The Longhorns had the situation they wanted down by two with time running down in the season opener against Washington.

After a defensive stop, junior guard Isaiah Taylor led a two-on-one down court with senior guard Javan Felix on the other end.

But as promising as the attack started, it ended in disappointment. Taylor passed the ball to Felix who put up a 3-point attempt. After that shot missed, Felix got the ball again at the same spot and missed again.

It would be as close as the Longhorns would get the rest of the night. Washington went on a 4-0 run from that point to win 77-71 and disrupt the official start of the Shaka Smart era Friday night.

The sequence summed up almost the entire night for the Longhorns.

Neither team could find its stride on the offensive end. Texas managed the game’s only two made shots through the first four-plus minutes for a 5-2 lead.

But coming out of the under 16 timeout, Washington found its shot. The Huskies broke the game open with an 18-8 run, taking a 20-13 lead with 10:13 left to go in the first half.

Texas eventually clawed back into the game with a 21-14 run to tie the game at 34 at the half; however, Washington would once again jump out to a comfortable margin following the break. The Huskies went on an 8-1 run early in the second half to take a 50-43 at the first media timeout of the second half.

The Longhorns again managed to chip away at the deficit, eventually taking a 65-64 lead — their first lead since just under six minutes into the game — on two free throws by Felix.

But the lead lasted for all of 18 seconds. The Huskies answered immediately on a shot by freshman guard Dejounte Murray. The Longhorns wouldn’t get any closer the rest of the game.

Taylor led all players with 27 points and shot 12-of-15 from the free-throw line. No other Longhorn scored more than seven points.

Huskies senior guard Andrew Andrews — the team’s most experienced player — led his side with 23 points including three 3-pointers.

The Longhorns return to Austin to face Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.