the Golden Panthers outscored TU, 14-7, off those turnovers.

Denver 75, Arkansas Pine-Bluff 56
DENVER - University of Denver sophomore guard sophomore guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) had 19 points to help the Pioneers (1-1) defeat Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-2) in a 75-56 victory Sunday afternoon at Magness Arena.

Stafford was a stellar 6-for-8 from the field and 5-for-6 from three-point range for a game-high 19 points after scoring 20 in DU's season opener on Friday. Senior Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.) contributed 20 points and tied a career-high with nine assists. Junior Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) added 18 points, including 12 in the second half, and two steals.

In the game, the Pioneers shot 59.5% from the field and 52.4 percent from three-point range.

"I was happy to see us fight hard in the second half, but we still have to work on developing that killer instinct," head coach Joe Scott said. "This was a good win, and I like where we're at right now."

The Golden Lions started the game on a 7-0 run over the first 3:37 of the game, but the Pioneers went 9-for-15 from the field and 6-for-10 from beyond the arc to end the half with a 40-36 lead.

The Pioneers poured it on in the second half, starting with a 15-2 run, and held the Golden Lions to only 20 points after the break. 

Ohio 81, Middle Tennessee 68
ATHENS, Ohio - Middle Tennessee's slow start to the halves and early foul trouble hurt it in an 81-68 loss to Ohio on Sunday afternoon.

The Blue Raiders were outscored 11-0 in the first five minutes of each half and while they closed the gap could never get within more than four-points in either half.

Middle Tennessee had three players foul out in a game that had a total of 53 personal fouls between the two schools.

Senior Montarrio Haddock posted a career-high 25 points as he was 9 for 16 overall. Haddock was a perfect 4 for 4 from the charity stripe and 3 for 6 from behind the arc. Haddock also led the team in rebounds with seven all of which were on defense.

"I don't know that I have even been involved in a game where we started the first five minutes in each half down 11-0. We did a great job at the end of the first half to get it to four. I don't think the team trusts the offense right now but we had great resilience when we got down and cut their lead to five twice," head coach Kermit Davis said.

Freshman J.T. Sulton posted 14 points while going 6 for 7 from the field. Sulton also pulled down three rebounds and had one steal.

Junior James Washington was the only other player in double figures with 11 points with a good night from the free throw line going 4 for 4.

"This is a learning experience for our new guys since it is their first road trip. I told the team it is November and the season ends in March. There are a lot of games left in the season and this road trip will be very good for our team," Davis said.

Senior Theryn Hudson and junior Rod Emanuel aid the defense grabbing five rebounds each as the team had 32 total rebounds in the game, 24 of which were defensive.

Free throws aided the Blue Raiders as shot 87.1 percent from behind the line shooting a perfect 6 for 6 in the second half.

Ohio ended the night shooting 48 percent from the field going 24 for 50 and 75 percent from the free throw line after making 15 of 17 in the second half.

The Bobcats had 39 total rebounds in the game 28 of which were on the defensive side of the ball.

Ohio extended its lead to 17, 51-34, to begin the second half after scoring 13 unanswered points.

Middle Tennessee's first points of the second half were two free throws by Washington. Washington then hit a jumper and three-pointer to put two field goals on the board for the Blue Raiders making it 53-41 at the 13 minute mark.

Over a five minute period the Blue Raiders outscored Ohio 15-7 to cut the lead to 7 points, 60-53. Later, a jumper by Sulton put Middle Tennessee within seven-points, 69-62 with 3:46 remaining.

Middle Tennessee started slow for the second straight game to open the 2009-10 season. Ohio took an 11-0 run to begin the game with the Blue Raiders not scoring a field goal until 15:36 after a layup by O'Neil.

The Blue Raiders had a number of turnovers at the beginning of the game which hurt its offensive opportunities.

After a Haddock basket at 10:30 Middle Tennessee's next seven points were scored off free throws and it did not get another field goal until the 4:56 mark.

The Blue Raiders who trailed by as many as 13 cut the Ohio lead to four at halftime, 38-34. Middle Tennessee outscored the Bobocats 13-2 to end the first half.

