The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
4-1,0-0SEC
Syracuse
3-1,0-0ACC
Men's Basketball tops Syracuse, 70-66, in UKG Legends Classic semifinals
11.21.2024 | Men's Basketball
Kaluma records his second double-double of the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday’s win.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Senior forward Arthur Kaluma registered a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to lead Texas (4-1) to a 70-66 victory over Syracuse (3-1) in the semifinals of the UKG Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper on Thursday evening in Barclays Center. With the win, the Longhorns advance to Friday's championship game and will face Saint Joseph's at approximately 8:30 p.m. Central (9:30 p.m. Eastern) on ESPNU.
Kaluma converted 6-of-11 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws while adding four assists, one steal and one block in 39 minutes. Freshman Tre Johnson tallied 16 points (7-8 FT) and three assists in 35 minutes, while junior Chendall Weaver added 10 points (4-6 FG, 1-1 threes), nine rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes.
The difference in the contest came at the free throw line. The Longhorns converted 12-of-14 from the stripe, including a perfect 6-of-6 from Johnson in the final 60 seconds, while Syracuse hit just 9-of-18 from the free throw line on the night.
Texas raced out to a 9-0 advantage following a Kaluma layup at the 17:35 mark. After a Jyare Davis tip-in trimmed the margin to 17-8 with 12:24 remaining, the Longhorns used a Ze'Rik Onyema dunk and a Tramon Mark three-pointer to build a 22-8 cushion at the 11:18 mark. A Kaluma turnaround jumper gave Texas a 27-14 advantage with 7:40 left, before the Orange scored five straight points to cut the deficit to 27-19 following a Donnie Freeman jumper at the 6:35 mark.
The Longhorns answered with a 10-2 run over the next three-plus minutes to grab a 37-21 cushion with 3:13 remaining. Another Kaluma jumper gave Texas a 41-25 advantage at the 2:01 mark, but Syracuse scored the final five points of the half to trim the lead to 41-30 at the break. UT converted 60.7-percent (17-28) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
The Longhorns began the second half with a 7-1 spurt over the first 1:35 to build a 48-32 advantage following a Weaver three-pointer at the 18:25 mark. The Orange answered with a 19-4 run over the next eight minutes to cut the deficit to 52-51 after an Eddie Lampkin Jr. jumper with 10:33 remaining. Texas extended its lead to 56-52 following a Weaver jumper at the 7:58 mark, but Syracuse used a 7-2 spurt over the next four minutes to take its first lead of the game at 59-58 after a Lampkin free throw with 4:07 left.
The next 1:14 saw three lead changes, before the Longhorns claimed a 62-61 advantage following a Weaver put-back at the 2:53 mark. Texas increased its cushion to 68-63 after a pair of Johnson free throws with 21 seconds left, but the Orange trimmed the margin to 68-66 following a Jaquan Carlos free throw with 10 seconds remaining. Johnson sealed the victory and closed out the scoring by converting a pair of free throws with nine seconds left.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 70, Syracuse 66
UKG Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper Semifinals
November 21, 2024
Barclays Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Attendance: 6,941
Team Notes
- With the victory, the Longhorns advance to the championship game of the UKG Legends Classic. Texas will face Saint Joseph's on Friday at approximately 8:30 p.m. Central (9:30 p.m. Eastern) on ESPNU. St. Joe's claimed a 78-77 win over Texas Tech in Thursday's second semifinal.
- This marked just the second all-time meeting between Texas and Syracuse and first since the 2003 NCAA Semifinals.
- UT evened the all-time series against Syracuse at 1-1 with tonight's win.
- The Longhorns converted 12-of-14 (.857) from the free throw line, while Syracuse went 9-of-18 (.500) from the stripe. UT was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the second half, including 6-of-6 (all by Tre Johnson) in the final 60 seconds of the contest.
- Texas led by as much as 16 points (48-32) with 18:25 remaining in the game.
- UT converted 60.7-percent (17-28) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes while building a 41-30 halftime advantage.
- Reached double figures in scoring (16 points) for the fifth time in his career (5 games)
- Has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in each of his first five collegiate contests
- Converted 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 60 seconds of the game
- Posted a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) for the second time this year (5 games) and 10th time in his career (106 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the fifth time this season and the 73rd time in his career
- Reached double digits in rebounds for the second time this year and 11th time in his career
- Did not play (right wrist)
- Has recorded 990 points in 135 career collegiate games
- Tied his season high in assists (four) and did not commit a turnover in 22 minutes
- Has registered 14 assists against just one turnover through the first five contests
- Recorded a team-best plus-minus total of plus-13 on the night
- Posted two blocked shots in 25 minutes of action
- Has recorded multiple blocks in three of his first five games this year
- Reached double figures in scoring (10 points) for the second time this year (5 games) and 26th time in his career (71 games)
- Tied his Texas career high with nine rebounds, just one shy of his collegiate career high (10 while at UTA)
