The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
8-12, 2-6
Oklahoma
8-11, 2-6
Jones' game-winning 3-pointer lifts Men's Basketball to home win against Oklahoma
01.23.2017 | Men's Basketball
Longhorns rally from five down with 19 seconds left to post 84-83 victory.
VIDEO: Watch Andrew Jones' game-winning 3-pointer
Listen to Craig Way's radio call of last-second game-winner, courtesy IMG College
Andrew Jones ESPN postgame interview
Shaquille Cleare ESPN postgame interview
AUSTIN, Texas – Freshman guard Andrew Jones sank a 3-pointer from 25 feet with 1.8 seconds left to lift Texas to an 84-83 win against Oklahoma at the Frank Erwin Center on Monday night.
Texas trailed by five with 19 seconds remaining, but sophomore Eric Davis Jr. and Jones both drained threes down the stretch to help the Longhorns claim the victory. Jones delivered the decisive shot on a high-arcing shot, capping a night in which he was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and finished with a total of 16 points, just one short of his career high.
Senior forward Shaquille Cleare led the Longhorns with a career-high 23 points, his fourth straight game in double digits. Freshman forward Jarrett Allen registered his eighth double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Davis finished with 18 points and a career-high five 3-pointers, while sophomore guard Kerwin Roach Jr. added 11 points, seven rebounds and a career-high eight assists against just two turnovers.
Oklahoma freshman forward Kristian Doolittle posted a career-high 29 points, converting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and 5-of-5 free throws. Freshman guard Kameron McGusty added a career-high 21 points for the Sooners.
Texas (8-12, 2-6 Big 12) jumped to a 15-6 lead at the 13:01 mark after a Cleare layup completed a 7-0 run. Oklahoma (8-11, 2-6) answered with a 9-0 run of its own, tying the score at 15-15 with 11:08 remaining in the half.
Both teams continued to trade runs throughout the game. The Longhorns built a 24-15 cushion at the 9:58 mark after a 9-0 run highlighted by a Davis 3-pointer and a Jones dunk. The Sooners responded with an 11-0 stretch to claim a 26-24 lead with 7:57 left. Roach hit a layup with three seconds left in the half to give the Longhorns a 41-39 lead going into the break.
UT outscored the Sooners 8-1 to begin the second half, grabbing a 51-40 lead at the 17:32 mark following back-to-back 3-pointers from Davis and Jones. Texas maintained its advantage for much of the second half, leading by 10 (66-56) with 9:21 left after another 3-pointer from Jones.
The Sooners steadily chipped away at the margin and tied the game at 78-78 following a McGusty layup with 1:27 left. McGusty and Khadeem Lattin combined for three free throws as Oklahoma built a five-point lead (83-78) with 19 seconds remaining. Davis sank a 3-pointer seven seconds later, and McGusty missed two free throws on the ensuing OU possession to open the door for Jones' heroics. With 1.8 seconds left, Jones launched a high-arcing 3-pointer to seal the victory over the defending Doolittle.
The Longhorns return to action on Saturday, Jan. 28, when they travel to face Georgia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge presented by SONIC. Tip is set for 3 p.m. Central (4 p.m. Eastern), and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 84, Oklahoma 83
January 23, 2017
Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center)
Attendance: 10,898
Team Notes
- Texas has now won 9 of the last 15 meetings in the series against Oklahoma.
- UT improved to 37-53 in the all-time series with the Sooners and 21-18 in games played in Austin.
- The Longhorns improved to 485-116 all-time in home games at the Frank Erwin Center. The Horns improved to 213-33 at the Erwin Center in the last 15 seasons (since start of the 2002-03 season). Texas improved to 8-4 this season and 22-7 at home in the Shaka Smart era.
- This marked the third contest in the Shaka Smart era that the Longhorns have won on a game-winning field goal in the final 2.0 seconds. Javan Felix hit a jumper as time expired to beat No. 3/3 North Carolina 84-82 in Austin on Dec. 12, 2015. Isaiah Taylor went coast-to-coast and hit a running floater high off the glass with 1.1 seconds left for the 75-73 victory at Stanford on Dec. 19, 2015. Tonight, Andrew Jones hit a high-arcing 3-pointer from 25 feet with 1.8 seconds left to lift Texas to an 84-83 win against the Sooners.
- The Longhorns converted 10-of-23 (.435) from 3-point range as a team tonight. This marked the third time this season that Texas has reached double digits in 3-pointers made (12 vs. UAB on Dec. 21, 11 vs. Eastern Washington on Nov. 17).
- Texas posted a +10 rebound margin (43-33), including a 14-8 edge on the offensive glass.
- Recorded a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds) for the eighth time this season (20 games) and fourth time in Big 12 play (8 games).
- Reached double figures in scoring for the sixth straight game and 14th time this season.
- Has reached double figures in scoring in seven of the first eight Big 12 contests.
- Reached double figures in rebounds for the ninth time this season.
- Tied his career high in minutes played (36).
- Reached double figures in scoring (23 points) for the fourth straight game, the eighth time this season (20 games) and 10th time in his UT career (53 games).
- Topped the 20-point mark for the first time in his career.
- Set a career high in scoring (previous: 14, twice).
- Set a career high in field goals made (10-of-14, previous: 6, four times).
- Tied his career high in rebounds (8, also had 8 in two previous games) and blocked shots (2).
- Reached double figures in scoring (18 points) for the sixth time this season (20 games) and 20th time in his career (53 games).
