The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
St. Mary's (Calif.)
Augustin leads Men's Basketball to 81-62 win over Saint Mary's (Calif.)
01.05.2008 | Men's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Texas is finally packing some muscle under the basket and the result is impressive.
With D.J. Augustin providing his usual razzle-dazzle driving to the basket, Gary Johnson delivered the scoring punch inside that coach Rick Barnes had promised and the No. 14 Longhorns rolled to an impressive 81-62 win Saturday over Saint Mary's.
Augustin scored 30 points and Johnson, who missed the first 13 games while doctors monitored his heart, had 15 points and six rebounds for the Longhorns in their last non-conference game.
"It might be the best team win we've had all year," Barnes said. "We've got a chance to have a heck of a basketball team."
Augustin, whom Barnes had scolded for sloppy play in the previous three games, had just one turnover and once again knocked out a potential rally with his late drives and free throws.
Texas is 2-0 with Johnson in the lineup. He had five points and five boards in a win over TCU, a game Texas played with shooting guard A.J. Abrams out with a foot injury.
Against Saint Mary's, Texas had the lineup Barnes and Longhorns fans had been waiting for.
"It felt good," Johnson said. "Just getting in the flow of it, everything is coming back. It felt good out there tonight."
Johnson was 7-of-10 shooting and had a two-handed baseline dunk in the key second-half run that sealed the win. Texas was outrebounded 41-34 but Johnson's muscle helped Texas win the scoring in the paint, 38-28.
Texas (13-2) had impressive wins early in the season over No. 8 Tennessee and No. 5 UCLA, but will need to carry this new power surge into the Big 12, which is known for its rugged play from top to bottom.
"We wanted to establish where we're at heading into conference play," guard A.J. Abrams said. "I think we're building toward that."
Saint Mary's (12-2) hit eight 3-pointers in the first half and led 29-24 before Texas took the lead behind 3-pointers from Augustin and Damion James.
James hit another 3-pointer and Abrams made one from the left wing as Texas pushed its lead to 42-36.
Johnson hit two strong baskets in the low post the early minutes of the second half, then stepped out for a soft mid-range jumper for a 50-42 Texas lead.
"Obviously, this is the first time all year we've been able to post the ball with confidence," Barnes said. "He gives us a presence."
The Gaels got within three before Texas pushed the lead to 64-51 with a 14-4 run over the next four minutes. Abrams scored eight on a variety of slashing moves to the basket and pull-up jumpers.
Texas put it away with a pair of dunks. Johnson's was first after he powered past a defender with a strong move on the baseline. The next came on James' soaring, breakaway slam that put Texas up 70-64 with 9:32 left to play.
Texas built the lead to 21. The Gaels got within 15 in the final three minutes but could not stop Augustin's twisting, spinning drives through the lane for baskets or free throws. He went 11-of-22 from the floor and 7-of-7 from the line.
Gaels coach Randy Bennett noted his team won the rebounding for the game and limited turnovers to 12, but still couldn't muster a win.
"You think you'd be in the game," Bennett said. "When you're playing a good team on the road, the margin of error is slim."
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas logged a season-high 10 blocks. The Horns had previously blocked 10 blocks against Arkansas-Monticello
- Texas moved to 12-0 when leading at halftime
- Texas shot over 50% from the field for the first time since its game against Texas Southern, snapping an eight-game drought. The Longhorns are 6-0 on the season when shooting 50% or higher
- Texas committed a season-low four turnovers, including just one in the second half. The Horns previous low was six against UC Davis
- Texas is now 1-0 against St. Mary's College and 5-5 against current members of West Coast Conference
- Texas is 130-18 (.878) at the Erwin Center during the Rick Barnes era, including winning 84 of its last 90 home games
- Texas is 108-10 (.915) in home games against unranked (AP) opponents during the Rick Barnes era, including winning 69 of their last 73
- Texas is 69-7 (.908) in non-conference home games during the Rick Barnes era, including 63 of their last 66
- Texas had its 10 game streak of having at least one player grab 10 or more rebounds snapped
A.J. Abrams
- Scored 10 or more points for 13th time in 2007-08 and the 51st time in 86 career games, including 42 of his last 49
- Moved into sole possession of fourth place on UT's career 3-pointer list with 211. He is just five shy of B.J. Tyler for third place on the list
Connor Atchley
- Logged 16 blocked shots over the last five games, the best five-game total of his career
- Blocked at least one shot for the eight consecutive game. He has 23 blocks over that span.