South Alabama 70, Sacramento State 66
HOUSTON - After scoring just nine points in the first 16 minutes and facing a 14-point deficit, the University of South Alabama men's basketball team shook off the rust to defeat Sacramento State 70-58 Sunday afternoon in Tudor Fieldhouse at the Rice Basketball Challenge.

The Jaguars end the first weekend of the season 2-1 and return for their home opener Thursday night against Spring Hill.

Both teams went through a prolonged scoring drought in the first half, but it was the Jags who went scoreless for a stretch of 8:04 and started the contest by shooting just 3-for-21 from the floor. Neither team dented the scoreboard for a stretch of 7:20 before Sacramento State finally snapped the streak.

 "When the game started we were still at the Holiday Inn," said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. "The Rice game must have taken a lot out of us last night. It's always good to win but when you play bad and win, it's even better. We've played three games now and we haven't showed up in the first half yet. We're a second-half ballclub and we have to learn how to show up for games. We're so young, they might be too hyped up for the game. By the time the second half rolls around, we're ready to play."

When the second half began the Jaguars started fast by scoring the first six points and forced the Hornets to miss eight of their first nine shots of the final period. SSU converted just 30.8% of its field goals in the second half.

"In all of our games, our defense has won it for us," said Arrow. "We just wait for our offense to get there."

USA capped off a 15-5 run on a jumper from junior Gary Redus (Decatur, Ala.) to take its first lead of the game, 36-34 at the 13:42 mark.

SSU hit two free throws to tie the score but a 3-pointer from Redus and a jumper from junior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) put South Alabama up for good. Sacramento State managed to cut the deficit to 45-44 with 8:45 to play but seven straight points from the Jaguars put the game out of reach.

The Jags hit 10 of their last 11 free throws in the final 2:15 to thwart any comeback attempt. Sophomore Allyn Cooks (Bryan, Texas) went 8-for-8 at the stripe for the game and 6-for-6 in the final minutes.

South Alabama shot 66.7% (14-21) in the second half and outscored Sacramento State 49-29. Redus (15 points), Williams (14) and Cooks (10) combined for 39 in the final 20 minutes alone and Cooks added five assists.

 "We had five assists at halftime and we wound up with 17," said Arrow. "We started making shots, getting to the lane and pitching to the open man. I've said all along that we're a good shooting team but we haven't been looking to get somebody else a shot. We had 12 assists in the second half - that means you're playing as a team."

Williams tallied a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds. He added three assists in 39 minutes of work.

 "I told him at halftime, 'Tim, I didn't bring you in to be a mediocre player. I brought you in to be a leader on this team and to get it done,'" said Arrow. "He went out and showed that he's one of the top players around and he has to continue to do that. We've got to have him playing."

Redus totaled 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from 3-point land.

Four Sacramento State players recorded 10 points each.

Saturday, November 14

Troy 106, Piedmont 50
TROY - In a game the Troy Trojans were supposed to dominate, they did just that, defeating Piedmont College 106-50 on Saturday afternoon for a season-opening win in Trojan Arena.

The Trojans led the game 51-29 at halftime behind 25 combined points from Richard Delk and Michael Vogler. The team then used a 13-0 run over the first three minutes of the second half to put even more distance between it and the visiting Lions.

"It's good to win our first game," Troy head coach Don Maestri said. "It was obvious that we had more talent and athleticism than Piedmont. ... I really don't know where we are as a basketball team and won't know until we play against some better competition."

The aid their attack, the Trojans used hot shooting to roll to the easy win. Troy shot 52 percent from the floor for the game while out-rebounding Piedmont 51-29.

It was the first game with 50-plus rebounds for the Trojans since November 21 of last season against Alcorn State. The victory was also Troy's first by a margin of more than 50 points since November 24, 2003 against Oakwood, a game the Trojans won 140-66.

Antywan Jones led Troy with nine rebounds. Yamene Coleman had eight boards and three Trojans grabbed seven.

