AUSTIN — Board man gets paid.
That’s the concise and totally on-brand personal slogan disseminated by taciturn NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard. But spring-loaded freshman Greg Brown wants to get paid one day, too. So does the rest of this uber-talented Texas team, the most dangerous one to occupy the Forty Acres since some towering teenage scarecrow named Kevin Durant roamed campus.
And No. 4 Texas did plenty right in other realms of the game Wednesday night against No. 15 Texas Tech inside an empty Erwin Center continuously pumped full of artificial ambiance. But as its dominance on the glass slowly faded, Tech found the will to win, pulling out a 79-77 victory to hand Texas its first Big 12 loss of the season.
Tech stole an inbounds pass and converted a layup to tie the game at 77. That’s when Mac McClung rose up for a deep winning jumper to stun Texas with three seconds remaining on the clock, finishing with a game-high 22 points.
The way the Longhorns (10-2, 4-1 Big 12) attacked the glass set the tone early against a Red Raiders team built on physicality and suffocating defense.
Brown channeled some of The Claw’s energy from the opening tip, his 6-foot-9 body soaring over Red Raiders (11-3, 4-2) like they were stationary obstacles to be conquered rather than living, moving opponents. Had it not been for two early fouls, the future first-round pick might have eclipsed his previous career-best (14, twice) by intermission.
“You know, when he was in high school, both his dad and myself we would always challenge him to get 20,” Smart said. And Brown’s harped on how hard he attacks the glass throughout the season, saying “I take a lot of pride in my rebounding,” after his first 14-rebound performance back in December.
But Texas still owned the glass early, even with Brown stuck to a seat or staying warm on a sideline exercise bike for all but seven minutes of the first period. Even 6-2, 180-pound senior point guard Matt Coleman caught the fever, slipping inside for five first-half rebounds, matching hard-nosed junior wing Brock Cunningham for the team lead.
“Getting lost in rebounding, that’s one thing that I take pride in,” Texas senior forward Jericho Sims said. And clearly, he’s not the only one on this team who’s prideful about grabbing misses. But Texas Tech had something to say about that as well, more than halving the gap to a four-rebound deficit by game’s end.
Usually, when Texas combines that defensive focus and maniacal rebounding together with the its dynamic pick-your-own-poison backcourt there’s almost no stopping this team.
Redshirt junior guard Andrew Jones added another remarkable chapter to his storybook return from a leukemia diagnosis. He pumped in 18 points of Texas’ 48 points in the first half, a season-best mark against the nation’s fifth-most efficient defense, including eight straight during a late 10-3 scoring run. But he finished with just 20.
Coleman didn’t do much more work on the glass after the first half but still led an offense that at times confounded Texas Tech with ball movement reminiscent of the Spurs’ revered “beautiful game” era. That didn’t last, either.
And junior guard Courtney Ramey played well, chipping in with a full 15-point, four-rebound, four-assist line while played his usual dogged defense. He also lobbed a couple pristine passes to Sims for dunks that sent the benched Longhorns rocketing from their seats.
Even so, Texas never could pull away during a grind-it-out second half in which it shot 42 percent. But more so, Texas Tech never allowed itself to collapse, with transfer guard Matt McClung erupting for 22 points and sparking the Red Raiders early in the second period.
It forced Smart to burn a timeout to speak some sense into his sluggish team less than two minutes into the second half. But even a few brief bursts on offense couldn’t discourage the Red Raiders enough to give up the fight.
Tech pulled within one a free throw by guard Kevin McCullar with 4:54 remaining in the second half. Then Ramey missed a contested but makeable transition layup and Red Raiders guard Kyler Edwards drained a 3 to take a 71-69 lead, their first since the 17:57 mark of the first half.
Texas, though, has been here before. Jones sent Texas past West Virginia last week with a buzzer-beating 3, and this night Ramey and Brown both hit clutch 3s in the closing minutes to help Texas regain a 77-73 lead with 1:42 remaining.
"last" - Google News
January 14, 2021 at 11:41AM
https://ift.tt/3bBwnBs
Texas Tech stuns Texas with last-second game-winner - Houston Chronicle
"last" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2rbmsh7
https://ift.tt/2Wq6qvt
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Texas Tech stuns Texas with last-second game-winner - Houston Chronicle"
Post a Comment