Abmas leads Horns in rout
AUSTIN — Max Abmas had 16 points and seven assists as No. 12 Texas defeated Houston Christian 77-50 on Saturday.
Kadin Shedrick had 15 points, three blocks and four of the Longhorns’ 13 steals. Dillon Mitchell produced his third doubledouble of the season, 13 points and 12 rebounds, for Texas (7-2). Tyrese Hunter added 12 points, five assists and three steals.
Marcus Greene led Houston Christian (1-7) with 15 points. Michael Imariagbe had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Bonke Maring nine points and 13 rebounds.
The Huskies converted 30.3% of their shots from the field.
After a 21-point loss at Marquette on Wednesday, Texas coach Rodney Terry drilled his team on the importance of tenacity.
“I thought we had a pretty good effort today,” Terry said. “We really try to emphasize trying to play really hard, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Not trying to play perfect. You’re gonna make mistakes. But you make them going hard.”
Eventually, the Longhorns summoned what they needed. Houston
Christian kept the game close beyond the midway point of the first half, trailing by three at the eightminute mark.
Texas finished the half with a 19-0 run for a 37-17 lead. Houston Christian missed its last 14 shots and failed to score for the final 12 minutes.
“We didn’t take the shots that we were taking early
in the game,” Houston Christian coach Ron Cottrell said. “We were getting to the rim early and playing through contact and got to the free-throw line. Then we started taking some mid-range shots, some illadvised perimeter shots.”
The Huskies finished the half with 12 turnovers, five fewer than their average, which ranks 348th of 351 NCAA Division I teams.
Ten of those turnovers were steals by Texas. The Longhorns took advantage of the turnovers to score 12 of their 21 fast-break points in the half.
“Where they made their run was those steals,” Cottrell said. “Really got us on our heals. You can’t let them get out and run.”
Mitchell said the Longhorns need to play that way for entire games.
“We’ve got to come out and set the tone from the jump,” Mitchell said. “It starts with our defense.”