The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Rice
No. 4 Men's Basketball downs Rice, 80-54
12.08.2007 | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON (AP) -- Damion James' goal is to get 20 rebounds in each game. He hasn't reached that mark yet, but he got closer than ever on Saturday night.
James was one of three Longhorns with 18 points and he added 17 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double, leading No. 4 Texas to an 80-54 win over Rice. A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin were the other players with 18 points.
"That's one of my strengths, I can rebound the ball," James said. "I've just got good instincts. I love rebounding man, so that's all I can say."
His season high before Saturday was 12 rebounds.
The win gives the Longhorns a 9-0 record for the first time since the 1981-82 season. They've still got a way to go to match the 1981-82 squad, which won the first 14 games of that season.
Their 26-point margin of victory marks the eighth time in the first nine games that they've won by at least 15 points.
The Longhorns outrebounded Rice 49-36 after leading in that category 25-21 at halftime. The improvement in the second half could have had something to do with coach Rick Barnes' speech at the break.
"I told them at halftime that my big thing was rebounding," he said. "We had our hands on four or five balls and we just didn't secure them. We've got to come down with them. In the second half he (James) made a great effort to do it."
He was so serious about the team improving its rebounding that he issued a warning he stood by.
"That's why some of those other guys didn't play," he said. "At halftime I said: 'If you don't rebound you're not playing."'
Texas led by 20 early in the second half before Rice went on a 12-2 run, cutting the lead to 56-46 on a basket by Suleiman Braimoh with about 11 minutes left. Rodney Foster had five points in that span, including a 3-pointer for Rice (2-6).
The Longhorns answered with eight straight points, punctuated with a two-handed dunk by James to stretch their lead back to 64-46 with about eight minutes left.
"We'd dug ourselves such a deep hole that we expended so much energy trying to come back," Rice's Patrick Britton said. "They had a run and we were already down by 10 points so add 15 points on to that and soon it's back to 20-25."
The Owls got within 66-51 after a free throw by Scott Saunders with about 4 1/2 minutes to go. Texas scored seven straight points after that, spurred by a 3-pointer from Justin Mason, to make it 73-51 and put the game out of reach.
The Owls were led by Foster, who had 13 points, and Britton added 11.
The Longhorns led by seven before scoring 13 straight points, capped by a reverse layup by Augustin midway through the first half to push the lead to 30-10. Texas led 47-29 at halftime.
"At the start of the game, we came out a little bit passive," Foster said. "Against a team as good as Texas is, when you come out passive it's going to be tough."
Rice played this home game at the Toyota Center in front of a Longhorn-heavy crowd. The arena was filled with burnt orange shirts with just a couple of areas of Rice fans. The Owls are playing all of their games this season off campus while Autry Court has a $25 million renovation. Along with the Toyota Center, they'll also play games at two other Houston venues.
It was a homecoming for a half dozen Texas players who attended high school in the Houston area. Those players were Connor Atchley, Augustin, Gary Johnson, Dexter Pittman, Harrison Smith and Rodney Terry.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas is 9-0 for the first time since 1981-82, when the Horns started 14-0
- Texas has won eight of its first nine games by at least 15 points
- Texas has logged more assists than turnovers in every game in 2007-08
- Texas is 79-7 (.919) against in-state foes during the Rick Barnes era
- Grabbed a season-high 49 rebounds
- Texas has won its last five games in Houston, including two wins over Rice and victories over Houston, Seton Hall and LSU
- Texas is 3-0 all-time in the Toyota Center
- Texas 131-59 all-time against Rice, including winning 10 of the last 11
A.J. Abrams
- Made a three-point field goal for the 47th consecutive game
- Scored 10 or more points for the 46th time in 81 career games, including 37 of the last 44
- Moved into a tie for fifth place with Brandon Mouton on UT's career three-point field goal list with 198
Connor Atchley
- Grabbed eight of his nine rebounds in the second half
- Logged a season-high three blocked shots. He had previously blocked three shots in a game twice this season
D.J. Augustin
- Has averaged 22.3 points over the last six games
- Scored 10 or more points for the eighth time in 2007-08 and the 33rd time in 44 career games
- Logged six or more assists for the sixth time in 2007-08 and the 29th time in his career
- Led Texas in scoring for the fifth consecutive game
Damion James
- Grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds. He had previously snared 14 caroms in a game on two separate occasions
- Recorded his fourth straight double-double and the eighth in 44 career games
- Scored 10 or more points for the sixth time this year and the 18th time in his career
- Logged 10 or more rebounds for the fifth time in 2007-08 and the 15th time in his career
Dexter Pittman
- Recorded a career-high three assists. It was the first multiple assist game of his career
- Recorded a career-high 16 minutes played. He had previously played 12 minutes on three occasions
- Grabbed a season-high five rebounds, one shy of his career-best six accomplished on three prior occasions
