Longhorns run wild at Garden for NIT crown

TEXAS 81 LIPSCOMB 66

Texas can hook its horns to an NIT championship.

Dylan Osetkowski scored 19 points with 11 rebounds to lead Texas to the NIT championship with an 81-66 victory over Lipscomb on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

“It's great to win a championship,” coach Shaka Smart said.

The Longhorns (21-16) beat South Dakota State, Xavier, Colorado and TCU to reach the final, and survived a few late shots at the lead to win their first NIT title since 1978.

Smart, just 71-66 in four seasons with the Longhorns, got Texas to cut down the nets the same time he is reportedly on the short list of candidates to take the UCLA vacancy. Texas has not won an NCAA Tournament game under Smart and few Texas fans would weep if he left for the Bruins. Texas fans at the Garden enjoyed the title and held up the “hook em” hand gesture as the final seconds ticked off.

Smart was doused with water in the locker room and had a towel with him as he walked to a press conference.

“There have been teams that have come and won the NIT and used it as an unbelievable springboard,” Smart said. “And there's teams that haven't.”

Jase Febres held off the pesky Bisons with 3s in the second half that extended the lead to 13 points each time and kept the Longhorns firmly in charge. He finished with 16 points and Kerwin Roach II scored 16.

Smart shared a moment with the troubled Roach on the court, an emotional time for a senior who has been suspended three times over his career. Roach was named the NIT's most outstanding player.