Jones delivers needed boost
Longhorns put problems aside for a night thanks to late 3-pointer
AUSTIN — As another Texas lead melted away amid another late-game meltdown, fans at the Erwin Center shook their heads, and a few of them spun toward the exits.
Throughout the most miserable Longhorns basketball season in 33 years, they had seen plenty of this before.
But then, somehow, just when it appeared all but over, came a spark of life. Then Oklahoma offered an opening, and UT took it, and suddenly the Longhorns didn’t seem so miserable anymore.
Andrew Jones’ long, high-arcing 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining lifted UT to an 84-83 victory over rival Oklahoma on Monday night, bringing the loudest roar of the season to the Longhorns’ home arena.
After building an 11-point second-half lead, UT all but disintegrated down the stretch and trailed 83-78 with 19 seconds left in the game.
But with 11 seconds remaining, Eric Davis swished his fifth 3-pointer of the night, pulling the Longhorns within two. They fouled OU’s Kameron McGusty, who clanged back-to-back free throws with 10 seconds left to give UT a chance.
With no timeouts left, Jones grabbed the rebound and raced down the floor. He brought the ball up the left side, then dribbled across the court to the right wing, where he launched his shot from several steps beyond the 3-point line.
When the ball found the bottom of the net, it ended a five-game losing streak for the Longhorns (8-12 overall, 2-6 in the Big 12), who had been off to their worst start since 1983-84.
For the Sooners (8-11, 2-6), it continued what has been a similarly agonizing stretch.
Up until the frenzied final seconds, it looked as though a huge outburst from OU’s Kristian Doolittle was going to push the Sooners over the top. He scored a career-best 29 points to go with 10 rebounds, and McGusty added 21 more.
But the Longhorns kept themselves in it thanks to a solid performance from Davis, who finished with 18 points, and a career night from senior forward Shaquille Cleare.
Showing off a trusty baby hook that OU’s front line couldn’t stop, Cleare made 10 of 14 field-goal attempts and scored 23 points to go with eight rebounds. Before Monday, he had never scored more than 14 points in a game and averaged only 7.8 this season.
Even with Cleare and Davis playing as well as they ever had, the Longhorns suffered the latest in a long run of late-game breakdowns. After leading by two points with less than two minutes left, they failed to score on four consecutive ugly possessions, enabling the Sooners to pull ahead by five.
“We scratched around and put ourselves in position to win the ballgame,” OU coach Lon Kruger said.
But the Sooners couldn’t finish it off. And when Jones — who finished with 16 points — came up the floor, Doolittle said he knew the UT freshman wanted to pull up for the shot. When he did, Doolittle had a hand in his face.
“He had some arc on the ball,” Doolittle said. “He shot it up there. Congrats to him. I know he’s going to cherish this moment.”