The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Xavier (La.)
No. 15 Men's Basketball downs Xavier (La.), 87-56, in exhibition game
11.02.2007 | Men's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas -- Sophomore point guard D.J. Augustin posted a game-high 22 points and seven assists to lead No. 15 Texas to an 87-56 victory against Xavier University (La.) in an exhibition game Friday night before 3,958 fans at the Frank Erwin Center. Xavier (La.) is ranked No. 10 in the NAIA Division I preseason poll.
Augustin converted 8-of-17 field goals, including 3-of-8 from three-point range, and added four rebounds and two steals in 38 minutes. He was one of four Longhorns to reach double figures in scoring. Sophomore swingman Damion James recorded 18 points and eight rebounds, while freshman forward Gary Johnson tallied 13 points and six boards. Sophomore guard Justin Mason added 10 points and seven rebounds.
"Overall, there were some good things," Texas head coach Rick Barnes said. "But we've got to get better. We know that. I'd be concerned if this is as good as we are going to be. I thought the effort was there for the most part. We've got some things we can build on."
The first half featured five ties and two lead changes. Both teams shot well from the floor during the opening half, and the score was tied 20-20 with 12:03 remaining after an Augustin three-pointer.
Texas then used a James jumper, a Mason three-pointer and back-to-back layups from James and J.D. Lewis to build a 29-20 advantage at the 9:18 mark. After the Gold Rush cut the deficit to 32-27 on an Olumide Olafioye layup with 8:07 left, the Longhorns went on a 7-1 spurt over the next three minutes to increase their cushion to 42-28 at the 5:29 mark. Xavier converted 60.9% (14-of-23) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while the Horns hit 53.1% (17-of-32) and held a 49-37 lead at the break.
The Texas defense took control of the game in the second half, as the Longhorns held Xavier to 25.0% (7-of-28) shooting in the final 20 minutes. Leading 51-39 after a Jarrel Lake layup at the 18:48 mark, Texas went on a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to increase its advantage to 63-41 following a Lewis three-point play with 13:38 left.
The Gold Rush trimmed the margin to 66-52 on a Mark Stewart three-pointer at the 8:00 mark, but that was as close as Xavier would get the rest of the night. Texas closed the game on a 21-4 run and limited the Gold Rush to just one field goal in the final eight minutes.
Stewart paced Xavier with 17 points off the bench, converting 5-of-6 three-pointers on the evening. Alfred Williams added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Gold Rush.
UT recorded a 48-25 advantage on the boards, including an 18-8 margin on the offensive glass. The Longhorns also registered a 34-14 advantage in points in the paint.
The Longhorns played without junior guard A.J. Abrams (right toe), sophomore forward/center Matt Hill (left heel) and sophomore center Dexter Pittman (left foot). Texas opens the 2007-08 regular season with a home tilt against UTSA on Monday, Nov. 12. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Erwin Center.
TEXAS POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On his thought of the team's performance on the first time out: What I liked about it was they were a good opponent for us. You're talking about a team that is preseason ranked 10th in the NAIA and they all shoot the ball. They were small which causes some problems. We came out and the things we talked about I think early we tried to do. I think we were passive offensively because we were so concerned about not being blown by. Not the fact that we were playing Xavier, just the fact we need to work on not giving up dribble penetration or any kind of penetration from the perimeter. Overall there were some good things. But we've got to get better. We know that. I'd be concerned if this is as good as we are going to be. I thought the effort was there for the most part. We've got some things we can build on.
On whether or not D.J. Augustin shot as much as he wanted him to: He could have shot it more, probably, too. He did some good things. I thought his pace was real good tonight. He had a couple turnovers and maybe fatigued a little bit. But we want him to shoot it.
On what he said in the timeout that when the score was tied 20-20 to lead to a nine-point run: We kept talking early about making defensive stops. Try to get as many three consecutive stops as we can. But we didn't do that for awhile. They (Xavier) shot the ball well and they came out and took some pretty deep shots and we were there. What was hurting us early on the ball screens - we were getting too much separation either when D.J. got screened our post man was having to stay too long and we started double-teaming a bit to try to turn the heat up and I thought that got us a little bit more aggressive.
SOPHOMORE GUARD D.J. Augustin
On playing the first game of the season: It was a fun game, we came out excited, we played hard and they played great. But we just played hard and tried to win the game. I don't think I did that well because I had six turnovers, but they played great defense and my teammates stepped on up and made great plays. I think I was a little too anxious and I just made some mistakes, but after I settled down, I tried to make up for it.
On taking more shots: Coach wants me to shoot more; he wants me to be more aggressive so that's what I'm going to try to do. My teammates stepped up and made big plays also. We played hard and well tonight.
SOPHOMORE FORWARD Damion James
On hitting his jump shot: My focus this summer was working on my jump shot. Tonight it went down, but I need to keep working on it anyway and make sure that I keep improving.
XAVIER POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH DANNTON JACKSON
On Xavier's strong 3-point shooting performance: This we've actually been shooting really well from beyond the arc. I thought we shot well in the first half. The second half we just struggled a little bit. But we've been shooting the ball real well. It's one of the things we've been working on.
On the difference in the game: I thought we did a good job in the first half in regards to defense. The second half, the biggest thing in the separation was of course the offensive rebounds and the turnovers. They got really big on us and caused us some problems because they were able to get second shots.
