Why Texas Won-
Texas was able to hold Sam Houston State to 21 percent shooting from the field and forced the Bearkats to attempt 28 three-pointers, of which they only made six. The Longhorns got to the free throw line early and often, and after a slow start were able to assert their dominance inside the paint. The Bearkats were held to just one offensive rebound in the second half and the Longhorns commanded a 47 to 32 rebounding advantage, stifling any upset bid the Bearkats may have had in mind.
“I really thought that this was a game that if we played well, we could win,” Jason Hooten, Sam Houston State head coach, said. “I know y’all might think I’m crazy, but I watched those three games in Maui and I was hoping they’d play like that tonight.”
First Half-
The Longhorns recorded assists on seven of their nine made baskets and missed just one of their 12 free throw attempts. Sheldon McClellan shook off a slow start shooting the ball and scored 12 first-half points while adding five rebounds. Jonathan Holmes grabbed the sole offensive rebound for Texas but added 8 points to give the Longhorns a 32-18 advantage at the intermission.
Second Half-
Sophomore guard Julien Lewis scored all 10 of his points in the second half, giving Texas the push it needed to come away with a win. The Bearkats seemed to be bothered by the Longhorns’ zone defense and were forced into bad shots from the perimeter. Freshman center Cameron Ridley blocked two shots, giving the Longhorns a total of six blocked shots in the game.
By The Numbers-
26- Points in the paint for the Longhorns, compared to just six from the Bearkats.
19- Texas turnovers, moving the Longhorns’ season average to a shade over 19 through six games played.
12- Points from Bearkat freshman guard Paul Baxter, son of former Texas forward Ron Baxter. Paul Baxter also graduated from Bowie High School.
Stock Up- Demarcus Holland
Holland earned his first career start and played a season-high 26 minutes. The freshman scored five points and pulled down six rebounds while also backing up point guard Javan Felix when he got into foul trouble in the second half.
“Other guys had been doing a good job of playing harder so those guys are going to play first,” McClellan said. “But it doesn’t matter to me who starts or if I come off the bench. Coach just wanted me to play harder in practice.”
Stock Down- Connor Lammert
In just nine minutes on the court Lammert turned the ball over twice and never looked to be comfortable on the defensive end of the court. He connected on both of his shots from the field, but was unable to knock down his two free throw attempts.
Printed on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 as: Rebounding, free throws key to Texas win
