The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas Southern
No. 5/5 Men's Basketball pulls away from Texas Southern, 88-72
12.16.2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2008
Box Score 
| Box Score | 
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Dexter Pittman just needed a little reminder.
He needed to remember all those workouts in the early morning hours--often before any of his teammates were out of bed--and all of the sessions with Texas strength and conditioning coach Todd Wright, which eventually led to him shedding nearly 90 pounds in two years.
It's all of those recollections that drive Pittman. And it's finally paying off for the Texas center.
He finished with a career-high 19 points, 15 in the second half, to help the fifth-ranked Longhorns to an 88-72 victory over Texas Southern on Tuesday night.
"I sat down with Coach (Rick Barnes) this week, and he reminded me of all the times I was in the weight room while other people were asleep," Pittman said. "He said you have to put all that together because I didn't work for nothing. I worked too hard to get out there and settle for less."
A.J. Abrams had 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting, but it was Pittman who provided the much-needed spark for the Longhorns (9-1).
Texas never had a lead bigger than seven points in the first half as the Tigers utilized a strong shooting performance from Matthew Miller, who finished with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
Texas Southern (0-9) led twice in the first half before the Longhorns quickly regained momentum.
But it was Pittman's strong second-half performance that helped them eventually pull away over the last 10 minutes of the game. Texas Southern began the second half with a fullcourt press, and Pittman took full advantage of the open spaces down low. He used his 6-foot-10, 298-pound frame to back his way down for easy shots on baseline and dunks over his smaller counterparts.
"I think it's time for me to step up and be a player, instead of being just a role player," Pittman said. "The first couple of games this season, I wasn't showing anything."
Tuesday night, he showed everyone what he is capable of--including playing a career-high 24 minutes.
"Dexter has worked as hard as anyone I've ever coached, and he has to see himself in a different light," Barnes said. "Dexter has a lot of skill, and he needs to show people he's more than someone who turns and dunks. We've got to let him play and fight through it."
The teams exchanged baskets at the start of the second half, as Texas Southern seemed poised to stay in contention the rest of the game.
"I felt like everybody was on the same page, and we put ourselves in a great situation," Miller said.
Then, Pittman and Abrams came alive.
Texas scored 53 points in the second half--31 by Pittman and Abrams--and began to pull away with just over 10 minutes remaining. Abrams was 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and moved into seventh place on Texas' career scoring list.
Despite Texas' strong finish, Barnes knows the level of play has to improve soon.
"I look at our team tonight, and I don't think we're anywhere near as good a basketball team as we can be," Barnes said. "At some point, it has to come together."
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas started 9-1 or better for the second consecutive season after beginning the 2007-08 campaign with a 10-0 mark. The last time Texas had started with at least nine wins in its first 10 games came in 1988-89 (9-1) and the last time UT accomplished the feat in back-to-back seasons was 1946-47 (9-1) and 1947-48 (10-0)
- Texas won its 16th consecutive home game and has won 98 of their last 104 games at the Erwin Center
- Texas improved to 75-7 in non-conference home games during the Rick Barnes era, including winning 69 of its last 71
- Texas improved to 88-9 (.907) against in-state foes during the Rick Barnes era
- Texas improved to 3-0 all-time against Texas Southern
- Texas improved to 6-0 all-time against current members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
- Texas improved to 118-10 (.922) in home games against unranked (AP) opponents during the Rick Barnes era, including winning 79 of its last 83 against unranked foes
- Texas improved to 144-18 at the Erwin Center during the Rick Barnes era
A.J. Abrams
- Moved into seventh place on the list for most career points in UT history, passing Kris Clack (1,592 - 1996-99) and Brandon Mouton (1,582 - 2001-04) with 1,598
- Scored 10 or more points for the ninth time this season and the 77th time in 119 career games
- Scored 20 or more points for the sixth time this season and the 29th time in his career
- Made a season-high 10 field goals, topping the nine he made against UCLA
- Has averaged 28.5 points per game over the last four contests
Justin Mason
- In the last four games, Mason has logged 28 assists against just three turnovers
- Logged six or more assists for the sixth time this season
Dexter Pittman
- Scored a career-high 19 points, topping the 17 points he logged against Texas State in UT's last game
- Scored 10 or more points for the fourth time this season and the seventh time in 75 career games
- Scored 10 or more points in back-to-back games for the second time in his career
- Made a career-high seven field goals, topping the five field goals he made against Texas State this season
- Played a career-high 24 minutes, topping the 16 minutes he logged on two separate occasions
Varez Ward
- Made his first career 3-point field goal to end the first half
- Scored 10 or more points for the first time in his career
- Logged a career-high seven assists, topping the four assists he dished out against St. Joseph's
- Made a career-high four field goals, topping the three he made against Rice
- Played a career-high 28 minutes, topping the 23 minutes he played against Rice
TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
Opening statement: They made some good shots and we guarded pretty well. They made some shots that I don't think there was anything we could do to take it down. They made at least two bombs out there that was against pretty good defense. They shot the ball the highest percentage they probably shot all year and some of it was against really good defense and some of it wasn't. We didn't get two rotations. Transition wise, we don't have that coverage yet because Justin Mason is so used to going to the board. Rebound-wise, when some of those shots come off long it's hard to run them down but we just have to do a better job of it.
