We started the second half of our conference slate with a trip to South Alabama. USA was leading the Eastern division of the Belt, so this figured to be a good measuring stick to where we stood. Another battle commenced as the Mean Green and Jaguars slugged it out. The first half was end to end play as we scored 49, and the Jags put up 45 of their own. In the second stanza play slowed just a touch and was tied with a minute in regulation. Ben Bell stroked a 3 pointer with 55 seconds remaining, but Demetric Bennett answered with one of his own. USA then had a chance to win in regulation, but Harold Stewart came up with a blocked shot as time expired. Another overtime game was upon us. The OT session was also back and forth. With the contest deadlocked at 89 and time running out, Daon Merritt drove to the bucket and was fouled. He made one of two free throws giving the Jags the one point win. This was a tough defeat to swallow for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being our balanced attack. We had 6 players in double figures on the night led by Quincy Williams.

The Mean Green returned home to host the Troy Trojans. What followed was an historic annihilation of Troy 98-57. The last time North Texas had defeated a conference mate by that much was 51 years ago. Everything worked in the contest. KD and Watson each had 19. We out rebounded the Trojans by 21. We had 21 assists and shot nearly 60% from the floor. It was one of the best games we played all season.

Western Kentucky made a return visit to the SuperPit in our next contest. This was perhaps our best game of the season as we outlasted the Toppers 74-70. After feeling them out in the opening minutes, we jumped on Western and built the lead up to 21 points midway thru the second half. The crowd was large(by our standards) and raucous. However, Keith Wooden was knocked out of the game with a broken nose and we went ice cold. The Hilltoppers went on a final charge and they wiped away the deficit, eventually taking the lead with under a minute. Kendrick came up with a clutch jumper to regain the lead with 22 seconds. We forced two Western misses, Rich Young hit some free throws, and NT celebrated a season sweep of Western Kentucky.

Next up was the Privateers of New Orleans. The early moments both teams probed looking for an advantage, but then UNO went on a 9-0 run near the end of the first stanza to gain a working margin they held through most of the second. Bo McCalebb continued to be a Mean Green killer as he knocked down 25 points. Keith Wooden sported a new mask to protect his nose…and a fiercer attitude in the paint putting up his first double-double of the season. We put on a late charge at the end and KD hit down two big shots in the waning seconds to give us our first lead since the 6 minute mark of the first half. McCalebb tied the game with a free throw, but Ben Bell seemingly gave us the win with a mad dash prompting a foul. He calmly sank his 2 from the strip with 2 seconds remaining. In a oft criticized move JJ called a timeout and left no one on the man throwing it in. McCalebb drained a 3 pointer at the buzzer giving the Privateers a 2 point win. This was a crushing defeat(and our first at the SuperPit since the UTA game), but NT still had a lot to play for as we were still in second place in the division race.

Our following game was a tilt with West leading Louisiana-Monroe. The Mean Green opened strong and led by 8 at the break. The War Hawks stormed back in the second with a 13-3 run to take the lead. The two teams traded runs in a dramatic see saw affair. Calvin Watson and Michael Sturns both had 14 to spearhead our attack. With just over 3 minutes remaining we held onto a three point cushion, but Monroe went on a 5-0 run. KD tied the game with 54 seconds left, but ULM responded as Tony Hooper drilled a shot with 31 seconds left. KD’s attempt at the equalizer rimmed out, and the War Hawks hit their free throws to preserve the win.

The team and the fans needed a win after those devastating contests. NT got it when we traveled to play Denver. The Mean Green led throughout coasting to a 78-65 victory. Five players scored in double figures as our depth wore the Pioneers down. Sturns led the way with 13.

Calvin Watson became the all time 3 point shooter in school history in our next game against Arkansas-Little Rock. More importantly we avenged out earlier loss to the Trojans 74-69. The senior did it in style as he led the way with 16. Williams and Wooden both had monster games as they dueled with all conference forward Rashad Jones-Jennings in the paint. Our bench play, led by Sturns also proved instrumental as we outscored the Trojans by 11 in that category.

Arkansas State visited Denton on Senior night. The seniors Davis, Young, and Watson were all honored for their terrific work for Mean Green. When the game started Watson exploded for 26, including six 3’s as we took an 11 point lead into the break. The Indians fought back though, using 24-13 run of their own to tie the contest. From there, the game went back and forth, until ASU used a late 8-0 run to take a 5 point lead with under a minute. Though we closed the gap, we could not get over the hump losing 74-71.

We closed the regular season in Lafayette against the Ragin’ Cajuns. We had never had much success in Lafayette, but the conference tournament was soon to be held there, so it was a good time to get the jinx’s over with. Another tight game was on the docket this night. How tight? Neither school led by 6 through the course of the game. There were 9 ties and 11 lead changes. Heck even the halftime score was tied. Kendrick Davis hit a 3 pointer with 2.2 seconds left(our 1st of the game) to pull the game out 72-70. With the win we received the 5th seed in the Sun Belt Tourney and a match-up against these same Ragin’ Cajuns; this time…in the SuperPit.

