The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
10-5 (1-2)RV/RV
Baylor
11-4 (1-2)RV/RV
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 40 | 20 | 60 |
| Baylor | 38 | 31 | 69 |
Men's Basketball falls at Baylor, 69-60
01.06.2018 | Men's Basketball
Freshman guard Jase Febres recorded a career-high 18 points in his first start of the season.
WACO, Texas – Freshman guard Jase Febres posted a career-high 18 points, but Texas Men's Basketball (10-5, 1-2 Big 12) fell to Baylor (11-4, 1-2 Big 12), 69-60, on Saturday afternoon at the Ferrell Center. Febres was 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from the 3-point line, while playing a career-high 29 minutes in his first start of the season.
Freshman forward Mohamed Bamba contributed 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, while junior forward Dylan Osetkowski added eight points and eight boards in 35 minutes. The Texas defense forced 15 turnovers, as the Longhorns held a 19-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Longhorns opened a 19-13 advantage after a pair of free throws from junior guard Eric Davis Jr. at the 11:16 mark. The Bears recorded seven straight points to grab a 27-25 lead with 7:01 remaining in the first half.
UT regained the lead (33-29) with 5:18 to play after a Febres 3-pointer and jumper from Osetkowski on consecutive possessions. Junior guard Kerwin Roach II extended the Longhorn margin to six (37-31) after a steal and finish in the open court with 3:44 remaining. The Bears recorded the final five points of the half, as Texas headed to the break with a two-point (40-38) lead.
Febres led the Longhorns in the first half with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond-the-arc. Davis Jr. added seven points in 10 minutes. UT held Baylor to just 22.2 percent (2-of-9) shooting from the three-point line in the opening half.
The Bears outscored the Longhorns 13-4 in the opening five minutes of the second half to build a 51-44 lead. UT trimmed the Baylor advantage to just two (57-55) with 8:19 to play after a 9-2 run over a three-minute stretch.
A Bamba 3-pointer cut the deficit to 63-60 with 5:03 remaining, but the Bears responded with four straight points at the free throw line to stretch the lead back to seven (67-60) at the 1:30 mark. Baylor connected on two additional free throws with 30 seconds remaining to conclude the scoring.
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Manu Lecomte led the Bears with 17 points apiece.
The Longhorns will be back at the Erwin Center to take on No. 16/15 TCU on Wednesday, Jan. 10. Tip is slated for 8 p.m. Central, and the contest will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Baylor 69, Texas 60
January 6, 2018
Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas)
Attendance: 7,119
Team Notes
- UT fell to 162-89 against Baylor in the all-time series. Texas is 32-17 against the Bears since the formation of the Big 12 Conference (prior to the 1996-97 season). The Longhorns are 68-51 against Baylor when the teams play in Waco.
- Texas fell to 3-1 in true road games this season, including a 1-1 mark in Big 12 play.
- UT posted a 15-7 advantage in offensive rebounds.
- The Longhorns posted a 19-13 margin in points off turnovers.
- Reached double figures in scoring (15 points) for the 10th time this year (14 games)
- Added 5 blocked shots and has registered at least 4 blocks in 13 of his first 14 games and at least 2 blocks in all 14 contests.
- Made his first collegiate start
- Set career highs in points (18), field goals made (7-11), three-pointers made (4-6) and minutes (29) and tied his career high in rebounds (4)
- Previous season highs were 13 points, 4 FG made and 3 three-pointers made (all in the season opener against Northwestern State) and 24 minutes (against Louisiana Tech)
- In 16 minutes of action in the first half, he posted 18 points (7-9 FG, 4-5 threes), 3 rebounds and 1 steal
- Set career highs in points, field goals and three-pointers made in the first half alone
- Entering today's contest, he had scored 21 total points in his first 11 games (13 of those points in the opener against Northwestern State)
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas Head Coach Shaka Smart
On what happened in the final five minutes...
"Well, we were able to cut their lead down to three, and I felt like our guys had a good level of momentum in terms of our competitive spirit and the way we were communicating and attacking, but then we got tentative. We passed up a couple shots that were really good looks that we need to take, and then we didn't execute. I thought the other night, against Iowa State, we really executed down the stretch, and this was the flip side of that. When you combine that stuff: not being aggressive enough, being too tentative, and not executing in the right way, that's what led to our offensive struggles and they were able to score."
On Baylor's aggressiveness...
"I told the guys that Baylor came into this game 0-2 in the league, so they're going to play with a level of fight and a level of aggressiveness, and we could match and exceed that to where it could work against them. I thought at times we did that, but it was nowhere near consistently enough. In the end of the first half and the start of the second half, we weren't aggressive enough or smart enough."
On what Baylor did in the second half to slow down Febres...
"They did a good job adjusting and accounting for him. He got one open look, but he wasn't able to knock it down. They were just way more aware. Honestly, they played a lot more man-to-man. When we played Baylor, like they do against most teams, they switch defenses back and forth from man to zone. We did a better job against their zone today than we did against their man-to-man."
Freshman Mohamed Bamba
On what happened in the last five minutes...
"We just came out and got uptight. We didn't execute at the level we're capable of executing on the offensive end. We got the stops and we were hoping that those would lead to momentum to get a good shot, but it just didn't, so we just have to execute better."
On Baylor picking up intensity at halftime...
"I think we matched their physicality pretty well, but they made tougher plays down the stretch than we did. They got the 50/50 balls more than we did, and those are things we just have to learn from."
Freshman Jase Febres
On what Baylor did defensively in the second half...
"Honestly, I just didn't feel like I was getting to the open spot. They didn't do anything that was crazy or anything that was taking me out of my game. I was trying to get looks in for my big men. We just have to play tougher. I think that's the reason why we didn't win."
On extra energy from this being first start…
"Yeah, of course. It's always been a dream for me to start and come play in big games. Andrew (Jones), of course is sick, so I knew I needed to step in and bring to the team what I needed to do, but honestly, it doesn't really matter because we didn't get the win, so I'm not satisfied with anything."
