The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
UT Arlington
Gibson scores 29, leads No. 2 Men's Basketball to blowout win
12.03.2005 | Men's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Daniel Gibson scored a career-high 29 points and No. 2 Texas routed Texas-Arlington 93-55 on Saturday night.
P.J. Tucker added 20 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 and Brad Buckman 13 for the Longhorns (7-0), off to their best start since the 1981-82 opened 14-0.
The Longhorns were 33-of-58 (56.9 percent) from the field for their best shooting night of the season. They were 17-of-28 (60.7 percent) in the second half.
Brady Dawkins had 12 points for Texas-Arlington (4-4), which entered the game with a three-game winning streak.
Gibson, whose 14.2-point average last year made him the first freshman in Texas history to lead the team in scoring, struggled through the Longhorns first six games, averaging 10.5 points. He raised the mark to 13.1 Saturday, fourth on the team.
Gibson's previous career high of 27 came last season against Oklahoma State.
While both teams played aggressive defense, the Longhorns made more of their resulting opportunities, outscoring Texas-Arlington 26-9 off turnovers.
After struggling to build a margin for most of the first half, the Longhorns maintained a double-digit lead for the first 9 minutes of the second half, then Gibson's two 3-pointers triggered a 10-0 surge for a 69-43 lead with 10:15 remaining.
Texas bounced out to a 9-0 lead with Tucker scoring the first five points, but Texas-Arlington cut it to 15-12 with 11:06 left in the first half after two layups by forward Larry Posey and a 3-pointer from Brandon Long.
The Longhorns scored the next seven points on Buckman's 3-pointer and two baskets by Aldridge, but Texas-Arlington later had a 9-2 run to move within 29-25 with 4:09 left in the half. Texas then pulled away to a 40-26 halftime lead.
POSTGAME QUOTES
UT-ARLINGTON
Head Coach Eddie McCarter
On Texas: After a game like that, it makes everyone want to rest. Texas just took it to us like they have been taking it to everyone so far this season. They just played awfully well today.
On his star players being inactive: Honestly I don't know if we could have prevented what happened tonight. Obviously we would have been a better basketball team with Steven Thomas in the game and Jermaine Griffin on the floor. There is no doubt about that. But we were playing against a great basketball team tonight.
TEXAS
Guard Daniel Gibson
On attacking the basket: Coach (Barnes) emphasized attacking the basket more. It's something I worked on all summer. My teammates gave me the ball where I could accomplish this, so give the credit to them.
On his floor game: I think I have been improving on my floor game. We have been focusing as a team on taking better care of the ball.
Forward Brad Buckman
On coming back and playing well: I felt good. Being out a couple of games slows you down a bit. I'm glad I had the chance to play with the team again.
On the team playing well tonight: We always expect the other team to play their best. We knew coming in they would be physical with us. You can't take a game off (playing aggressively) and expect to win.
Head Coach Rick Barnes
On Daniel Gibson's play tonight: Daniel played terrific and I thought he was better on the defensive end today. Offensively he had six assists and he could have had more tonight. After every game he wants to get better. He always tells me whatever he has to do to make this team better, he'll do.
On the team now compared to a year ago: Our players are better this year, LaMarcus [Aldridge] is better. P.J. [Tucker] is better. Daniel [Gibson] is better than he was last year, so our team should be better. There are certain things we still need to work on though. I don't know how many games a year you play your "A-game," but we have shown that we can play a balanced game.