- Set a career high in 3-pointers made (5-of-10). Previously had hit 4 threes a total of three times in his career.
- Hit the game-winning 3-pointer from 25 feet with 1.8 seconds left
- Reached double figures in scoring (16 points) for the fourth straight game and 11th time this season (20 games).
- Set his career high in rebounds (8, previous: 7, three times).
- Tied his career high in steals (3).
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the 12th time this year (19 games) and 21st time in his career (52 games).
- Set a career high in assists (8, previous: 6 vs. Oklahoma State on Jan. 4, 2017) against just 2 turnovers.
- Set a season high in rebounds (7).
Postgame Quotes
Texas Head Coach Shaka Smart
On the importance of the win: It was really important, because I think our guys obviously have been working hard in practice and battling hard to be in a lot of the games we have played and be highly competitive. But at the end of the day, guys want to win, coaches want to win, everybody wants to win. That was an unlikely finish for sure, but I like the way our guys just hung in there and kept fighting.
On the last seconds of the game: We were down five with, I believe, 19 seconds and we just wanted to get a quick shot. When you're down five, you don't necessarily need a three, you just need to get a quick score. We wanted to get a quick score. Eric [Davis] did a nice job rising up. His teammates did a good job finding him. Then we got fortunate because out of the timeout, and we wanted to fight it in. They did a good job getting the ball to Kam McGusty, who had a heck of a game. We tried to recruit him, he's really, really good. We're just fortunate he missed those free throws.
On the last shot: I was just hoping it went in. That's all you can do at a time like that. Like when McGusty was at the foul line, I was hoping he missed. We've had some plays like that, last-second shots, but we've had some late-game plays that haven't gone our way. There were some tonight – a couple of lay-ups we didn't finish. It sure felt like, uh-oh this one is slipping away. Oklahoma did a good job capitalizing, but our guys kept fighting and never gave up.
Sophomore guard Eric Davis Jr.
On the difference in the last 12 seconds: We've been in that situation before when it's been a tight game, where it's a tied game, or we're down two. We've been unfortunate where we just wouldn't be able to finish it. Just from previous games, you could tell that the vibe was down and we were like, "just don't give up." That was my whole message, "just don't give up, we could still go on and win this game." A lot of the time, they'd get a quick shot off or we'd get a shot, that was just my message. We did a good job of executing, we didn't give up.
On how much a confidence boost a big night shooting was: It was a big one. As of late, my shot hasn't been falling. It's been up and down, but today was definitely a confidence boost. Like I say, I always have confidence, but seeing the ball go in today was definitely something really good. It's going to go a long way.
On the mood in the game's final huddles and the messages between the team: Like Shaq (Shaquille Cleare) said, we've been in situations where we haven't finished the game and as I said earlier, some guys' faces just kind of looked down. That's one thing Coach Smart preaches, it starts with the look on your face. And I look over to my teammates and I say; "don't give up." But the confidence was there. Everyone was engaged and nobody gave up. I think we did a great job with the look on our faces, it started right there.
Freshman guard Andrew Jones
On his game-winning 3-point shot: When it left my hand it felt real good. I had a momentum dribble that I've been working on and once I hit that shot after I'd pulled up, it felt good. Now with this win, which we really needed, I feel like it's going to give us a lot of momentum and we're going to carry on.
On if his game-winning shot was what Coach Smart drew up: Initially Coach wanted me to throw it back to Eric because he had just hit one, but he was covered and I just decided that I had a mismatch and we had to exploit it. I don't know (how far behind the line the shot was), I was just looking at it and to get the space away from him (Oklahoma freshman forward Kristian Doolittle) so that he couldn't block it. When I saw his hand, I had to shoot it all the way up in the air; and when it dropped I was happy.
Senior forward Shaquille Cleare
On how much the team needed the win: We needed this game in the worst way possible. These guys, they work so hard in practice every day and it was just time to reward ourselves. I thought going into the ending part, "we really need a miracle right now." I said "something amazing is about to happen" and Andrew came out and put up a big shot and we needed it.
On why tonight was different: I think we wanted it. We wanted it bad. Once we start to close out games the way we start games, I think we put ourselves in a better position. We've got to enjoy the win, but moving forward we've got a lot of work to do.
Oklahoma Quotes
Oklahoma Head Coach Lon Kruger
On the game: I thought the guys fought like crazy. Texas did a terrific job all night long with pounding the ball inside and getting what they wanted. I thought the guys hung in there and scratched around a little bit. They did a terrific job in getting back in the ball game and back in the position to win the ball game, but I told them afterwards I'm very proud of their fight, their effort, and the way they hung together. Nothing else I say at this point will help with the loss as far as their feelings, but we'll bounce back. We'll keep getting better and there's another one on Saturday.
On Kristian Doolittle: This guy here was fantastic. You get a feel what he's really able to do in a ball game in terms of taking over – inside, outside, boards. Kristian was fantastic.
Oklahoma Freshman Forward Kristian Doolittle
On game-winning shot for Texas: They set a double ball screen and I switched onto him. I knew the shot was coming because of how much time was left, and he shot it and he made it. He had some arc on the ball. He shot it up there and congrats to him. I know he's going to cherish this moment for a long time. But it's tough. I thought I was there on the release but it didn't go our way.
On his performance: I'm not one to care about personal stats. All I care about is winning. If we would have won, then that would be a different story. We just need to keep the momentum going for the next game, keep our head up. It sucks to lose but there's always the next game we can go win.
