Texas Longhorns Veteran Guard Quickly Becoming Valuable Go-To Scorer

The Texas Longhorns stay perfect at home as the Longhorns return to action at the Moody Center on Wednesday night, taking care of business and defeating the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights comfortably 93-58.

The Longhorns withstood an early flurry from the Knights, which saw Fairleigh Dickinson go on a 10-2 run through the first two minutes of the game. However, the Longhorns made their way back quickly with a 12-0 run to retake the lead and never looked back.

Texas was on cruise control for the rest of the game, with the Longhorns' growing lead reaching as high as 38 points. The Longhorns received standout performances from a number of players, with one Longhorn putting together his best showing of the season.

Tramon Mark Leads the Charge on Wednesday Night

Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12) drives to the basket against Fairleigh Dickinson center Cyril Martynov (22) and guard Chidube Ekwommadu (5) during the first half at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Guard Tramon Mark put together his best performance so far on the young season, as the veteran guard ended the night with a team high 20 points, making nine of 13 shots from the field and two of six from beyond the arc, to go along with four rebounds, two assists, and a block all in a team high 27 minutes.

Mark spoke postgame, detailing how a made three-pointer switched his mindset and what was working for him on the night, as well as what he was looking to work on moving forward.

"It just kept me aggressive, I'm an aggressive player, so I just got to keep doing what I'm doing," Mark said. "And my teammates set me up really well, and I set them up too. We just have to get better as a team and just be ready."

After scoring just two points in the Longhorns' season opener against Duke, Mark has found his rhythm in the new Longhorns system. In the last two matchups, Mark is averaging 18 points, shooting about 60 percent from the field, a little over 25 percent from three-point range, along with two rebounds and two assists.

At the postgame press conference, Sean Miller talked about the changes he has seen from Mark from game one to game two and now to yesterday, especially when it comes to Mark's mentality as one of the scorers on the team.

"The last two games, I think he's been outstanding, and I think he'll be a terrific player for us this season," Miller said. "He's definitely a scorer. It was great to see him shoot the ball with so much confidence tonight. He was 2 of 6 from three, but you had the feeling that any of the six threes he took were about ready to go in. He's really attacking the basket. I think he's in tremendous shape right now."

Mark's experience will be big for the Longhorns, as the guard is in his sixth year of college basketball with his third program, spending time with the Houston Cougars and the Arkansas Razorbacks before returning for his second season with the Longhorns. Miller also mentioned how having a player with the experience like Mark is crucial for a team and the pivot role Mark will have this season.

"Tramon's been around the block; you don't just show up here trying to figure it out, you've seen things before as an older person or guy, and you're an experienced player," Miller said. "We're relying on his leadership and on his play, and he's certainly going to be a double-figure scorer for us."