It had been an up and down season to this point. We’d seen players getting to milestones. Thrilling games, both won and lost. We had 19 wins on the season, our most since the Blakely era. Now however, the moment was upon JJ and the team. Though we had not folded down the stretch some believed that if we were one and done in the conference tournament, JJ should be shown the door. People were skeptical, and rightly so. Most fans at least wanted to win at least 1 game, since we had not since JJ’s first season. We would win that one, and keep on going….

Conference play opened on December 16th, 2006 in the Crescent City. The Privateers and Mean Green battled in a classic double overtime thriller. Unfortunately for NT, we came out on the losing end of a 97-93 score. Bo McCalebb paced the Privateers with 39 huge points. Michael Sturns led the way for the Mean Green with 28 off the bench. Anxiety was high after this loss among much of the fanbase, with Western Kentucky next and a likely 0-2 start in league play.

The Hilltoppers had never lost to North Texas, so we had good reason to worry. Kendrick Davis was still hurt, we were playing in Diddle(perhaps the toughest arena in the Belt to play), and we were just coming off a heartbreaking defeat. North Texas held a 10 point lead in the 2nd half, but the Toppers, led by Courtney Lee’s 20 – fought back. It was really a tough contest, evidenced by seven ties and 13 lead changes. When Keith Wooden banked in a lay up with 5.7 seconds left, we had beaten the historic heavyweight of the league 86-85.

After the five game road swing NT headed back to Denton with a 3-2 mark. Jumping out of Sun Belt play, we took on Jarvis Christian, destroying them 94-70. The Mean Green had five players in double figures in the confidence building contest. We ended our non conference slate by hosting Bellhaven. The biggest news was KD finally returning. He seemed rusty, only scoring two(though he led the team with four assists). Led by Watson’s 23 and huge all around game by Quincy Williams, we dismantled an overmatched squad 93-66.

The Denver Pioneers came calling in our final game of 2006. Once again, a balanced attack led to the victory as the Mean Green had five players in double figures. Davis broke out with 18, but our guys in the paint; Williams and Wooden really led us to victory. Denver was hot shooting in the 1st half, draining 8 3-pointers, but the W’s down low wore them out, as we prevailed 91-79. Quincy continued to rack up blocked shots, as thru this three game stretch he moved into NT’s top 10 all time in that category.

Another road swing was in store as we went to Arkansas. We met the Trojans of Little Rock to open up the New Year. Though the Mean Green played well offensively, we could not stop UALR, as they hit 10 3 pointers and shot over 60% from the floor. The 11 point defeat stalled any momentum we thought we had, but the next game nearly sent Mean Green nation into panic mode. In Jonesboro, we played arguably the worst game of the season as the Indians thrashed us 84-60. ASU led by nearly 20 points the entire second half as they hit nearly 70% from the floor. It was truly a debacle in every sense of the word.

North Texas returned to Denton as he hosted the Ragin’ Cajuns. What followed was another overtime struggle. Kendrick Davis led the way with 22 including 2 clutch three point plays, one to send the game into OT, and the other to win. Neither team led by more than eight, but ULL had just such a lead near the end of regulation. A furious comeback in the last five minutes forced overtime, and then Davis’s heroics won the contest. It was a huge win after the Arkansas disaster, and evened our conference mark at 3-3.

Up next was a trip to Miami to play FIU. Another nail biter commenced in a game full of runs. Unlike the last game which was mostly nip and tuck, this one had wild swings of momentum till the last few minutes. In the final sixty seconds however, the contest was tied when Keith Wooden hit a bucket. Alex Galindo of FIU hit a heartbreaker from behind the arc with 15 seconds remaining and FIU stole the ball when we were trying to put up a game winner. The 67-66 defeat was frustrating, but so many of our games were decided at the wire(good and bad), it came to be expected.

The Mean Green returned home to host the Owls of Florida Atlantic. We shot horribly in the 1st stanza, and were down by four at the break. After KD put us ahead at the start of the second, we never looked back taking it 76-59. Watson hit a career high six 3’s, leading the 2nd half scoring barrage(we shot 60% in the half). Also noteworthy was our defense, as we forced 20 turnovers. Next up was Middle Tennessee. We led wire to wire over the Blue Raiders, and though they closed the deficit to two 7 minutes into the second half, this was an relatively easy victory by our standards this season. Watson continued to play well, pouring in 21 on the night.

We were now halfway through conference season. We trailed Louisiana-Monroe, but we were within striking distance. Our home record was sparkling, but we couldn’t beat anyone on the road, so we weren’t exactly sure what was in store. Some predicted a swoon, and others the opposite. Reasonable fans took a wait and see approach.

Thankfully however, the best was yet to come…