"We played better than we did last Monday," Maestri said. "We still didn't shoot very well from 3-point. Levan Patsatsia and Vernon Taylor particularly didn't shoot well from back there. We have got to play better especially as we go on the eight-game road trip. We were more ready to get out and play today than we probably were against West Alabama."

Patsatsia and Taylor weren't along in the futile shooting from beyond the arc. The Trojans made just seven 3-pointers. Brandon Hazzard led the way hitting 3-of-3 attempts.

The game did provide a glimpse of what talent might be on the Troy roster. Five different Trojans scored in double-figures with Vogler pacing the team with 20 points. Hazzard followed with 19.

Taylor scored 15 off the bench, while Delk (13 points) and Jones (12 points) also reached the plateau. Vogler added a team-high six assists and five rebounds.

"With everyone scoring it will make us harder to defend," Vogler said. "[Teams] won't be able to guard just one person. It makes us better as a team."

J.C. Herebia was the lone double-figure man for Piedmont. He finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and a team-best five rebounds.

The game also allowed Hazzard to get some valuable experience running the Troy offense with Vogler off the floor. He played a team-high 26 minutes, including several stretches without both Delk and Vogler on the floor.

"I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job [of running the team]," Hazzard said. "I'm just trying to figure out how to penetrate and find my open teammates."

Louisiana-Lafayette 79, Southern Miss 72
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) -R.L. Horton scored 20 points and Southern Mississippi beat Louisiana-Lafayette 79-72 in the season opener for both teams on Saturday night.

Maurice Bolden had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Golden Eagles. Bolden made 3 of 4 attempts from 3-point range.

Gary Flowers added 12 points with eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles.

The Golden Eagles led by 13 points with 10 minutes remaining, but went the final 5:07 without a field goal.

Randell Daigle and Lamar Anderson both came off the bench to score 14 points to lead the Ragin Cajuns. Tyren Johnson added 13 points while Travis Bureau and Courtney Wallace each added 11 points.

The Ragin Cajuns got 39 points from their bench.

The Golden Eagles held a 40-20 rebounding edge, outscoring the Ragin Cajuns 12-2 on second-chance points.

Rice  71, South Alabama 69

HOUSTON (AP) -Tamir Jackson scored 18 points - one of four Rice starters in double figures - and the Owls edged South Alabama 71-69 Saturday night in the Rice Basketball Challenge.

Connor Frizzelle had 17 points, Lawrence Ghoram finished with 14 and Lucas Kuipers added 11 for Rice (2-0).

Martino Brock led the Jaguars (1-1) with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Owls led 38-27 at halftime and never trailed after that, but South Alabama tied the score twice late, the latter coming with 60 seconds remaining. A layup by Brock knotted the game at 65-65 and capped a 6-0 run by the Jaguars.

Rice answered with a 5-0 run of its own which proved to be just enough to preserve the victory.

Bryan Sherrer and Allyn Cooks each added 14 points for South Alabama.

Friday, November 13

Georgia 67, New Orleans 59
ATHENS, Ga.  - University of Georgia forward Trey Thompkins is one of the most heralded young players in the SEC. On Friday night, he showed why.

The 6-10, 247-pound sophomore had 25 points and 12 rebounds as the host-Bulldogs controlled the boards in a 67-59 win over visiting New Orleans at Stegeman Coliseum.

Thompkins had 16 points in the first half, and the Bulldogs (1-0) got 12 points from reserve forward Jeremy Price to help the hosts claim the win for first-year head coach Mark Fox.

Sophomore guard Charles Carmouche had a career-high 20 points for the Privateers (0-1), and junior center Jaroslav Tyrna had 16 points and seven rebounds.

But UNO could not overcome a 41-27 rebound advantage for Georgia. The effort helped the Bulldogs score 17 second-chance points while UNO was shut out.

The Privateers also struggled from the field in the second half, shooting 30 percent. UNO shot 38 percent overall.

Along with Carmouche and Tyrna, the Privateers got a shot in the arm from senior Billy Humphrey. The Chicago native, who played three seasons at Georgia before transferring in 2008, scored 11 points and played 31 minutes just two weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery.

