The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
9-13, 3-6
Texas Tech
15-7, 3-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Tech | 26 | 32 | 58 |
| Texas | 28 | 34 | 62 |
Men's Basketball defeats Texas Tech at home, 62-58
02.01.2017 | Men's Basketball
Davis 3-pointer in final seconds lifts Longhorns to victory.
AUSTIN, Texas – Sophomore guard Eric Davis Jr. scored 15 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining, to lift the Longhorns over Texas Tech, 62-58, at the Frank Erwin Center on Wednesday night. Freshman forward Jarrett Allen shot 8-of-11 from the field en route to a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds, while freshman guard Andrew Jones recorded 11 points and seven assists in a career-high 35 minutes.
Junior guard Keenan Evans paced the Texas Tech attack with 15 points. Graduate forward Anthony Livingston followed with 14 points, including three 3-pointers, and junior forward Zach Smith grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Texas (9-13, 3-6 Big 12) and the Red Raiders (15-7, 3-6) traded blows early and often at the start of the contest. An Allen layup at the 11:31 mark put the Longhorns up 12-11. Texas Tech responded with an 11-2 run capped by a Justin Gray jumper to take a 22-14 advantage with 6:16 remaining.
Davis hit the Longhorns' first 3-pointer of the night with 2:16 left in the opening half, trimming the deficit to 24-22. A minute later, freshman guard Jacob Young drained a three to bring the Longhorns within one (26-25) at the 1:16 mark. Jones sank another trey with 33 seconds remaining to give Texas a 28-26 lead. Freshman center James Banks blocked a would-be equalizer in the final seconds to keep the Longhorns ahead 28-26 at the break.
Texas opened the second half with an 8-0 run, building a 36-28 lead following a Shaquille Cleare dunk at the 17:04 mark. A Jones 3-pointer just one minute later gave the Longhorns an 11-point lead (41-30), the largest of the night for either team.
Tech used a 9-0 run over a span of just two minutes to take a 53-50 lead after a Livingston 3-pointer at the 6:14 mark. The Longhorns trailed until 1:27 remained in the contest, when a Davis layup put Texas ahead, 58-57.
Livingston hit a free throw to tie the game (58-58) with 53 seconds remaining. With 29 seconds left to play, Davis converted a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Longhorns a 61-58 lead. Texas then forced a missed three by Livingston with eight seconds remaining, and Jones hit 1-of-2 free throws with six seconds left to seal the victory.
Texas continues Big 12 Conference play on Saturday, Feb. 4, when the Longhorns travel to Fort Worth to face TCU. Tip is set for noon Central at Schollmaier Arena, and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNEWS.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 62, Texas Tech 58
February 1, 2017
Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center)
Attendance: 10,644
Team Notes
- Texas has won 21 consecutive home games against the Red Raiders. The last Texas Tech win in Austin came during the 1995-96 season. The Longhorns improved to 48-22 against the Red Raiders in games played in Austin.
- UT improved to 84-55 in the all-time series against Texas Tech. The Horns have won 16 of the last 18 and 22 of the last 25 games against the Red Raiders. UT is 39-6 against Texas Tech since the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996-97.
- The Longhorns improved to 486-116 all-time in home games at the Frank Erwin Center. The Horns improved to 214-33 at the Erwin Center in the last 15 seasons (since start of the 2002-03 season). Texas improved to 9-4 this season and 23-7 at home in the Shaka Smart era.
- UT improved to 4-7 this season in games decided by 5 points or less.
- UT posted a 30-20 advantage in points in the paint and a 14-4 margin in fast-break points.
- The Longhorns converted 59.1% (13-22) of their field goals in the second half, including a 3-of-6 mark from three-point range.
- Reached double figures in scoring (19 points) for the 15th time this season (22 games) and eighth time in Big 12 play (9 games).
- Reached double figures in scoring (15 points) for the fourth straight game, the eighth time this season (22 games) and 22nd time in his career (55 games).
- Hit the go-ahead 3-pointer from the right corner with 29 seconds remaining, giving the Longhorns a 61-58 lead.
- Set a career high in minutes played (37). Previous high: 36 at Kansas on Jan. 21, 2017.
- Tied a career high in field goals made (6-9).
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the sixth straight game and 13th time this season (22 games).
- His 7 assists were one shy of his career high (8 at Georgia on Jan. 28).
