Longhorns Bid Farewell to Oklahoma State in First Win of March
AUSTIN -- Coming off an emotional win in Tuesday's blowout over Texas Tech, the Texas Longhorns returned to the Moody Center on Saturday, a place that hasn't been kind to them during Big 12 play.
Hosting the Oklahoma State Cowboys, a team that entered the day tied for last in the conference, the Longhorns were looking to secure back-to-back wins for the first time since January.
It wasn't always pretty, but a second-half explosion did the job for Texas in an 81-65 win.
Dylan Disu led the team with 17 points but the Longhorns (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) got a healthy scoring dosage from the entire rotation. Chendall Weaver finished with 16 points - highlighted by 11 straight late in the second half - while Max Abmas (15 points) and Tyrese Hunter (eight points, five assists) added key contributions from the backcourt.
Kadin Shedrick and Brock Cunningham each finished with eight points off the bench. The Longhorns finished with 34 bench points and 22 second-chance points.
© Scott Wachter, USA TODAY
Oklahoma State (12-17, 4-12 Big 12) got a game-high 18 points from guard John-Michael Wright while Javon Small (13 points), Jamyron Keller (11 points) and Quion Williams (13 points) all added double-digit scoring efforts.
The Longhorns hit three early triples and Disu tallied eight points to help Texas build a 24-18 lead at the 9:03 mark. The Cowboys had taken the lead on twice early but an 11-0 run put Texas in front at 29-18.
Oklahoma State answered and cut the lead to three in the closing minutes of the half. Abmas and Brock Cunningham hit back-to-back 3s, but the Cowboys' ability to get to the free throw line kept the game within single digits as Texas led 45-36 at halftime.
Williams had 10 points at the half while OSU went 12 of 13 from the free throw line. Abmas (10 points) and Disu (12 points) paced Texas, which saw it's entire eight-man rotation score in the first 20 minutes.
After some tough no-calls to begin the second half, Oklahoma State ramped up the defense and put together an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 47-44. The Cowboys eventually tied it up at 52-52. Texas' 11-point lead had officially disappeared.
Facing a team that entered Saturday with nothing to lose, the Longhorns turned up the heat.
Thanks to five points from Cunningham, Texas exploded for a 14-0 run and was suddenly up 68-54, the largest lead of the game.
Weaver scored 11 straight points, which included a pair of highlight dunks, to help salt the game away in the closing minutes.
The Longhorns will visit the Baylor Bears on Monday.
