The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Rhode Island
Men's Basketball tops Rhode Island, 100-90
11.15.2011 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2011
Box Score |
Box Score 
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - J'Covan Brown scored a career-high 35 points to propel Texas to a 100-90 victory over Rhode Island on Tuesday in the first round of the TicketCity Legends Classic.
The junior guard added six assists with no turnovers.
Jamal Wilson led the Rams (0-2) with 24 points after putting up 38 in a season-opening loss to George Mason.
Clint Chapman, the only Longhorn taller than 6-foot-7, had a game-high eight rebounds, though the teams were an even 42-42 on the boards.
It was another physical test for undersized and young Texas (2-0), which counts six freshmen among its nine scholarship players.
Texas went up by 17 early. But Rhode Island finished the first half on a 20-7 run to enter halftime down 46-43.
The Rams took a 59-58 lead on a free throw by Blake Vedder, but Texas freshman Sheldon McClellan finished a three-point play to put his team back ahead.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
TEXAS COACH QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On losing the lead and regaining the lead in the second half: When you are sitting there as a coach, you like that comfort (of having the lead). But, when you look back at it, it was probably a good thing in the long run. I thought it showed something when we took the lead. We had good plays and effort, some intensity-type things in terms of Jonathan Holmes' rebounds. Rhode Island is a hard team to play because they are never going to stop. They are going to keep coming. They take some difficult shots and make them. We had to talk to our team about not getting caught up in their style. We want to run and we want to be aggressive.
On the six freshmen playing significant minutes: It's all about understanding the game and the flow of the game. In the open court, we were able to get numbers. For the most part, most of the shots in the perimeter early were good, but in the end of the first half, we were taking too many risky shots. We should've pulled them back out because we were in foul trouble.
On playing 2-3 zone defense: We went zone, and we haven't worked on it very much. But, we did it and actually put them (Rhode Island) in longer possessions, which helped us shorten the game there. At the start of the second half, we had to create a defensive identity. When we got back in control of the game, it was on the defensive end.
TEXAS PLAYER QUOTES
JUNIOR GUARD J'Covan Brown
On scoring a career-high 35 points: I was really upset with missing the two free throws, but today my teammates did a great job of screening and leaving me open for open shots.
On playing a 2-3 zone defense in the first half: We really don't do a 2-3 zone in practice. We are a tough team, and we like to play defense, so we play man-to-man to see who is tougher. When coach (Barnes) put us in a 2-3 zone, it was surprising. We don't practice that, so we didn't know that area. We will have to look back on it and work on that defense.
FRESHMAN FORWARD Jonathan Holmes
On playing on the perimeter: I have always been tall and have been able to play down low. But, I have always liked shooting (from outside). I just needed to be able to dribble to be out on the perimeter.
On playing aggressively: Coach (Barnes) tells us to drive them if they are big guys or if they are sagging off of us. If they are closing out too hard, or too close, I will try to go past them.
On what he needs to improve upon: I know I need to get better at rebounding and getting on the defensive boards. I just have to work hard out there.
RHODE ISLAND COACH QUOTES
Head Coach Jim Baron
On coming back from behind and taking a second-half lead: Well, I thought that we did a much better job on the defensive end and rebounding the basketball. We got them to turn the ball over and we made some plays. We made some shots and we battled the whole game. I was real proud of how our guys battled. Texas is a good basketball team and they have excellent guards. They're very physical, very aggressive, and they can score the ball. They hit nine threes, and I thought that was a big part of their game. They hit some big corner shots in pivotal parts of the game, and you've got to give them credit. In the second half, we out-rebounded them by four, and I thought that was significant. We battled them the entire game.
On Texas' team and expectations: They were a good team and Rick (Barnes) is a terrific coach. They have some good experience with front line guys and their guards. (J'Covan) Brown is just terrific. He's a big time guard and he makes plays. When you need him to step up, he steps up, whether it's from the perimeter or driving the ball to the bucket. They're very athletic and they have a nice bench. They got to the free throw line, shot a lot of free throws.
On the environment of the game: They've got great tradition here and I think our kids were excited to come down here. The atmosphere was a real positive thing for our kids. We are very resilient, and we battled and just kept coming back. They made some big shots and some big plays, but our kids kept coming back and kept fighting. We know we have a very challenging schedule with a lot of inexperience and young guys. We're trying to not only win games but also build some character and some confidence.