D.J. Augustin
- Scored a season-high with 30 points, one shy of his career-high of 31 against Iowa State on Feb. 10, 2007
- Scored 10 or more points for the 14th time in 2007-08 and the 39th time in 50 career games
- Scored 20 or more points for the ninth time in 2007-08 and the 16th time in his career
- Scored 30 or more points for the first time in 2007-08 and the second time in his career
- Equaled a career-high with 11 made field goals. He had previously made 11 field goals against New Mexico State earlier this season.
- Led Texas in scoring for the eighth time this season
Damion James
- Scored 10 or more points for the 10th time in 2007-08 and the 22nd time in his career
- Made multiple 3-point field goals for the first second consecutive game, the only two times in his career. Entering the TCU game last Wednesday, he had just seven 3-pointers in his career, all coming in separate games
- Logged nine blocks over the last two games. The highest two-game total of his career
- Led Texas in rebounds for the 12th time in 2007-08
Gary Johnson
- Scored a career-high 15 points. He had logged five points in his only other appearance, against TCU on Jan. 2.
- Logged a career-high six rebounds. He had logged five rebounds against TCU
- Scored 10 or more points for the first time in his career.
Ian Mooney
- Played 10 or more minutes in back-to-back games for the first time in his career
TEXAS POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
Opening statement: First of all, we beat a really good basketball team today. I told our team before the game that it is going to take a great effort to beat them. I think over the last week or so, we weren't playing as well. We didn't shoot well from the free-throw line or the three-point line, but it was the little things that we did well. Bench play was really important. I thought that Alexis Wangmene and Ian Mooney came in and gave us a lot of energy. I think it was our best team win we had all year.
On the rebounding: We had our hands on some of those rebounds and we couldn't get them. I thought their guards did a good job of getting some of those loose rebounds. Because of both teams playing hard, some of the balls get batted around and the guards have to come down and get them.
On the mentality of the team: When you're dealing with a young team, and we are a young team, you really want to get them to grow up quicker and the process of doing that is wearing on them mentally and not as much physically. As a young team, it's tougher for them to work on the mental aspect over the physical aspect. Things we really talked about after the TCU game, they did tonight. I could just see it after the game.
On finishing non-conference play: Going into this, we knew that we would have one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. We expected Matt Hill to be back and we projected him to be a starter. We thought that Gary Johnson would come in and be a huge impact before his medical problem came up. So we had to go back and work through it. To be 13-2 and come out of non-conference play, I am proud of them. Come January or early February, we'll know how good our team is.
D.J. Augustin, SOPHOMORE GUARD
On the defense tonight: Tonight I just tried to go out there and play defense. Their best player is a great player and that was our key tonight, was to slow him down and take him away from the game so their team would break down. That was our goal tonight.
On what Coach Barnes talked about leading up to the game: Defense, because defense creates a lot of opportunities for the offense. We also talked about me being more aggressive and driving and creating more opportunities for my teammates. But overall, we focused on defense for tonight.
A.J. Abrams, JUNIOR GUARD
On his scoring in the second half: The three-ball wasn't falling so I had to go to something different. If D.J. comes out of the game, someone else has to step up and score for the team, so that was my mindset when D.J. went out in the second half to get some rest.
Gary Johnson, FRESHMAN FORWARD
On playing the second game of his career: It felt good to get into the flow of things again and not be so nervous. Everything started to come back, so I felt good out there tonight. I put my first game behind me and I was more comfortable being on the floor tonight.
ST. MARY'S (CALIF.) POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH RANDY BENNETT
On the game: I thought their defense bothered us more in the first half. They are big around the basket and they have a lot of big bodies. We didn't do a very good job defensively in the second half. They just outhustled us in the second half and I think that was the difference in the game. When you're playing a good team on the road the margin of error is slim.
On the second half: I don't think we wore down, I thought we were pretty fresh. They outhustled us and outplayed us the second half.
JUNIOR FORWARD DIAMON SIMPSON
On rebounding in the first half versus the second: I can just say they outhustled us and they were very aggressive coming to the board.
On Texas: They're good, but they are beatable. The effort we put in the second half wasn't as good as it was in the first half.
FRESHMAN GUARD PATRICK MILLS
On D.J. Augustin: I think he is one of the better point guards I've played against. I'll look back at this game and I will be able to learn a lot from this game.
