SE Drops Exhibition Finale at UNT

Box Score DENTON, Texas – Southeastern fell victim to a 16-0 run in the first half by North Texas and was never able to bounce back as the Mean Green handed the Savage Storm a 97-65 loss on Monday night in the team's third and final exhibition game which was played in Denton, Texas.
 
The game completes SE's grueling three-game exhibition series against Division I opponents and the Storm will now set its sight on Nov. 9 when it opens the regular season with a 7:30 p.m. contest in Bloomer Sullivan Arena against Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
 
Southeastern did put three players in double-figures on Monday night, led by 15 points from Darius Harris, followed by 12 by Taylor Smaller and 10 from Quinton Threadgill.
 
After turning in double-digit performances in his last two outings, Urald King was held to just six points, while Daichi Tanuiguchi and Trevor Jackson added eight and seven points respectively.
 
SE shot 40.4 percent from the field for the game, but struggled at the free throw line at 56.0 percent and hit 5-of-17 from long range, while UNT turned in a 55.2 percent shooting effort that included a 5-12 mark from three point land.
 
King still made an impact, pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds to help the Storm to a 44-to-34 advantage on the glass over UNT.
 
A big part of that advantage was 20 offensive rebounds collected by SE, nearly matching their own 24 defensive rebounds as well as the 22 defensive rebounds posted by the Mean Green.
 
Threadgill turned in seven boards from the guard position, while Harris chipped in seven as well.
 
Threadgill also matched the game-high with six assists, while the Storm dished out just nine as a team.
 
Turnovers proved to be a problem for SE as well as they committed 27 as opposed to the 12 by UNT. 
 
The Mean Green held a 35-9 edge in points off turnovers and a 46-32 advantage in points in the paint, while SE did hold a 13-7 edge in second-chance points.
 
Smaller put the first points on the board for either team with a jumper off a Randy Peters pass, and the teams traded bucket until UNT put together a quick six-point run to push its lead out to eight points.
 
That was the difference with 11:42 to play in the half when the Mean Green mounted a 16-0 run that turned a 24-16 score into a 40-16 deficit.
 
That difference would grow to 36 in the final minutes of the half before SE would cut it back to 59-25 at the break.
 
Despite being unable to get the deficit back under 30 points, the second half went noticeably better for the Storm who found their way to the basket more and outscored UNT 40-38 in the second 20 minutes to fashion he 97-65 final score.