On Dexter Pittman's play: Dexter has worked as hard as any player we have ever coached. HE continues to do it. He still wants to get weight off. When you work that hard, he's got to see himself in a different light. He's skilled. I told him tonight that he needs to show people that he's more than a guy who can just catch the ball and dunk it. You get some jump shots and free throws. Believe me, he's going to get those free throws because he works at it. The fact of the matter is Dexter Pittman has got some skill.
FRESHMAN GUARD Varez Ward On his performance tonight: I just go out there and play hard. When I'm on offense I just let everything coming to me. I don't go looking for shots. I play off the ball well and I played off A.J. (Abrams), and playing with him on the offensive end just opens everything up.
On the adding the dimension of rebounding to his game: It's just natural. When I'm out there on the court, I just think about getting back because I'm used to playing the opposite position. Crashing into the boards is just something I'll have to get used to.
JUNIOR CENTER Dexter Pittman On his role on the team: It's time for me to step up and be a player instead of being a role player. In the first four games of the season, I wasn't showing anything until coach talked to me. He reminded me of all the times I was in the weight room working out before everyone else and being up at 5 a.m. and I had to put all that together and not work for nothing. When I got on the court, I said to myself that I worked too hard to go out there and settle for less.
On what his focus was tonight: The main focus was rebounding and blocking out, because on our schedule we have two of the top rebounding teams in the country coming up. It's good for us to practice rebounding in this game, blocking out and putting the body on somebody. That was my main focus tonight.
TEXAS SOUTHERN QUOTES
HEAD COACH TONY HARVEY
Opening statement: First of all, I thought our kids played hard. I thought we accomplished some of the things we wanted to in the first half. I wanted to limit the looks [A.J.] Abrams got, because I know how good of a player he is and he makes tough shots. I also wanted to limit Dexter Pittman. I wanted to take someone else out of the game. I think when you look at it, Damion James was one of the guys we put a big focus on. I knew Dexter was capable of having a big game because of his physical presence. I've got a lot of respect for what Coach Barnes has done here with his program. When I think about Texas I think about physicality and that type of game. I told my players when they came here, that they needed to be ready for that type of game. I wanted us to have a single digit turnover game. In the second half, it got away from us a little bit. We're learning as a team. We're learning how to compete.
On the difference in the game: There were a couple of possessions where the game got away. It was either a missed rebound or a bonehead play. There were possessions where we came down and didn't execute, and they got another easy basket. They put us in a tough situation.
SENIOR GUARD MATTHEW MILLER
On playing Texas: We just came out ready to play. We were focused and I felt like everyone was on the same page. We just came out ready to play. We put ourselves in a great situation, but a couple of situations occurred and we didn't make the right play. We made a couple of mistakes and they made us pay for them.
On their team: We just try to put together four minutes at a time and make sure that we are in every game. We just want to put ourselves in a position where we can win at the end.
On his transition baskets: We pushed the ball. They started denying DeAndre Hall and Jacques Jones hard and that opened the court for me. I had a lot of one-on-one situations. In that situation, I just made the right plays and the ball fell in.
