The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Missouri
Men's Basketball edged by Missouri, 69-65
02.04.2009 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2009
Box Score 
| Box Score | 
| Notes | Quotes
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- With the final seconds winding down and the Texas crowd on its feet, Missouri's Zaire Taylor saw everything open up before him.
A clear lane to the basket, a quick drive into space and a tough shot that went in while he was fouled with 5.5 seconds left.
Taylor made the free throw, DeMarre Taylor added one more 2 seconds later after a Texas turnover and the Tigers were skipping off the court with a 69-65 upset victory, their first on the 16th-ranked Longhorns' court since 1999.
The last time the Tigers won in Austin was former longtime Missouri coach Norm Stewart's last career victory before he retired.
"We wanted to spread the floor. I saw the lane. I knew time was going down and I had to make the play," Taylor said. "I figured it was the best shot we could get at the time."
Texas had tied it at 65-65 on A.J. Abrams' floater in the lane with 1 minute to play. But Abrams, the Big 12's career leader in 3-pointers, missed from long range with 28 seconds left, giving Missouri a chance to set up for the winning shot.
After Taylor's play, Carroll intercepted the inbounds pass, drew a foul and hit one of two free throws to seal the win. Taylor finished with 17 points for the Tigers (19-4, 6-2).
Dexter Pittman scored a career-high 25 points for the Longhorns (15-6, 4-3).
Pittman and his 6-foot-10, 300-pound body had a huge game for the Longhorns. His large frame and hands dominated the Tigers under the basket with 9-of-12 shooting. He played a career-high 23 minutes.
"Dexter was a beast out there and all my scrawny little guys were falling everywhere," Missouri coach Mike Anderson said.
But Pittman's foul troubles in the second half kept Texas from finding any kind of offensive rhythm and turned him into a defensive liability in the final minutes.
The teams were tied or traded the lead eight times in the final 5 minutes. Pittman's dunk with 3:01 to play gave Texas its final lead at 62-60 before Leo Lyons answered with two straight baskets--both coming when he drove right by a passive Pittman--for the Tigers.
Lyons finished with 14 points and Carroll had 13 for the Tigers. Abrams scored 11 for the Longhorns but continued to struggle to find his long-range stroke at critical times.
The Longhorns also missed their usual production from Damion James, who came in with eight double-doubles this season but finished with just six points while battling a sore knee.
"We've got to be smarter, and we've got to stop playing streetball," Abrams said. "Everybody's got to look at themselves and do better."
Pittman's 11 minutes in the first half nearly equaled his season average and he scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. On one possession he twice went up over three Tigers for a rebound before a powerful dunk. Texas built a 26-16 lead before the Tigers rallied to cut it to 34-29 at halftime.
Texas struggled to score in the second half as the Tigers applied full-court pressure. The Longhorns managed just three field goals in the first 8 minutes of the half and Missouri took a 46-42 lead on consecutive layups by Carroll, the second coming when he blew past Connor Atchley in the lane. Missouri forced 15 turnovers, turning them into 14 points.
"We call it organized chaos," Carroll said. "You don't know what we're going to do, when we're going to do it, when we're going to trap."
Pittman returned with 10 minutes to play and another rim-shaking jam got Texas within 50-49.
But even when the Longhorns could grab the lead, the Tigers wouldn't let them hold it.
After a dunk by James put Texas up 53-52 and brought the home crowd to its feet, Missouri got 3-pointers from Taylor and Matt Lawrence to settle them down again.
"We've just got to figure out our team identity," Pittman said. "Everybody's got to find their role and when they figure out their role they've got to come with their `A' game every night."