The Privateers had a shot at the upset. UNO trailed 34-32 at halftime before an 11-4 run to start the second frame gave the Privateers a 43-38 lead with 17:22 to play.

UNO led for the next six minutes before Georgia took a 46-45 edge thanks to a Drazen Zlovaric jumper with 11 minutes to play.

The score was part of an 11-0 run that put UNO behind 51-45 following a Thompkins layup with 9:51 remaining.

The Privateers got it within two on two different occasions, including a Tyrna 3-pointer with 2:05 to play. But Georgia went 7-for-8 at the free-throw line in the final minute to ice it.

Ole Miss 92, UALR 64
OXFORD, Miss. - The UALR men's basketball team (0-1) opened up the 2009-10 season with a 92-64 loss to Ole Miss (1-0) on Friday night at Tad Smith Coliseum. DeAundre Cranston scored a career-high 21 points off 8-of-9 shooting for the Rebels, who forced UALR into 22 turnovers on the night.

Ole Miss used a 21-3 first-half run and forced UALR into 14 turnovers over the first 20 minutes on its way to a 44-30 lead at the break. Any hopes of a second-half comeback by the Trojans were dashed by a 6:01 scoring drought, which helped Ole Miss' lead reach as high as 32 points in the second half.

"We knew coming in this was going to be a tough challenge with the caliber of guards Ole Miss has and the number of guys they have that can score," said UALR head coach Steve Shields. "I thought we battled hard in the first half, but the difference in the game was the turnovers."

Cranston sparked the Ole Miss offense with 13 first-half points and finished with 21 points and seven boards, thanks in part to a 3-of-4 effort from three-point range. Murphy Holloway added a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Rebels, while Terrico White chipped in 16 points and came up with four of the team's 14 steals.

The Rebels shot 48.6 percent for the game and racked up 19 assists against just five turnovers. Chris Warren led the Rebels with five assists while adding nine points and four steals in the win.

Junior Solomon Bozeman paced the Trojans with 12 points and four assists, while senior Wayne Burton added 11 points off 4-of-5 shooting. Junior Alex Garcia-Mendoza contributed nine points and six rebounds in the losing effort.

The Trojans outrebounded the Rebels 39-to-38, led by a team-high seven boards from junior Derrick Bails. UALR earned 31 trips to the foul line, but converted just 18 for a .581 free-throw percentage.

"Like I told our guys in the locker room, the season is not a sprint, it's a marathon. It's a process along the way and I do feel like we will have a good basketball team in time," said Shields. "Any time you have six new guys, it takes time to develop chemistry and a comfort level with one another."

Ole Miss held a 6-5 lead through the early goings before breaking the game open with a 21-3 run. Cranston scored 10 of the Rebels' 21 points during the run, hitting a pair of three pointers to help Ole Miss build a 27-8 advantage with 10:44 to go in the half.

Trailing by 19, UALR answered with back-to-back three-point plays from Garcia-Mendoza and sophomore Courtney Jackson as part of a 15-5 run which brought the Trojans within nine, 32-23, with 6:03 remaining.

A quick 7-0 spurt, with a three-point play by Cranston, allowed Ole Miss to extend its lead back to 16 points on the way to a 44-30 lead at the break. The Trojans shot 44.0 percent from the field in the first half and outrebounded Ole Miss 21-to-17, but committed 14 turnovers over the first 20 minutes.

The Trojans trailed 50-37 after a bucket by Burton at the 16:58 mark of the second half, but endured a 6:01 scoring drought which allowed Ole Miss to extend its lead to 28 points, 65-37. Junior Montrell Thornton finally broke the dry spell with a dunk with 10:57 to go.

Florida Atlantic 86, Florida Tech 63
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Raymond Taylor had 17 points in his first official college game in Florida Atlantic's 86-63 win over Florida Tech on Friday night.

A Shavar Richardson jumper gave FAU a 51-25 lead shortly before halftime. The Owls shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half. Richardson and Greg Gantt led FAU with 12 points at the intermission.

In the second half, a 10-0 Owl run ballooned the lead to 61-29.

