Longhorns & Tyrese Hunter Stave Off UTEP Miners, Win Season Opener
AUSTIN -- The No. 12 Texas Longhorns would have been doing the new Moody Center a disservice by not securing a win in the first-ever game at the world-class facility Monday night. However, this was going to be easier said than done against a feisty UTEP Miners team.
But despite a second-half surge from UTEP and some streaky offensive play, the Longhorns pulled away late for a 72-57 win in the season opener.
Longhorns transfer guard Tyrese Hunter shined in his Texas debut. He led all scorers with 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting to go along with five rebounds. Sir'Jabari Rice (14 points), Marcus Carr (12 points, six assists) and Dylan Disu (10 points) all reached double figures as well while Hunter led the attack in the backcourt.
UTEP was led by 10 points off the bench from forward Ze'rik Onyema, while guards Tae Hardy (nine points) and Shamar Givance (eight points, six assists, four rebounds) spear-headed the backcourt.
Scoring was hard to come by for both teams in the opening minutes, as the Horns led 5-4 after a full seven minutes had passed.
But then Hunter nailed a right-wing jumper, to break the cold spell. His shooting abilty would remain on full display for the rest of the half, as he led all scorers with nine headed into the break.
Hunter, along with Texas guards Sir'Jabari Rice and Arterio Morris, started to catch fire from deep late in the first half after both teams had gone nearly 13 minutes with a 3-point make. Rice and Morris hit back-to-back 3s to give the Horns a 23-10 lead.
Morris then found Hunter open for a catch-and-shoot triple two minutes later. But the Horns went on a near four-minute scoring drought before Texas big man Christian Bishop floated in two points right before the half. Hardy had four points for the Miners on a quick 6-0 run to end the half, taking advantage of Texas' cold shooting.
Texas forced 14 UTEP turnovers in the first half and didn't allow a 3-point make. However, the Longhorns were inconsistent on the offensive end, as 10 turnovers of their own had the Horns holding just a 33-20 lead through the first 20 minutes.
Hunter stayed hot coming out of the locker room and the Miners took notice, even choosing to double-team him near halfcourt to force a pass.
The Miners finally hit their first 3-point field goal of the game at the 14:32 mark of the second half, as Otis Frazier III nailed one from deep. But on the very next possession, UTEP guard Shamar Givance followed suit and connected on one from deep as well to cut Texas' lead to 10 at 43-33.
The sudden 3-point barrage continued for the Miners, as guard Jamari Sibley hit an impressive fadeaway 3 at the shot-clock buzzer to make it a nine-point game. The small section of UTEP faithful at Moody were suddenly the loudest they'd been all night.
Momentum was clearly on UTEP's side. But Timmy Allen had other ideas, as he soared for a fast-break slam to get the crowd to its feet and give Texas a 52-42 lead. This play broke things open for the Horns, as Carr found Disu cutting baseline for a powerful dunk before doing the same for a Rice layup on the next possession.
A catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from Rice with a little over three minutes left gave the Horns a 20-point lead and all but shut the door on UTEP's chances at a comeback and upset win.
The Longhorns will have a few days off before hosting Houston Christian (0-1) on Thursday at 8 p.m. CT.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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