- Set a career high in minutes (35). Previous: 33 at Georgia on Jan. 28.
- Tied his season high in rebounds (7) for the third straight contest.
Postgame Quotes
Texas Head Coach Shaka Smart
On if the team played less tight in the closing minutes: I think some guys did a nice job, but as a team we've still got to let go and play. I think we had an 11-point lead, and Texas Tech is a good team with a lot of older guys and they're going to try and make a run, so you've got to try and answer that. One thing that we did do well, we were pretty solid on defense and that ended up winning us the game.
On the team's urgency levels with a lead towards the end of the game: It's been something that I've been talking about a lot. It's been something that we've been working on. I know it sounds like a broken record, but in late-game situations, you can't play out of avoidance in that it might not go your way. You've got to attack. Interestingly enough, when Texas Tech got the lead late, we got back to attack mode.
On Texas' defense and lack of turnovers to close out the game: We always talk about that there's three keys to a 6-minute game: solid on defense, don't turn over the ball, make your free throws. Again, the one I thought we did best was to be solid on defense. We did not shoot the ball well from the foul line, but when we got a shot it was pretty good. We shot 59-percent in the second half, so we had some turnovers where we just needed to settle down. But obviously, the biggest possession of the game offensively for us was the one where Eric ended up hitting the three. Before he hit the three, we had a couple of guys just make the right pass, a simple pass. Sometimes it's just hitting a single to get your teammate a play.
Texas sophomore guard Eric Davis Jr.
On improving his shooting during Big 12 Conference play: It feels good. I just really try to hunt good ones but still be aggressive at the same time. I've been hitting a few shots lately, so that gives me the ability to be more aggressive. I've been more aggressive hunting shots.
On shooting the decisive 3-pointer: I saw it develop. [Kerwin Roach] coming off the screen, if he has a throwback or a wide open three he throws it in. I saw the guy had cheated up and I just stepped in and knocked it down. I had confidence.
On closing out the game: In past games, the vibe kind of gets tight from different people. I've been in that situation where I've gotten tight before. But we are learning from past mistakes. Other games we're in the game and we're not finishing them because we get tight. We wanted to stay loose and stay confident. Coach is telling us in the huddle, 'Believe.' So that's what we did. We believed, and the outcome worked out in our favor.
Texas freshman guard Andrew Jones
On whether he's seeing a different vibe during close games: We didn't allow getting behind affect how we were going to finish out the game. We stayed together. A lot of reps in practice of situational stuff like this, and we pulled through. We fought together and got stops when we needed to.
On balancing shooting and passing: I'm just allowing the game to come to me. I'm not forcing anything in transition. I'm not head-hunting for my shot. I look for the rim runner, Jarrett running to the rim. If they're not guarding me, then I'll attack. But I'm looking for the angles and just better decision making, watching a lot of film.
Texas freshman forward Jarrett Allen
On his calm demeanor during games: I've always been this way. People say I've been too calm, but I've never really showed emotion I guess.
On the game plan for the Texas big men: Before the game, Coach gave us the game plan for the bigs. He wanted us to have early post-ups, and I think we executed that very well.
Texas Tech Head Coach Chris Beard
On Texas' play in the last 90 seconds of the game: Texas has been in a lot of close games this year and from their point of view, I'm sure that they finished strong. I thought they played great in a lot of ways, [they have] a lot of great players and are a well-coached team. We knew it was going to be very difficult tonight. We normally shoot free throws a lot better than that and we normally take care of the ball better than that. [We had] way too many turnovers in the first half and you've got to make free throws, but give Texas credit. I thought that it was more what they did than what we didn't do.
On Texas Tech's shooting deficiencies in the game: First, give Texas credit with their length. Defensively, they mixed up the defenses a little bit, so I'll always give the opponent credit. From my point of view, we've just got to do a better job of getting better shots and we've got to have more individual performances. [I] told the guys today that there are two things with this sport; sure play as a team, but then you have to have some individual performances and you see it in our league all the time.
On if there was enough movement for TTU to get good looks for shots: We got to the free throw line. I think we shot more free throws than Texas, which is always an objective of ours. In the middle, a lot of the misses were one-on-one misses, so for the most part I didn't think we settled. We're a pretty good team and we can pitch it around, get a shot, but when we start giving it to the other team, we can't beat anybody.
