The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Louisiana Tech
Men's Basketball defeats Louisiana Tech, 89-58 in 2K Sports Classic
11.10.2010 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2010
Box Score | 
| Box Score 
| Video: Postgame report
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Jordan Hamilton scored 19 points and freshman Tristan Thompson had a breakout performance with 17 to lead Texas to an 89-58 victory over Louisiana Tech on Wednesday night in the 2K Sports Classic.
Gary Johnson added 15 points for the Longhorns (2-0), who will play in the semifinals of the tournament benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer in New York on Nov. 18.
Brandon Gibson had 16 points for Louisiana Tech (0-1).
After a sluggish start, Texas pulled away and held a double-digit lead for much of the game. The offense struggled at times, shooting 34 of 74 from the field, including 4 of 16 from 3-point range. But it was Texas' defense that controlled the tempo, forcing 22 turnovers, grabbing 12 steals and getting seven blocks.
TEXAS QUOTES
Head Coach Rick Barnes
On the team's organization: We've worked on a lot of things. We do want ball movement. We want more screening. Tonight we could have taken a lot of threes. But we kept fighting. The things that are important to us statistically are how many points we get in the paint and assists. We organized our game around those two stats tonight, and the guys did a good job.
On the improvements made from Monday: I think one thing that we improved on was settling in earlier. Last game we were a little more uncomfortable at the start, and today we looked a lot better.
On Dogus Balbay's recovery: We aren't surprised by how well he has recovered because he is such a gifted player and person. No one works harder at rehab then he did. We held him back a bit in preseason and that's why the other night he was a little bit jumpy. Tonight he came back and did a lot of good things. He is a hard worker and a great player.
Senior Guard Dogus Balbay
On how the team will prepare for the next game: Well, we will go back and watch the games we played, and see what the coaches want us to do. Whatever we need to do, we'll get back on the court and work on getting it better.
On his assessment of the team after two games: Our goal was to get better everyday. I think we improved a lot from Monday's game to today's game. And that is our goal. I think we are doing a great job getting better everyday. You can see from Monday's game to today, we did a better job on both offense and defense.
Freshman Forward Tristan Thompson
On his biggest strength: My best asset is doing whatever the team needs me to do to help us get the victory. It's grabbing loose balls, blocking shots, whatever we need, if I can provide it, that is what I'm going to do. All of us come in and give it all we've got.
On Cory Joseph's play: He has been playing great. Him and Dogus [Balbay] are our backcourt leaders along with J'Covan Brown, I think everyone is doing their part. And as you can see by the results, we're winning, so everyone is doing their part.
LOUISIANA TECH QUOTES
Head Coach Kerry Rupp
On playing Texas: I knew it was going to be a tough game. We play a lot of teams that are not as good as Texas. But you come in here and play a team like Texas and it is baptism by fire. They are a great team. They played very physical. They are the type of team we want to be.
On the most pleasing moments of the night: I thought we had some good looks and some good drives out there. We pushed the ball forward well. I also felt defensively in the first eight minutes we really shined out there. We showed them what we were capable of during that period. But ultimately, Texas is a very good team. It was a good opportunity for us to see how we matched up against a very good team.
On Brandon Gibson and Olu Ashaolu: I was very pleased with the performance of both those players tonight. Ashaolu is a warrior, and he is going to be used a lot more by us. Gibson did some very good things tonight as well. He showed his adversity to come back and play the way he did tonight.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas started the season 2-0 for the ninth consecutive year and the 11th time in 13 years under Coach Barnes
- Texas opened the season with back-to-back wins by 20 or more points for the eighth consecutive season
- Improved to 78-7 (.918) at the Erwin Center in the last six seasons [dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season] and 168-22 (.884) at the Erwin Center under Rick Barnes
- Texas owned a rebounding advantage (47-41) for the second consecutive game
- Texas registered 11 assists and eight turnovers in the first half while holding Louisiana Tech to one assist and forcing 10 turnovers by the Bulldogs
- Texas scored 80 or more points in the first two games of the season for the first time since the 2006-07 season
Jordan Hamilton
- Reached double-digits in scoring (19 points) for the second time this season and the 20th time in his career
Matt Hill
- Logged 10 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time since his true freshman season against Centenary (Dec. 28, 2006) and UT Arlington (Jan. 2, 2007)
Gary Johnson
- Reached double-digits in scoring (15 points) for the second time this season and the 38th time in his career
Cory Joseph
- Tallied eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals to top his debut numbers of five points, four rebounds, three assists and no steals
Dean Melchionni
- Scored his first career points with a 3-point field with :25 remaining in the game
Tristan Thompson
- Tallied 17 points, two assists and three steals to top his debut numbers of 12 points, one assist and one steal and equaled his debut performance with seven rebounds
- Reached double-digits in scoring for the second time in his career
