Texas stops Louisiana-Monroe
AUSTIN—Dylan Osetkowski scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Texas used a 16-0 run midway through the second half to pull away from Louisiana-Monroe for a 65-55 win Monday night.
Elijah Mitrou-Long, a transfer from Mount St. Mary’s, scored all of his nine points in the second half and his 3-pointer started Texas’ big run that shook off the Warhawks. Osetkowski’s reverse layup and free throw put Texas up by 10.
Kerwin Roach II led Texas with 13 points and six assists.
The Longhorns (3-0) have struggled through long scoreless stretches in their first three games as coach Shaka Smart has rotated his lineup and tried to be aggressive by mixing in some full-court press defense early. Texas scored 20 points off 15 Warhawks turnovers and blocked five shots.
Michael Ertel led Louisiana-Monroe (2-1) with 16 points.
BIG PICTURE
Louisiana-Monroe: The Warhawks hung around for a while but couldn’t stay with the deeper Longhorns forever. ULM sorely missed leading scorer Daishon Smith, their top 3-point shooter. He didn’t play against the Longhorns because of a hamstring injury and the Warhawks were 4 of 16 from 3-point range without him.
Texas: Call it another rough outing for a Texas offense still looking for any kind of rhythm in the early season. Roach, who Texas depends on as a catalyst on both ends of the floor, was 6-of-15 shooting and point guard Matt Coleman III had five points, two assists and three turnovers. The Longhorns had a lot of pretty passing that set up a lot of missed shots.
UP NEXT
The Warhawks have just started a run of five consecutive road games. They play at No. 11 Michigan State on Wednesday
The Longhorns host The Citadel on Friday in their final tuneup before facing No. 7 North Carolina next week.