Sanchez Hughley (13) and Brett Royster (10) gave FAU five players in double-digits.  Taylor also led the team with seven rebounds.

"They aren't many players like Ray. He could play for any team in the country," said head coach Mike Jarvis after the game.

LSU 82, Louisiana-Monroe 62
BATON ROUGE, La. - The ULM men's basketball team fell in its season opener, 82-62, at LSU Friday night (Nov. 13). Fifth-year senior guard Tony Hooper and senior forward Malcolm Thomas each led the Warhawks with 11 points.

The Tigers jumped out to a quick start, scoring the first 14 points of the contest. Junior guard Warren Fuselier got ULM on the board 7:47 into the first half with a steal and a layup. The Warhawks then forced another turnover and Hooper hit an 18-foot jumper as ULM began to settle into the contest.

ULM played LSU even over the next six minutes, as the Tigers took a 29-14 lead into a media timeout with 6:38 to play in the first half.

The Warhawks scored the final five points of the half on a basket by Thomas and a deep three-pointer at the buzzer by Hooper to cut the LSU lead to 40-29 heading into the intermission.

Thomas led ULM with six points at the break, Hooper and junior forward Tommie Sykes each chipped in five, Sykes also had five rebounds in the opening half. LSU's Bo Spencer led all scorers with nine points in the opening stanza, the Tigers also held an 11-3 free throw advantage in the first 20 minutes.

Hooper started the second half the same way he ended the first, burying a trifecta to cut the LSU lead to 40-32.

After the Tigers extended the lead, junior forward Lawrence Gilbert cut it back to single-digits, 46-37, with a four-point play on a triple and a free throw with 16:43 to play.

With the LSU advantage at nine, 53-44, the Tigers went on a 10-0 run, holding ULM scoreless for 6:02, putting the game out of reach.

Fuselier added 10 points and four assists off the bench for ULM while Hooper and Sykes grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

Spencer led all scorers with 23 points in the contest for LSU.

Middle Tennessee 93, King College 73

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee struggled early but when it found its footing ran away with a 93-73 win over King College to open the 2009-10 season.

Two players, senior Montarrio Haddock and junior James Washington, led the team with 23 and 24 points respectively while freshmen James Gallman and J.T. Sulton recorded 18 and 14 points respectively to guide the Blue Raiders in the win.

Sulton was just three rebounds shy of a double-double in his first collegiate game as he had seven rebounds, five of which were on defense. The Yazoo City, Miss., native went 5 for 9 from the field and missed just one of his five free throws.

"It was a really good experience for our team. They threw every defense you can get thrown with brand new guards; 2-2-1 full court pressing after makes, 1-3-1 half court traps, zone in line of bounds and man to man. It showed early with our new guards because they never really got in a rhythm," head coach Kermit Davis said. "I thought it was a great learning experience and a good learning experience because we got behind by eight or nine. We had to play from behind, when it wasn't going well and we responded. With seven new players, they threw that many different things at us and we didn't handle it very well. I give credit to King College because they had us off balance. But we settled in and played better the last twenty five minutes."

As a team, Middle Tennessee pulled down 33 rebounds, 25 of which were on defense, with Haddock and senior Theryn Hudson adding six and five rebounds respectively.

As a team, Middle Tennessee shot 54.9 percent from the field and 59.1 percent from behind the arc. The Blue Raiders were 13 for 22 from the three-point line and just two three-pointers shy of breaking the school record of 15 for three-point field goals in a game.

Washington led the team from behind the arc as he was 5 for 6 while Gallman went 4 for 8. The Saint Louis, Mo., native missed just two shots from the field going 8 for 10 while Gallman was 5 for 9 from the field and a perfect 4 for 4 at the charity stripe.

"Coach mentioned at the beginning of the year this is the best shooting team he has ever had. We can shoot the ball really well and try to play inside out. In the first half, they had us scrambling and on our heels, but we regrouped at halftime and came out strong. We are a strong shooting team and teams are going to have to defend the arc really well against us," Washington said.

Free throw shooting also helped the Blue Raiders as they shot 80 percent going 24 for 30 with Haddock leading the way as he was 13 for 16.

