Texas basketball was back on the floor on Tuesday as they hosted their conference rivals.
Texas looked like a top team against Oklahoma early on in the contest. The Longhorns jumped out to a 14-6 lead with under 13 minutes to go in the half. The Sooners couldn’t buy a shot early on, then the wheels came off for the short-handed Longhorns. Texas would score just 20 points over the next 12:35 of the first half.
Oklahoma was able to take advantage of an aggressive Texas squad as they outscored the Longhorns by 17 with a 37-20 run. It included a 15-0 run to get back into the game. The Longhorns sent the Sooners to the line 17 times, where Oklahoma made 10 of those shots. Meanwhile, Texas went to the line just eight times and missed four. Texas trailed 43-34 at the half.
Halftime Statistics:
Matt Coleman- 11 points, 3 assists
Greg Brown- 7 points, 6 rebounds
Donovan Williams- 7 points, 1 steal
The Longhorns tried to make a run in the second half after falling down by double-digits early on. Texas had issues with Kamaka Hepa, Royce Hamm, and Matt Coleman having to sit with four fouls. They would get within six with under 11 minutes remaining in the game. The Sooners would build it back to nine, 61-52.
As the Longhorns tried to close in on Oklahoma, the three-point shots were flying by both teams. Texas would get within five after a Royce Hamm three after Andrew Jones drove the lane and kicked it out. Moments later, Hamm would foul out. That would test the bench with only seven scholarship players left available. Oklahoma led 68-63 with under seven minutes to go.
The Longhorns would get within one point in the closing minutes. They would be without Matt Coleman and Greg Brown as they fouled out of the game. Jones would hit two crucial free throws to get it to 80-79 with under six seconds left. However, it was too little too late as Texas would fall by that same score as a last-second heave would be caught by Oklahoma.
Final Statistics
Kai Jones- 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals
Greg Brown- 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal
Matt Coleman- 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Andrew Jones- 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
