The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
12-3,1-1Big 12
Cincinnati
12-3,1-1Big 12
No. 25 Men's Basketball wins at Cincinnati, 74-73
01.10.2024 | Men's Basketball
Abmas knocks down game-winning jumper in final seconds, and Disu records a collegiate career high with 33 points.
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Graduate guard Max Abmas hit the game-winning jumper from the right baseline with 6.2 seconds left, and graduate forward Dylan Disu posted a collegiate career high with 33 points to lead No. 25 Texas (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) to a hard-fought 74-73 win at Cincinnati (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) in a packed Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday night. This marked Abmas' second game-winning shot of the season, as he also knocked down the winning jumper in the final seconds during UT's victory over Louisville (Nov. 19) in Madison Square Garden.
Disu, making his first start of the season in place of graduate forward Kadin Shedrick (back) and in just his sixth game back on the court this year after offseason surgery (left foot), converted 13-of-23 field goals, including 4-of-10 from three-point range, and 3-of-4 free throws. He added a season-high four steals and a season-best six rebounds along with one blocked shot in a season-high 34 minutes. Disu's previous collegiate high was 29 points during his time at Vanderbilt against Kentucky (Feb. 17, 2021), and his previous high at Texas was 28 in last year's NCAA Tournament Round of 32 win over Penn State (March 18, 2023).
Abmas posted 15 points (6-14 FG, 3-7 threes), five assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes. He moved into No. 19 on the all-time NCAA Division I career scoring list (2,818 points), passing Kevin Bradshaw of Bethune-Cookman (2,804). Junior guard Tyrese Hunter registered 10 points (4-9 FG, 2-2 FT) and three assists in 31 minutes, and sophomore forward Dillon Mitchell added 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 FT) and four rebounds in 37 minutes.
Texas jumped out to a 10-4 advantage following a Mitchell layup at the 16:41 mark. The Bearcats answered with an 11-0 spurt over the next two-and-a-half minutes to grab a 15-10 cushion after a Simas Lukosius three-pointer with 14:11 left, before the Longhorns responded with a 10-2 run over the next three-plus minutes to take a 20-17 lead following a Disu dunk at the 10:52 mark.
Tied at 20-20, Texas scored seven straight points to build a 27-20 advantage after a Hunter layup with 7:24 left. The Bearcats rallied to even the game at 31-31 following a Jamille Reynolds free throw at the 4:06 mark, before the Longhorns used an 8-2 run to grab a 39-33 lead after a Disu three-pointer with 2:21 left. Cincinnati scored six straight points to draw even at 39-39 following a Dan Skillings Jr. dunk with 48 seconds remaining, before a Disu jumper with 19 seconds left gave Texas a 41-39 advantage at the break.
A Mitchell jumper gave the Longhorns a 49-47 lead at the 13:21 mark, but Cincinnati scored six straight points to grab a 53-49 cushion following a Reynolds dunk with 10:37 remaining. A Skillings Jr. layup gave the Bearcats a 55-52 lead at the 8:52 mark, before Texas answered with a 7-2 spurt to take a 59-57 advantage after a Disu three-pointer with 7:35 left.
A Lukosius three-pointer provided Cincinnati with a 62-61 lead at the 6:19 mark, before the Longhorns used a Disu jumper and an Abmas three-pointer to build a 66-62 cushion with 4:52 remaining. The Bearcats scored five straight points to take a 67-66 advantage after a Jizzle James jumper at the 3:59 mark, and Texas answered with an Abmas layup and Mitchell dunk to go ahead 70-67 with 3:31 left.
Cincinnati used back-to-back turnaround jumpers from Lukosius to take a 73-70 lead with 59 seconds remaining. Disu hit a jumper with 43 seconds left to pull Texas to within 73-72, and John Newman III missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 23 seconds remaining to set up Abmas' game-winning opportunity. Abmas took a dribble handoff from Disu and worked his way to the right baseline, where he knocked down the game-winner with just 6.2 seconds left. The Bearcats pushed the ball up the court, but a long-range three-point attempt from Lukosius came up short.
Texas returns to the court when it travels to face West Virginia on Saturday, Jan. 13. Tip is scheduled for 5 p.m. Central (6 p.m. Eastern) at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, and the game will be streamed nationally by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
#25/nr Texas 74, Cincinnati 73
January 9, 2024
Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Attendance: 11,014
Team Notes
- Texas improved to 10-1 under head coach Rodney Terry in games decided by five points or less OR in overtime.
- Tonight's contest featured 14 lead changes and 14 ties and neither team led by more than seven points.
- The Longhorns won for the first time in three all-time meetings (1-2) against Cincinnati. This marked the first matchup between the two schools since the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
- UT trailed by three points (73-70) with 59 seconds remaining.
- Texas converted 50.9-percent (29-57) from the field on the night.
- The Longhorns hit 9-of-10 free throws, while Cincinnati was just 8-of-15 (.533) from the free throw line.
- Texas registered a 22-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
- The Longhorns converted 51.5-percent (17-33) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes while taking a 41-39 lead into the break.
- Texas hit 50-percent (12-24) from the floor in the second half and went a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line in the final 20 minutes.
- Hit the game-winning field goal on a baseline jumper with 6.2 seconds remaining, marking his second game-winning shot in the final seconds this season (also hit the game-winning jumper with 0.4 seconds left against Louisville on Nov. 19)
- Reached double figures in scoring (15 points) for the 15th time this year (15 games) and 127th time in his career (138 games)
- Has now reached double figures in scoring in 37 consecutive games
- Moved into No. 19 on the NCAA all-time Division I career scoring list and now has 2,818 points in 138 games (passed Kevin Bradshaw of Bethune-Cookman at 2,804). Next up at No. 18 is Otis Birdsong (Houston) at 2,832.
- Set his collegiate career high in scoring (33 points), previous: 29 while at Vanderbilt vs. Kentucky (Feb. 17, 2021)
- Set his Texas career high in scoring, previous: 28 vs. Penn State (March 18, 2023)
- Set his season high in scoring, previous: 17 vs. LSU (Dec. 16)
- Reached the 30-point mark for the first time this season (6 games) and in his career (117 games)
- Topped the 20-point mark for the first time this season and fifth time in his career
- Reached double figures in scoring for the third time this year and 49th time in his career
- Set his season high in field goals made (13-23), previous: 5 vs. A&M-Corpus (Dec. 22); the 13 field goals made were one shy of his career high (14 vs. Penn State on March 18, 2023)
- Set his season high in three-point field goals made (4-10), previous: 3 vs. A&M-Corpus (Dec. 22); the 4 threes made were one shy of his collegiate career high (5 while at Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 13, 2020)
- Set his season high in steals (4), previous: 2 vs. Texas Tech (Jan. 6); the 4 steals were one shy of his collegiate career high (5, twice)
- Set his season high in rebounds (6), previous: 4, twice
- Set his season high in minutes (34), previous: 22 vs. A&M-Corpus (Dec. 22)
- Reached double figures in scoring (10 points) for the 12th time this year (14 games) and 52nd time in his career (87 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring (10 points) for the ninth time this year (15 games) and 15th time in his career (53 games)
- Did not play (back)