After trailing most of the first half the Blue Raiders pulled ahead with 48 seconds left on the clock after a three-pointer by Emanuel.

Middle Tennessee trailed by as many as 10 with six minutes remaining before closing the gap and eventually taking the lead at the half.

Haddock led the team with 12 points at the half with Washington adding 11 as the only two players in double-digit figures.

As a team, Middle Tennessee shot 52 percent going 13 for 25 while going 7 for 11 from for a 63.6 percent.

The Blue Raiders started the second half out strong jumping out to a nine-point lead, 47-38. At the halfway mark, Middle Tennessee led by 13, 65-53, and increased it to 14 after two made free throws by Washington.

Middle Tennessee continued its scoring assault making it 84-66 with three minutes remaining in the game.

The Blue Raiders will be back in action on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. against Ohio in Athens, Ohio.

"Ohio University is a very solid MAC school. I've seen them on tape, I like their team and they have a good inside player average. A few of their best players have been suspended, haven't played and will be ready for our game," Davis said. "After that we go to Marshall, who I have also watched on tape, and their talent level is that of Western Kentucky's if not better. They will be one of the better teams in Conference USA. We have to be better and see how our team will respond on the road."

North Texas 80, Cameron 62
DENTON, Texas - Josh White scored 19 points and George Odufuwa posted a career-high 24 rebounds to lead the North Texas men's basketball team to an 80-62 victory against Cameron, giving the program its 1,000th victory in its 92nd season opener.

The Mean Green is now 1-0 this season and 50-42 in all-time season openers. Head coach Johnny Jones has never lost an opening game in his tenure at North Texas, and improved to 9-0 with the Cameron win.

White scored 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. He made five three-pointers. Odufuwa led all rebounders with 24 boards. He pulled down almost half of NT's 50 rebounds. He also poured in 12 points to collect his first double-double of the season. Richard Thomas and Eric Tramiel joined the duo in double-figure scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

North Texas started the game off slow with Cameron holding an early 8-3. The Mean Green slowly picked up steam. White tied the game at 18 with one of his four three-pointers in the first half and following an Alzee Williams' jumper, North Texas took the lead and never looked back.

Odufuwa got the crowd energized with a block at one end and a dunk at the other to give North Texas a 24-18 lead. A pair of three-pointers at the end of the half by White and Collin Mangrum gave North Texas a 48-31 halftime lead.

The Mean Green outscored Cameron, 18-9, in the last seven minutes of the first half. The run proved to be key in the game. NT only outscored its opponent, 35-33, in the second half.

North Texas quickly built its lead in the second half, holding a 20-point lead, 51-31, at 14:19 after a Tramiel free throw. The Mean Green scored 24 points from the free-throw line for a 74.7 shooting percentage. Cameron went 4-for-10 from the charity stripe.

Midway through the second half, Cameron went on an 18-7 run to cut the Mean Green lead to 11 points, 67-56, with 6:24 left in the game. Jacquez Williams scored 10 points in the run. He finished with a team-high 18 points.

North Texas responded with eight straight points and held onto the double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Fourteen Mean Green players saw action tonight against Cameron. Mangrum came off the bench to score nine points.

Northern Iowa 71, Denver 65
DENVER - Sophomore Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) scored a game-high 20 points, but the University of Denver men's basketball team (0-1) fell 71-65 to Northern Iowa (1-0) in the season opener on Friday night at Magness Arena.

"We wanted to play a team of this caliber because that's the level we expect ourselves to be at," said head coach Joe Scott. "We are going to get better and better throughout this season and I'm excited to see just how good we will be."

Stafford was 8-10 from the field and 4-for-4 from three-point range.  He also had two steals on the night.  Senior Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.) recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds and was 8-of-11 from the free throw line.  Junior Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) also contributed 13 points.

Northern Iowa was led by Kwadzo Ahelegbe, who scored 18 points, and Ali Farokhmanesh, who added 16 points. Jordan Eglseder also had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

This is the second year that the Pioneers have opened the season against Northern Iowa, who won the Missouri Valley Conference championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament last year. 

