No. 2 Longhorns Pull Away Late vs. No. 7 Creighton to Stay Perfect
AUSTIN -- The No. 2 Texas Longhorns had already passed their first true test of the season with flying colors. A blowout win over the then-No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs in the third game of the season helped catapult Texas to that same second-place ranking.
And with the No. 7 Creighton Bluejays marching into the Moody Center Thursday night after solidifying themselves as one of the nation's best teams during early non-conference play, it became clear that Texas had to prove itself once again against a potential championship contender.
It's still early. But maybe the Longhorns officially proved they're for real.
Behind a heroic effort from guard Marcus Carr (19 points, five rebounds, five assists) and just three turnovers as a team, Texas (6-0) pulled away late from Creighton (6-2) to secure a 72-65 win to remain unbeaten.
The Longhorns held Creighton to 4 of 27 shooting from 3-point range and had 20 fast-break points as a result of many of these misses. Texas got strong, double-digit scoring efforts from Tyrese Hunter (15 points), Timmy Allen (11 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and Dillon Mitchell (10 points).
Creighton was led by their star 7-footer Ryan Kalkbrenner, who led all scorers with 20 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Bluejays guard Ryan Nembhard had a complete game with 17 points, four rebounds and six assists while forward Arthur Kaluma provided a spark with 13 points.
The Longhorns kept pace with the offensive-minded Bluejays early in the first half and held arguably their best scorer in check in the process, as the sharpshooting Baylor Scheierman got off to an ice-cold start. However, he got hot late to keep Creighton alive and finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds on 4 of 14 shooting.
At the half, he had just two points on 0 of 6 shooting but added nine rebounds. But in his place, the Bluejays got steady interior scoring from Kalkbrenner, who led all scorers at the half with 10 points.
The Longhorns built a 22-17 at the eight-minute mark after four quick points from Hunter, but led by Kaluma, the Bluejays put together a 6-0 run of their own to take 25-24 lead.
Texas managed to seize momentum headed into the half with a 32-27 lead, as Carr and Hunter had a quick six-point burst in the final minute.
Coming out of the locker room, the Bluejays were sparked by an impressive highlight sequence from Kaluma, who got free for a thunderous dunk before connecting with Kalkbrenner on an alley-oop slam.
The Longhorns had an answer though, and it came in the form of back-to-back 3s from Rice and Carr before Allen capped off a 10-0 with a layup in transition.
Texas extended its lead to as many as 11 midway through the second half. Nembhard had nine straight points for the Bluejays, but the Longhorns held the rest of the Creighton offense relatively at bay the rest of the way.
The Longhorns had multiple chances to put the game away late, but missed four wide-open 3-point looks. Things got stressful for Texas fans after Scheierman finally got his first make from deep, but Carr and Hunter both added much-needed buckets with about a minute to play to secure the win. Texas won the free-throw game in the closing stages to finish things out.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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