The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
UNLV
Men's Basketball shakes off Runnin' Rebels for 89-82 win
01.02.2005 | Men's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- P.J. Tucker had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 15 Texas to an 89-82 victory over UNLV on Sunday night.
Texas (10-2) finally shook off the pesky Runnin' Rebels (6-5) late in the second half. The Longhorns trailed 67-65 with 5:50 to play after UNLV guard Michael Umeh nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing. But Texas went on a 12-1 run to take control.
Tucker's three-point play followed by his defensive rebound and no-look pass to LaMarcus Aldridge for a layup gave the Longhorns a 72-67 lead with 4:20 left. After Brad Buckman hit two free throws for Texas, Daniel Gibson passed to Jason Klotz for a fastbreak layup to give the Longhorns a 77-68 lead with 2:01 to play.
Romel Beck and Jerel Blassingame each had 17 points for UNLV.
UNLV trailed 48-40 early in the second half, but two 3-pointers by Blassingame and another shot from behind the arc by Beck within a 90-second span helped the Runnin' Rebels go on a 10-0 run to grab a 50-48 lead with 13:30 to play.
Beck hit consecutive 3-pointers to give UNLV an 18-13 lead, its largest of the first half.
Tucker then started to take over inside, scoring 11 points, and Kenny Taylor hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to help the Longhorns end the half on a 15-7 run and take a 40-34 lead.
Buckman and Klotz each added 14 points for Texas.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas Head Coach, Rick Barnes
ON THE GAME: We turned the ball over too much, where the guards just gave the ball to them, and we didn't get the kind of rebounding effort we needed, but I thought we showed some character. Both teams played very hard. This was a good game against UNLV. They competed, were aggressive and made some great shots. We just wore them down on the inside.
ON THE PLAY OF JASON KLOTZ: Jason played terrific tonight. He kept moving and wanting the ball. He was patient. He's one of those guys that can score a bunch of different ways.
P.J. Tucker, Sophomore Forward
ON ASKING FOR THE BALL: I usually ask for the ball when we're under pressure. I don't always do it so I can score, but also to get the posts open and put pressure on the basket. We knew UNLV would be tough tonight. They're good shooters and we had to work hard on defense.
Jason Klotz, Senior Forward
ON THE CROWD: The crowd was great tonight. The atmosphere here at the Frank Erwin center is usually pretty mellow, but tonight everyone was on their feet and it really helped us.
ON TEXAS' DEPTH: It was beneficial because there were so many scramble situations. (Jerel) Blassingame was very quick and we got tired. Having Mike Williams, LaMarcus Aldridge and Brad Buckman to sub out with me was nice and gave us a chance to rest.
UNLV head coach, Lon Kruger
ON PLAYING TEXAS: Texas is a good basketball team - very physical and strong. I liked the way our guys battled. We had a lot of opportunities, but it's difficult to go on the road in a place like Austin and win. I think we're making progress and most importantly the guys' focus is good. We still have a lot of work to do, but I am really proud of their effort.
ON THE PLAY OF P.J. TUCKER: He's really tough and a big-time battler. He's going to be strong on every possession and I think the most impressive thing about him is that he does exactly what he can do to make the team better. That's what makes him such a great player.
Romel Beck, Senior Forward
ON THE TEXAS CROWD: We did a good job sharing the ball with each other, but we got caught up in the hype of the crowd. We just need to take this game and learn from it.