South Alabama 76, Houston Baptist 64
HOUSTON --- The University of South Alabama men's basketball team held Houston Baptist to 34.9 percent shooting for the contest and freshman Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) scored a team-high 21 points to lead the Jaguars to a 76-64 season-opening victory Friday night at the Rice Basketball Challenge in Tudor Fieldhouse.

USA wins its opener for the fifth straight season while head coach Ronnie Arrow starts 1-0 for the 14th consecutive year, dating back to 1992. The Jaguars face host Rice Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

"It's always good to win the first one," said Arrow. "We had some guys that played well and executed at the end. We still have rebounding issues. We're small, but we're going to have to get tougher on the boards. We gave up far too many rebounds and didn't guard the post. We made their post man look like an All-American. Not to take anything away from him but we have to get tougher inside. Overall, for the first game, it was good and now we take on the home team."

Brock shared game-high scoring honors with HBU's Mario Flaherty and grabbed nine rebounds with two blocks. Brock went 5-for-5 from the field in the second half alone.

"Martino is a volcano, always erupting," said Arrow. "He has one gear: third gear. There's no first or second gear. Sometimes he might screw up but it's not because he's not sticking his nose in somewhere. He's going to be a really good player. We've got to get him stronger but he's just so quick. He's learning to finish inside."

Senior LaShun Watson (Greenville, Ga.) came off the bench to score 17 points and junior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) grabbed a game-best 12 rebounds. Junior Raymond Sims (Philadelphia, Pa.) led all players with six assists.

"It's great to see 17 assists," said Arrow. "Doodles (Sims) had six of them. That's what we need from him."

Flaherty paced the Houston Baptist offense with 21 points, but only six came after halftime.

A jumper by HBU's Michael Moss with 17:01 to play in the game brought the Huskies to within three, 38-35. A 10-3 South Alabama run put the Jaguars ahead by 10 and Houston Baptist got no closer than eight the rest of the way.

"We did a good job in our zone," said Arrow. "We limited them to one shot. We weren't rebounding in our man (defense) so we went to our zone and that's when we took our big lead."

While USA went without a 3-pointer, shooting 0-for-5, HBU didn't fare much better converting just one of its 15 long-range attempts.

"One of our main things coming in to the game was guarding the 3-point line and we did it," said Arrow.

The Jaguars used a 12-2 run midway through the first half to extend a one-point lead (11-10) to an eleven-point advantage (23-12) but the Huskies responded with 10 straight points to cut it back to one.

USA led at halftime 35-30.

Monmouth 99, FIU 70
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -Isiah Thomas failed for the second straight time to earn his first college coaching win when FIU was trounced by Monmouth 99-70 Friday night.

Travis Taylor led the Hawks (1-0) with 18 points. Marvin Roberts led FIU (0-2) with a game-high 21, while teammate Stephon Weaver chipped in 16.

The Hawks made nine of their first 11 shots to take a 23-13 lead and went into halftime up 41-33.

Roberts drove for the first basket of the second half to cut it to six, but Monmouth quickly pushed the advantage back into double figures, going on a 26-7 run, and to finish the rout. Monmouth finished the game shooting an impressive 63.3-percent (38-of-60) from the field and went 8-of-15 from beyond the 3-point arc. FIU, on the other hand, shot a respectable 44.6-percent (25-of-56) from the floor and 72-percent from the foul line, but only 2-of-18 from long range.

FIU also dropped its opener Monday at defending national champion North Carolina, 88-72.

FIU hired Thomas on April 15 to turn around a program that went 13-20 in 2008-09, its ninth consecutive losing season.

The Golden Panthers have just one starter back from that team. But Thomas brought in several junior college transfers, including Roberts. The 6-foot-5 junior forward from Brooklyn led juco players last season with 29.6 points per game at Redlands Community College in Oklahoma.

FIU forward Nikola Gacesa went down in the left side of the lane with 5:22 left in the first half clutching his right knee and was helped off to the locker room. He is listed as day-to-day with a sprained right knee.a