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Outrebounded an opponent for the 16th time in 21 games this season, but dropped to 10-6 in those contests
- Lost consecutive home games for the first time since falling to Kansas (Feb. 11 - 103-110 ot) and Oklahoma State (Feb. 20 - 80-85) during the 2001-02 season
A.J. Abrams
- Played in his 130th career game, one shy of Jason Klotz (131 - 2001-05) for fifth place on the UT career list
- Increased his Big 12 career record for 3-point field goals to 345
- Scored 10 or more points for the 15th time this season and the 83rd time in his career
Damion James
- Grabbed 10 or more rebounds for the ninth time this season and the 39th time in 94 career games
Justin Mason
- Equaled his highest assist total for back-to-back games with 16, matching the 16 he logged against Villanova (7) and Texas State (9) this season
- Equaled a season-high with 38 minutes, matching the time he logged against Texas Southern
Dexter Pittman
- Scored a career-high 25 points, topping the 21 he scored against Appalachian State this season
- Logged a career-high with nine field goals, topping the eight he logged against Appalachian State this season
- Equaled a career-high with seven made free throws, matching the total he logged against Texas State this season
- Scored 10 or more points for the eighth time this season and the 11th time in 86 career games
- Scored 20 or more points for the second time in his career, both games coming this season
Varez Ward
- Matched a career-high with 28 minutes, equaling the time he played against Texas Southern this season
TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On Dexter Pittman: I thought Dex was terrific. He was the one post guy who did a great job and it's a tough matchup because their post guys made it hard to go inside. I thought he did a great job. If Dexter plays like that every night, it gives us a weapon that is hard for teams to deal with.
On losing two games in a row: Overall, we haven't had a total team effort with everybody playing up to the level they need to play at. When somebody else plays, somebody doesn't. It's a very fine line in terms of winning and losing. Everybody has to do their job every single night. Defensively I don't think our post guys, other than Dexter, did what we needed to do.
SENIOR GUARD A.J. Abrams On where they go from here: We've got to move on. We have a game in 48 hours. We have to do something to right this right now. We have a game on Saturday and we have a chance to get out there and try to get a win under our belt.
On Dexter Pittman: Dex played really well tonight. We knew coming in tonight that he could be a weapon for us. He did his job tonight, he posted up, he got buckets and hit his free throws.
On any adjustments to be made: I think we have to be smarter -- think the game and not get outside ourselves. I think we get caught up trying to aim for one pass and then shooting it. We have to work the ball, look for the man inside and when we did that, we did well and when we didn't, it hurt us. I think all of it is correctable. I think it's mental if not anything. Everybody has to be a smarter player. For the most part I thought we played defense alright but in the second half they hit some shots and for whatever reason we didn't have it in the second shot and they hit shots.
JUNIOR CENTER Dexter Pittman On his career-high 25 points: I'd trade it all for a win.
On where they go from here: We have to find our team identity. Everybody has to look at ourselves and figure out their role. Once they find it, they have to come with it every night and bring their "A" game.
MISSOURI QUOTES
HEAD COACH MIKE ANDERSON
On today's game: I think we were very fortunate to steal one on the road against an outstanding Texas team. I thought our defense really dictated the tempo in the second half. We had no answer for Dexter Pittman. He was a beast out there. Our guys made plays. That's what you have to do. We were very fortunate. It was a total team win. I thought the leadership really showed in our guard play tonight.
On the final play: We wanted the floor open. I thought he saw it where he had an opportunity, and he attacked and got to the basket. I was proud that somebody stepped up and made a play.
On the team's strategy for defending Texas: We said we were going to get after Abrams. We were going to get after Damion James. Those are the big guns for the basketball game. Mason started the game off well, then he just kind of wore down. Pittman was the beast out there.
JUNIOR GUARD ZAIRE TAYLOR
On his final basket: We just wanted to spread the floor. We all trust each other. The lane was open, I just came off. I knew time was going down and I had to do something.
On the final play: The play was to spread the floor, get four wide. Time was winding down and I figured that was the best shot we could get at the time. The free throw was more pressure than the basket.
SENIOR FORWARD DEMARRE CARROLL
On what made tonight's win possible: Our whole mindset going on the road is defensive. Hopefully we can just keep this mindset in February and on into March.
On the team's defense: Coach calls it organized chaos. You don't know what we're going to do, when we're going to do it or anything.
On Texas' Dexter Pittman: He's a great player. He did a good job getting up and down the court. He was getting winded. As soon as he scored we tried to get up the court as fast as possible.
On what this win means for the team: It's a big win. To come on the road and win, it's going to look good in March.
