The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa State
Men's Basketball tops Iowa State, 62-55
01.24.2012 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2012
| Box Score
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Freshman Myck Kabongo scored 13 points and Texas ended a three-game losing streak with a 62-55 win over Iowa State on Tuesday night.
J'Covan Brown added 12 points for the Longhorns (13-7, 3-4 Big 12) on an otherwise poor shooting night for Texas' leading scorer this season. Julien Lewis also scored 12 for Texas.
Iowa State, the Big 12 leader in 3-pointers, had a miserable shooting night, going 5 of 21 from long range and 33 percent from the floor overall. Two of the 3-pointers came in the final minute, when Chris Allen and Chris Babb connected to pull Iowa State within 58-55 before free throws by Brown and a layup by Kabongo ended the rally.
Royce White led the Cyclones (14-6, 4-3) with 15 points.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas improves to 14-9 in its series against Iowa State.
- Texas now has held 226-of-465 opponents to under 40% FG shooting in the Rick Barnes era
- Led Iowa State 44-26 at the 13:38 mark in the second half, which marked the Horns' biggest lead in their seven Big 12 games
- Texas improved to 12-1 in home contests this season.
- UT has recorded a 194-25 (.886) mark at the Erwin Center in the Rick Barnes era, including a 91-17 (.843) mark in Big 12 home games.
- Texas trailed Iowa State 13-8 before closing the first half on a 20-9 run and taking a 28-22 lead into halftime. Texas did not trail again.
- In its three Big 12 wins, Texas has held its opponent to 51.7 ppg and 37.4% FG shooting (58-of-155)
INDIVIDUAL
Jaylen Bond
- Grabbed seven rebounds, the most for him in a game since Jan. 7 (Oklahoma State)
J'Covan Brown
- Reached double figures in scoring (12 points) for the 18th time this season and the 51st time in his career
- Still ranks 27th on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,075 points; he sits 27 points behind Brad Buckman (1,102) for 26th place on UT's all-time scoring list.
- Streak of 28 consecutive made free throws came to an end on his first attempt of the game
Clint Chapman
- Totaled 27 points and 19 rebounds in his two games this season against Iowa State 19-14
Myck Kabongo
- Reached double figures in scoring (13 points) for the 11th time in 20 games this season
Julien Lewis
- Reached double figures in scoring (12 points) for the eighth time in 20 games this season this season
- Set a career high in rebounds (seven)
TEXAS COACH QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On breaking the three-game losing streak: As long as we're making progress in the process, I'm happy with it. We played against a team that is having a great year. We wanted to defend the three-point line and not let them get to the free throw line. If you look into it, they (Iowa State) get to the free throw line more often than their opponents. We had some big breakdowns at the end though. We had the lead and got careless. We had four or five possessions where we didn't do what we did to gain the lead. Overall, I think we made progress, but we still have a ways to go.
On Myck Kabongo: I was pleased for the most part. We got the lead and he pushed it early. We were organized. When you play against a team that can shoot the ball like they can you want to make them defend you. We wanted to put the ball inside and we should have (gotten the ball down low) more than we did. But, overall, I thought Myck did a good job. We just have to make better decisions in the open court.
On developing additional offensive threats: I think J'Covan (Brown) let the offense dictate how he was going to play. He is a better defensive player than he was tonight. Iowa State went on a run. A guy just beat him on a rebound and he didn't do what he needed to do. He made a couple plays, but he turned the ball over, too. What we talk about with the team is kicking the ball out, as opposed to trying to force some shots. We talk to the team about scoring. (Clint) Chapman was a factor in the first half and an even bigger factor in the second. It was very close, but we were able to get it done in the end.
TEXAS PLAYER QUOTES
JUNIOR GUARD J'Covan Brown
On the team stepping up to give him relief on offense: Myck (Kabongo) stepped up and knocked down two or three big shots down the stretch. You want to see that from all the guys when you are struggling in the field.
On scoring fewer points tonight: My shots were just not going in. Some of them were contested, but I can make tough shots. They just were not falling. You can give credit to the defense, but just overall they were not going in.
FRESHMAN GUARD Myck Kabongo
On snapping the three-game losing streak: It feels great. During practice, we push each other, and we are getting better. Playing at home and winning, after losing to Kansas, is a good thing.
On improving his game: I am just trying to work harder every day. I will be in the gym tomorrow morning, just continuing to work out. I need to get better and everyone else on our team needs to get better. We all just need to get better as a group, which will help us win games.
On developing additional offensive threats: It was great. We have a bunch of great scorers on this team. Our best scorer did not have his best night, but you have guys like Sheldon (McClellan), Clint (Chapman), and Jaylen (Bond) who can score. Every guy can step up, and that is the beauty of our team.
SENIOR CENTER Clint Chapman
On creating additional threats on offense: I wouldn't say we were bailing out J'Covan (Brown), because he is one of our better scorers on the team. We cannot just rely upon him. We all had to step up and take more shots. That is one thing we talked about going into the game, and it worked out well. On getting the win: This win is huge. Dropping three in a row is something that this program does not like to see. Unless we are putting wins in that column, we are not very happy. So, it is a huge win and it will be nice to carry it with us to Waco (against Baylor) on Saturday.
IOWA STATE QUOTES
HEAD COACH FRED HOIBERG
Opening Statement: The first half, we played out of sorts. We took a lot of poor shots. We played as individuals out there instead of a team. We have been playing very good offensive basketball, but tonight we came down and took shots too early in the shot clock and did not allow ourselves as a team to get offensive rebounds. In the second half, we finally started playing with some thrust. We played the way we have been playing. We came down and got multiple stops (on defense), and we got ourselves back in that game. That shows that we can play with anybody, but we can not have those lapses. The first half was poor defense, but other than that, we did well. We had good defense on (J'Covan) Brown, particularly with Chris Babb. We also had great awareness as a team. We did not play good basketball on both ends of the floor. We have to find a way to play 40 minutes of basketball on the offensive side. I am surprised we did not do that tonight because we have been.
On the second half: They strung together shots. Texas had a big momentum basket at the end of the half. (Clint) Chapman got an offensive put-back that put Texas up by six. Then we came out with the ball, turned it over in the first possession. Texas went on a run pushing the lead up to 18. It is hard to fight back when you are down by 18, especially when you are on the road. We have been great on the road since conference (play) started, but tonight we just did not have it.
On the difference in the Texas team this game: They have a lot of talent on their team. J'Covan Brown is one of the best offensive players in the conference. (Myck) Kabongo is playing with a lot more confidence, which I think is a big difference from the first time we played them.
